5 Tips Companies Wish They Had During Their ERP Implementation to Promote Better User Adoption

Just because an ERP system is in “the cloud”, does not mean that your employees will miraculously start using it with no issues. User adoption is still a challenge.

This article focuses on how to promote ERP user adoption. Even though upgrading business management systems are essential to support people working remotely and to compete in a global, connected economy, it still requires substantial financial and resource commitments from your organization.

To get the most impact from a business management solution, you need employees to understand and use the system quickly. We’ve outlined some reasons why employees may resist user adoption and share insights professionals have found effective to help you tackle this challenge.

Download: 19 Brilliant Ways to Promote ERP & CRM User Adoption

Why It’s a Challenge

Why is user adoption still such a challenge for organizations implementing new business management systems? There’s no single answer. Although today’s software offers streamlined workflows and intuitive interfaces, even some tech-savvy employees tend to drag their feet during implementations.

• Employees may be resistant to change
• Training may be inadequate
• Change management may not have been well planned
• Leadership may not be fully committed

In most cases, it’s a combination of factors.

What You Can Do About It

We’re sharing the knowledge gained through thousands of ERP and CRM implementations to help get your employees started on the right foot. Our contributing partners have shared best practices, important warnings, and bright ideas so you can quickly realize the full value of your software investment.

Desoto Dynamics recommends these five pro tips to help users quickly adopt the new software during an ERP or CRM implementation project:

• Have an extensive testing period
• Get everyone involved
• Spend time on training
• Supply users with training materials
• Give users something that makes their job easier to show them the value of the new system and get them excited about it

Notice how the advice experts give from across industries can help you better promote user adoption using these five pro tips:

1. Have an extensive testing period
   Automating processes is a major driver of the ROI provided by ERP, but it’s not the only consideration businesses should make. It is not enough to just look for ways to automate current tasks and functions. Instead, businesses should consider how these processes could combine or change, and even which ones could be eliminated. Implementing ERP is a time of great change for many businesses, and it provides a chance to remove things that may be unwieldy or inefficient—even if not directly related to ERP concerns. —The TM Group, Inc.
2. Get everyone involved
   Make sure management is on board and leads by example. Users will not be motivated to use the new system if management is still using the same old tools as before. —JOVACO Solutions

   Employees who are used to the status quo may say, “That’s the way I’ve always done it and it’s worked just fine.” Make it your goal to identify these users early on so you can give them attention. —Panatrack

3. Spend time on training

   Identify a ‘Super User’ who will be the internal training lead and is the primary contact for support. They own the training and can make sure that the right people go to the training sessions. —Tensoft

   During training, not only should the trainer be fully aware (through a thorough discovery) of your business practices, but the trainer should also focus on HOW and WHY exactly processes will be done in the new software. Get end-users to complete the necessary steps, keeping them focused on the end-game. —Aisling Dynamics Consulting

4. Supply users with training materials
   Users who are new to ERP are often unsure how the whole process fits together. Those upgrading from an older ERP to a newer one don’t have as much of a challenge. Putting the process together from start to finish for students learning ERP is a key requirement when that group is new to ERP and integrated systems. —Sabre Limited

   The best training is done using real data in your own system. Your partner should set up master records in a clean, easy-to-understand way. Users don’t know what they don’t know until they try to do their own actual work. —Intelligent Technologies, Inc.

5. Give users something that makes their job easier to show them the value of the new system and get them excited about it

   Even if the new CRM or ERP has a lot more to offer, the end-user will be reluctant to adopt it if they find a pre-existing software integration missing. A missing integration often means a break in an existing data flow. —Connecting Software

   Without the ‘WHY’, a new system implementation just becomes another task. It’s critical to identify the reason WHY. WHY are we spending the money? WHY are we spending time and effort. What’s the business case? What’s the justification? What’s the ROI? Make a strong case to drive user adoption. —JourneyTEAM

Are you ready to implement a new ERP solution and would like expert advice on how to do this? We invite you to read “19 Brilliant Ways to Promote ERP & CRM User Adoption” at www.erpsoftwareblog.com/cloud/19brilliant to see more pro tips to help you spearhead user adoption during your implementation period.

When it comes to user adoption, experience counts! Visit the ERP Cloud Partner Directory to find a list of implementation and training partners who know how to prepare your users to take full ownership of new software.

By ERP Cloud Blog writer, www.erpsoftwareblog.com/cloud