Proper Training is critical to the short and long-term success of your QAD implementation
Posted on: March 14, 2018 | By: Andrew Hall | QAD Financials, QAD Manufacturing, QAD Business Process, QAD Distribution, Professional Services
All ERP implementations are impacted by multiple factors that ultimately determine whether the implementation is a success. When viewed in the short-term (i.e. from software selection to actual “go-live”) and long-term (go-live through system maturity), one of the biggest factors is training. And, unfortunately, this is the factor that often receives the least attention after the go-live date. The result of the long-term is that users are no longer following the designed processes and/or begin to drift away from the desired usage of the software, leading to many informal “systems” built in Excel, Access, etc.
So, how can this be prevented?
1. During the implementation project, ensure that you rely on internal resources to conduct training. Do not rely on consulting or other external resources as training must be viewed as an on-going activity, not something that exists purely in a 4-week window prior to go-live. Having internal, capable trainers, your company can continue to train new users and cross-train existing users.
2. Develop formalized training plans for all new hires. This is as simple executing the go-live training when on-boarding new hires but it often is not executed and new users must “figure it out for themselves” or receive informal training from a colleague. This typically leads to loss of knowledge over time.
3. Maintain a group of super users who actively follow developments in the QAD application. These super users should be the prime trainers who conduct on-going training with the user base and can introduce new features related to the user interface, etc. This ensures on-going improvement and prevents usage from getting “stale”.