Overview

In this episode, Erin and Katie chat with Andrew Ward, CEO & Founder of Award Consulting, about how rural service providers can scale technical readiness without bloating headcount. We dig into when to train vs. when to outsource, the power of “everyday vs. rare” skills, and practical ways to make end-user training actually get used during migrations.

What We Cover

• The “engineering cousin” to B-Lynk: how Award Consulting partners with rural service providers on SBC setups, VoIP rollouts, troubleshooting, and complex configs.
• Train vs. outsource: deciding when to build internal capability and when to bring in an expert for rare, high-complexity tasks.
• Internal knowledge culture: lightweight documentation, daily sharing, and a simple wiki over perfection.
• End-user enablement: making training searchable, snackable, and available at the point of need—especially during cutovers.

Notable Anecdotes & Examples

• Bulk provisioning win: Using the Metaswitch import spreadsheet to speed up new business setups; building tailored templates to reduce clicks, errors, and time.
• Migration reality check: A large org ignored pre-cutover materials; on go-live, no one was ready—proof that training must be easy to find and actually consumed.
• PDFs ≠ living training: Static, non-searchable PDFs get outdated and lost—dynamic, searchable content keeps pace with product changes.

Key Takeaway / Actionable Insight

• Build a two-track approach:
• Internal: Encourage quick, imperfect documentation (notes in a shared wiki, daily syncs). Don’t let “perfect” delay progress.
• External: Deliver short, searchable, in-workflow training for end users; avoid long classes and static PDFs. For rare tasks, outsource to experts rather than over-investing in one-off internal training.

Call to Action

• Enjoyed this conversation? Follow Train to Gain for more practical chats on training, onboarding, and product adoption.
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Learn more about our guest: Award Consulting—and keep the conversation going with us on LinkedIn.