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Start a Quickbase User Group and Watch Innovation Soar 

Written By: Jessica Hawley
September 18, 2018
7 min read

Great things happen when Quickbase builders come together as a community. New builders have the opportunity to learn from seasoned pros, and everyone has a forum to share their ideas, experience, and even their app templates. And just imagine what all that mindshare and inter-departmental collaboration can do for your company when it’s focused on streamlining and automating work.

Quickbase customers weigh in

So how do you begin cultivating a user group filled with empowered Quickbase builders? We offer the following tips and advice from customers who have gone from being the only Quickbase builder to becoming the driving force behind a growing community of problem-solvers across their organizations. Find out:

  1. How the value and visibility of their Quickbase solutions create opportunities to connect with and mentor others
  2. Why presentations and demos are key to attracting new developer resources and driving broader adoption
  3. How in-house education and training programs streamline innovation and encourage new app builders
  4. The role Quickbase user groups play in fostering greater engagement and innovation

Evolution of a builder network

Interest in Quickbase tends to ramp up spontaneously as curiosity about the efficiencies a team is achieving combines with a builder’s enthusiasm about what’s enabling him/her to achieve those results.

Joanna Schreck, senior manager of Operational Excellence and Data Analytics for Client Services & Delivery Operations at UBM Americas explains: “Nearly 50% of my job now is Quickbase related, and I believe that the work I’m doing is important and impactful. Quickbase helps our team stay efficient, which empowers the business. And others across the company are quickly taking notice.

Kelly Hayes, senior business analyst at CCI Systems, Inc. says: “Quickbase encourages me to think outside the box. Being able to solve problems for people is one of the most enjoyable and rewarding parts of my job. And with Quickbase I have the skills to talk about those problems and come up with versatile solutions that will work for their needs.”

Opportunities to connect

In the early stages of Quickbase adoption, it’s often something as simple as sharing a conversation about Quickbase with a colleague, or inviting them to a training session, that suddenly transforms an interested party into an active and engaged builder.

Jana Baker, analyst for Southwest Airlines recalls her first encounter with Quickbase: “I had no idea what Quickbase was at the time, but I knew a colleague who did from our Technology department. He walked me through the basics, and with his help, it wasn’t long before I was visualizing how I was going to build my app.”

Fast forward to her involvement today: “Corporate Delivery & Technology works with business partners all the time, and I have done projects for multiple departments. They might be sitting with a partner and my name comes up as someone who can help them develop a Quickbase app for their need.”

Jennifer Griffith, DrPH, MPH for Texas A&M School of Public Health talks about her initial experience: “I didn’t know much about Quick Base, and wasn’t sure about spending two days in training for something I didn’t think would be all that helpful to me. I realized very quickly why my colleague was so excited, and saw how beneficial this platform could be for some of the projects and activities I was tasked to do.”

Seeing is believing

Another way customers spread the word about Quick base is by accepting invitations or initiating demos of their applications at events like “lunch & learns” or in-house seminars. It’s also common for Quickbase builders to lead presentations that help keep management informed and garner support for expanded use.

Says Schreck at UBM:To keep the business regularly updated, we would hold open quarterly recap meetings that highlight our latest app enhancements and the efficiencies gained from Quickbase. The Client Services leadership team uses this information to further promote efficiencies throughout the company, which leads to conversations with other teams interested in Quickbase.

Hayes from CCI Systems discusses a similar approach:“I did several presentations for management to show them how our core Quickbase app works and the many benefits it was delivering to the company. I think that was a major catalyst in getting Quickbase integrated into the rest of our business.

Guiding new solutions and builders

Being an in-demand Quickbase builder and advisor is great but trying to field requests while attending to existing responsibilities can be a challenge. Many are answering the call from individuals, teams, and divisions in a variety of ways—addressing both the needs of someone looking to others to build a custom solution as well as those who want to create it themselves.

Schreck at UBM Americas explains the value of setting up self-service information hubs that educate people about Quick base features and functionality:“By the time people are ready to sit down to talk about the actual build, they have a good basis for discussion. We can then whip up a sample app and even make instant changes, which always surprises them. And if one of our 101 videos spark an interest and someone wants to start building, we can set up workshop hours to accommodate that.”

Another builder from a leading research and educational institution is paving the the way for an internal app library: “People will be able to look through a catalog of solutions we’ve already created and address similar challenges without having to reinvent the wheel. We’ll be able to share everything from an actual template to expectations on the time involved to set it up and maintain it. And of course, the beauty of Quickbase is you can easily take an app and customize it to your own needs.”

Others are creating more formal training programs designed to support the growth and development of Quickbase builders at every stage, like those at Helm, Inc. Michael Wacht, EVP of Marketing & Operations, explains:We’ve built a Black Belt program where we train and support our Quickbase users as they evolve from novices into masters capable of building complex apps. To earn a black belt is a big deal and the program has gotten amazing results in terms of both galvanizing and educating users.”

All together now: the rise of formal and informal user groups

Many companies whose Quickbase builder numbers begin to grow across teams and divisions, establish user groups that help bring the power and support of community together for the benefit of all. Across our customer base, user groups take many forms, but all provide value to both builder and business from the unique perspective of each company.

Says Hayes about CCI Systems’ builder community: We have implemented a bi-weekly meeting of all Quickbase builders, so we can come and share best practices and talk about the cool stuff we’re doing. And if we’ve discovered something that we can do that maybe the rest of the group would benefit from we go and share those best practices with each other so that we can all learn as a group.”

Baker from Southwest shares her insight into the power of the group:“It’s definitely an advantage to have someone there to show you how to do something, especially when the deliverable is expected yesterday. That’s why we created a distribution list of Quickbase app builders at Southwest. Anyone can join, and if one of us runs into a problem we can e-mail the group and quickly find someone who can help.”

And our Quickbase builder from the leading research and educational institution just collaborated with two others to start an instantly popular user group there: “We had our first meeting two weeks ago, and it was a big hit. We advertised it through email and 35 to 40 Quickbase app builders from many different departments showed up. Some were just getting started and others had been building for a few years. Everybody was interested in seeing what everyone else was doing and picking up Quickbase tips and advice. We’re already setting up topics for future monthly meetings, and plan to split each session between app demos and instruction.”

Are you ready to take the lead in starting a Quickbase user group at your company? Download our step-by-step guideto start making a bigger impact with Quickbase today!

Written By: Jessica Hawley
Jessica Hawley is a marketing manager at Quickbase, focused on SEO, content and social media.

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