Training Programs

The progression from skeptic to power user is predictable. Stage one: skepticism. "I do not see how this is better than what I already do." Stage two: basic adoption. "It can do my research faster, but I still need to edit everything." Stage three: workflow integration. "I have built a pipeline that handles my weekly report end-to-end." Stage four: evangelism. "Let me show you what I built." Your training program must meet people at their current stage, not yours.

The mistake most organizations make is training everyone as if they are at stage one. They run a two-hour demo that covers everything from basic chat to plugin development. The skeptics tune out after 20 minutes because they have not seen anything relevant to their work. The enthusiasts are bored because they already know the basics. The result is a room full of people who attended training and learned nothing actionable.

Effective Co-Work training follows a tiered model. Tier 1 — Fundamentals (2 hours): What Co-Work is, how to spin up agents, the QA pattern, one guided exercise relevant to the department. This is for skeptics and beginners. The goal is one successful workflow, not comprehensive knowledge. Tier 2 — Workflows (half day): Plugin usage, skill creation, multi-step pipelines. This is for people who have used Co-Work for at least a week and want to go deeper. The goal is three department-specific workflows they can use tomorrow.

Tier 3 — Power Users (ongoing): Custom plugin development, cross-department orchestration, advanced QA. This is for champions and future trainers. The goal is self-sufficiency — they can build, test, and deploy workflows without support. Not everyone reaches Tier 3, and that is fine. Most of the organizational value comes from Tier 2 users with solid workflows.