Ensure ERP Adoption Success with ongoing training and change management.

"Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn" – this is a quote from Benjamin Franklin and aligns with how our team implements. Implementing a business system is a collaborative effort.

When implementing business systems, it is crucial not to underestimate the amount of training that is required. For instance, in our projects, we go right into process walkthroughs after the discovery phase with minimal client data and no enhancements. This first training step helps introduce the core team to the system and proof out standard business processes. In the event of common budget or timeline constraints, we recommend not reducing training time. Instead, consider prioritizing essential functions over enhancements or secondary functionalities that can be implemented post-go-live.

At Ternpoint, we strongly advocate for our active participation in end-user training. We do not expect core team users to become experts within a few months or to deliver end-user training independently. Therefore, we take a hands-on approach throughout the training process. Effective end-user training is vital for the successful adoption of a new system. Failure to execute this properly can lead to long-term data integrity and user adoption issues.

Often, clients transition from unsupported, heavily customized legacy systems to integrated web-based applications like Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (BC). This shift can be overwhelming. Change can be intimidating, causing seasoned users to feel suddenly inadequate. Providing ample support/training is key to mitigating these concerns. Investing additional time with certain users can significantly enhance their acceptance and proficiency with the new system.

Documentation

We provide quick guides for standard business processes to clients at the project's start. These guides are used during User Acceptance Testing and training, allowing end users to make notes. Assign an internal owner to each process and keep them updated even after go live. They are valuable for onboarding new employees.

Managing Scope, Budget and Timeline

During a business system implementation, it's important to consider the change management process within your organization and its impact on the amount of training needed. Begin high-level training early in the process and continue with consistent training sessions until your team is fully trained. Some common issues observed when users are not properly trained include:

• Repeated training sessions, which can be costly and may delay the go-live date
• Ineffectiveness of the "train the trainer" approach
• Unaddressed issues or processes during the project
• Training conducted into and post-go live, resulting in user challenges with the new system and causing frustration
• Errors occurring after go-live that could be expensive and time-consuming to fix
• Low user adoption of the new system, leading to perceptions that the system is not user-friendly and difficult to understand. This may result in users reverting to previous methods, such as using spreadsheets
• Increased support costs in the months following the go-live

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Best Practices

• Encourage participation from multiple parts of the business in sessions to foster open communication between teams
• Block off dedicated time and space for training to ensure focus and effectiveness
• Make training a priority and limit distractions such as phone use during sessions
• Backfill or cover users during training to allow them to concentrate fully, or offer incentives for working longer hours temporarily
• Have users sign off on training to make them feel empowered and responsible
• Give time after training to walk through processes and revise procedures
• Do not go live until users have tested each core process end to end
• Crosstrain users so they can cover for each other

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We hope this blog was of use to you. Check back for upcoming topics including: I went live now what and how to drive process change during an ERP implementation.

Ternpoint Solutions is a Microsoft Dynamics 365 Partner. We would love to hear from you, reach out using our contact us page.