ACC IMPLEMENTATION: ERP TRAINING

Step 4 of the ACC Software Solutions ERP Implementation Process: ERP Implementation Training

An ERP solution has the power to transform how your organization manages its daily operations, from improved communication, to synchronized departmental processes, and updated business intelligence. With proper use, your ERP solution will increase efficiency and productivity amongst end-users by helping them navigate complex processes, prevent data re-entry, and improve critical functions such as production, order completion, and delivery. But remember, an ERP is just a tool – without properly trained end-users, you’ll end-up with employees who lack the basic knowledge of system processes and an empty database that just collects dust.

An ERP implementation failure is disheartening for everyone involved. And for this reason, the ACC Software Solutions team will go above and beyond to ensure the success of your ERP implementation project. During the fourth step of your implementation process, ACC will provide effective and in-depth ERP training for all essential end-users.

Before you begin training with the ACC team, you will need to determine the right training path for your business. Here’s how you can plan for your ERP implementation:

Align training with your change management strategy.

While a new ERP system will streamline daily tasks and processes, employees tend to resist change and may be resistant to anything that causes their jobs to change significantly.

If your change management plan is vibrant – make sure your training program is agile and can support that. If you depend heavily on progress metrics to decide on your next step – choose a training tool that can provide analytics of your staff’s learning progress.

Including change management as a part of your ERP implementation strategy will accelerate adoption and reduce risks. Add to this a well-executed training plan, and you’ll ease the transition process for impacted teams, making them more likely to embrace new processes.

Communicate the Why, How and When with End-Users.

As you already know, communication is critical – it’s one of the many reasons you decided to invest in an ERP in the first place. Everyone from your leadership team to daily end-users will need to know how their daily processes will be changed. Include topics such as:

• Workflow
• Inter-departmental communications
• Customer satisfaction
• Vendor relationships
• Organizational competitiveness
• The health of the organization, which generally equals more job security and promotional opportunities

Consider Role- and Process-Based Training.

Inevitably, your ERP implementation will affect end-users across various departments and will require some type of basic training for end-users to understand the basic software fundamentals. But for training to be truly effective, you’ll also want to have end-users trained on the functions and processes relevant to their individual roles.

This calls for organization-wide training, so plan on training everyone from top to bottom. Your executive and management teams, IT project teams, functional users, and end users.

Avoid the “One-and-Done” Approach; Invest in Continuous Training.

Effective training is more than a project milestone; it’s a continuous process, one that is revised every time a new software version is released or is updated with new features. Implementing an on-going training plan will support end-users throughout the lifecycle of your ERP.

Not to mention, the “one-and-done” approach isn’t realistic. Your employees have many different tasks going on and it’s not practical to expect them to retain all of the critical information in a one-time training session.

Rely on the ERP Experts to Guide you through your Training Plan.

Successful ERP training covers not only system-related topics, but also revised business processes. It takes into consideration each function’s unique business processes and training needs. It guides employees -at all levels of the organization- through new functions and processes.

Now, there are a variety of end-user training models and materials that will be offered to you by the ACC team. Some of those models and materials include:

– One-on-One Training. Typically, this is very costly.

– “Train the Trainer”. This implies that the core team will be trained and will be responsible for supporting and training end-users. This is probably one of the more effective models, because it prompts your leaders to take ownership of the system. Training can be catered to specific business processes

– Online Assistance. Online helps will always be a secondary option. You’ll be shown where to access it and how it’s organized.

– YouTube Videos & On-Demand Training Lab powered by ACC Software Solutions. There are several videos available for you to view at your convenience. These videos are a great option to learn the basics; however, they will not be specific to your business processes.

– ACC Blog. Weekly blogs are posted for end-users to learn about new software updates, specific “how-to tutorials”, and stay in the know.

Once you have reviewed and selected your training model, your decision will be represented in the Statement of Work. Make sure your plan is clearly understood by employees and your implementation partner to avoid any potential confusion.

Getting Started

For most of us, change isn’t easy. Even the most user-friendly software takes a little getting used to. The purpose of ERP training is to speed up user adoption and help employees understand how to optimize their daily tasks with relevant software tools.

When you team up with ACC Software Solution’s premier team of consultants, you’ll receive a team of experts committed to following ERP best practices, from selection to end user training.

Find out why manufacturers and distributors have come to us for over 25 years to execute their software projects—contact ACC Software Solutions today!