Post-pandemic, ERP technology is more prevalent than ever. ERP systems manage and integrate numerous day-to-day business activities into a single centralized system. The challenge for companies today is managing their transition to the next generation of ERP systems as smoothly as possible.
And that starts by placing users at the heart of an effective ERP training plan.
Identify your users
An effective training plan starts with understanding your users to establish the access they require in the ERP and the level of training required to equip them.
- How many global users are on the ERP system?
- What are the different user roles?
- How will they be using the ERP?
- Where does each user require access within the ERP?
- Are there varying levels of digital competence?
- Are they moving from a thick to thin ERP software?
Conduct change management
Traditional ERP systems are notoriously complex with heavy functionalities, limited accessibility, and the frequent need for internal maintenance. Though migrating to a Cloud solution will ease the difficulty and accessibility of ERP functions, users require change management to facilitate the process.
Change management processes are necessary to assist large-scale projects such as ERP training because hitting ‘deploy’ is just the beginning. So what do ERP users want? Clear structure and guidance throughout ERP implementation that starts with them.
- And what better way to start than communication before, during, and long after deployment
- Brainstorm all the possible risks and pain points facing end-user
- Determine and anticipate the resources required to overcome them
- Create personalized (we’ll discuss more later) and adaptable training for sustainable implementation
- Measure the impact of your ERP training to determine what works and what doesn’t
- Provide continued and adapted support to keep users up to speed with their ERP
Ultimately, users want to understand and master their ERP. But, successful user adoption is only possible once users understand the value of adopting a new tool and all that it can offer. Why so? Without understanding change, users can perceive ERP transformation as a risk to their position, resulting in employee resistance to change. Use change management to justify transformation and ERP automation that will help speed up processes and free-up time for more high-value tasks.
Provide process based training
An ERP system is a powerful tool made of complex integrations and customizations. No two ERP systems are built the same way, making general vendor training materials useful up to a certain point. Users want effective training that applies to the processes they use on a day-to-day and infrequent basis. They want to know what processes have changed in the new ERP? What processes are new? And any knowledge gaps that need to be filled?
🍋 Lemon Learning tip: leave one size fits all training behind with a digital adoption platform
Create personalized training
Closely linked to process-based training is the need for personalization. What does it mean concretely? Eliminating one-size-fits-all training in favor of role-based, and standardized training by department.
Tailored training allows users to gain skills in the processes they need to fulfill their roles. It creates more effective training and speeds up the time to value of the ERP because users don’t waste time learning features they won’t use. And then, there is roles-based training – training users on job-specific tasks personal to their ERP mission.
Implement your ERP training with a DAP
Follow several projects at once and monitor users in manufacturing, supply chain management, sales, marketing, HR, and all other departments using the ERP.
🍋 Lemon Learning tip: with a digital adoption platform, you can answer all of your end-user training needs
With a digital adoption platform, ERP training looks like:
- Personalized workflows (role and department-specific training)
- Adaptable workflows (process-based training)
- Interactive guides (library of guides accessible 24/7)
The result? A sustainable ERP solution, thanks to training, you can track and optimize based on the actions of your end-users.
Are you using Oracle, Dynamics 365, or any other web-based ERP? Check out our demo videos. Or get in touch for more advice on ways to manage your ERP digital transformation!
