6 reasons to train your employees (or yourself) in Adobe products

Ahh, summer. As is true at a lot of companies, you may be seeing a lot of new faces. Whether they have been at your company for years, fresh-out-of-college full-time employees, or simply summer interns, everyone can benefit from efficient, easy Adobe training. Adobe products are at the forefront of design and marketing and, in this increasingly web-based world, it is important your company is consistently producing the highest quality, most eye-catching materials possible. Require a little more convincing? This one’s for you: 

1. It’s easy to pick up
Sure, opening up Photoshop or InDesign for the first time will be intimidating (what’s a “Magic Wand?”) but a little bit of training goes a long way. A crash course on the basics will turn Photoshop into a state-of-the-art Paint and InDesign into Word with more freedom and less clunkiness. And since Adobe products are so popular, many questions have already been answered on forums so it’s easy to fix whatever problems you encounter with a simple Google search. You don’t have to be an artist--you just need to know how to use a computer. 

2. Allows employees to do more, faster
Knowledge of products like Photoshop and InDesign opens up a realm of new possibilities for junior employees and interns to work on projects. Sure, it’s highly likely the IT section of your company has Adobe skills, but it does not take a Masters in Computer Engineering to retouch a photo, and their time is probably better spent elsewhere. Adobe training is a quick and easy way to increase your human capital. Whether it is formatting company brochures, revamping marketing materials, or simply putting QR Codes on business cards, there will come a time when your company needs to use Adobe. 

3. It makes your company look better
Training your employees in Adobe products allows you to forego an outside contractor and complete work in-house. Adobe products are designed to allow people to produce high-quality materials with minimal effort. Need a new Facebook cover photo? Have an intern run it through Photoshop first. Outdated newsletter formatting? Train an employee to create a new template in InDesign. Are you a small business that has a sketch for a logo, but is having trouble moving it to digital? Try Illustrator. It’s amazing how much a little Adobe can improve your brand. 

4. Adobe knowledge has no expiration date
Creative Suites do not differ much. Knowledge of an older version of InDesign won’t preclude you from using CS6, and vice versa. Employees who learn Adobe now will have no problem picking it up when the new version are released years later. Additionally, different Adobe programs have similar functions; someone with knowledge of Photoshop won’t have too much trouble finding his or her way around Illustrator, as is true with many combinations of Adobe products.

5. Your employees will thank you
The world uses Adobe. Summer interns will thank you for teaching them a highly marketable skill. Long term employees will be grateful for learning something that is fun and relevant to both their professional and personal lives. Perhaps your training will encourage an employee to use their Photoshop training to supplement their budding photography interest, or InDesign for personalized Christmas cards. Outside of work, your employees will be producing higher quality materials in their personal lives, schooling, and hobbies.

6. There are many quick, easy ways to learn
Adobe products are so prevalent a simple Google search will land you plenty of results. Adobe offers Adobe TV, which has short tutorials on specific aspects of products. They also have a great online forum for specific questions.

Of course, free materials may take longer and do not necessarily guarantee you get the results you want. If you are planning on training an employee and need verification that he or she has completed the training, or if you simply want to take a more organized, speedy route, consider looking around OpenSesame, which offers around 400 courses on Adobe products.

Image Credit: Charles Williams