User Review
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It’s been said that anything worth doing in life won’t come easy. Without a doubt, this applies to upgrading your business management systems.
In today’s global economy, upgrading business management systems is more important than ever before. But CRM projects will only be successful if your team understands and adopts the new system quickly.
How can you get your employees to embrace the change?
We’ve consulted twenty industry experts to learn what they’ve found to be successful in streamlining user adoption. These key tips, important warnings, and advice from our members here at the CRM Software Blog can help your employees embrace change and take your organization to the next level.
It may not be easy, but working toward solid user adoption is well worth the effort. Here are a few tips from various Microsoft Dynamics 365 Partners who focus on helping companies like yours.
Plan Thoroughly
To have successful user adoption, it is essential that your team has planned thoroughly before implementing your new business management system. Anticipate challenges ahead of time, such as identifying what obstacles may come up and the reasons why your team may be resistant.
“Create an iterative project plan that clearly defines success through metrics and establishes the strategic priority of the project so users understand it’s something that requires their attention and adherence.” – BroadPoint
Preparing for challenges ahead of time by building the right software team, establishing a clear plan for post-go-live support and training, and knowing exactly what areas you want your new system to improve on can have a big impact on whether your user adoption is successful or not.
Lead Proactively
If you want your employees to be on board with the switch, there must be strong leadership. The leadership team, from CEO to department managers, should be able to clearly explain the reason why the project was initiated.
Successful companies know this. Notice their insights in this area:
“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
“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 to manage the organization.” —JOVACO Solutions
Train Effectively
Without proper training, it’s very likely that your employees will be resistant to the changes your new CRM system will bring. They may be worried the new system will automate them out of a job, or they might simply not understand why the change is happening and how they fit into the switch. No matter what the reason for the resistance, training will help.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 experts offer these tips on training effectively:
“Many working adults are also homeschooling or caring for others while trying to juggle their professional schedules. Create a schedule that allows for multiple breaks throughout the day. We also recommend recording sessions in case anyone misses any topics or wants to simply review again in the future.” —Beringer Technology Group
“Requiring too many fields early on in the sales cycle just decreases the likelihood that a salesperson will fill out any fields—and thus destroys your user adoption. Only require the data that you need, and encourage your sales team members to understand the value of inputting data in “recommended” fields—with understanding comes compliance and user adoption!” —emfluence Marketing Platform
There are a variety of effective training options a company can use when upgrading business management systems. Whether it’s in-person, hands-on training, or using video sessions, if your team is aware of what specific areas your employees need to be trained in you are one step closer to reaching your goal of successful user adoption.
Helping your employees embrace change when implementing a new business management system can be a challenge. But by closely following the tips offered by our contributing partners, you will soon find out that following their advice was well worth the effort.
To hear more from the experts and learn pro tips that you can put into practice today, download the full white paper “19 Brilliant Ways to Promote ERP & CRM User Adoption” at www.crmsoftwareblog.com/19brilliant.
When it comes to user adoption, experience counts! Visit the Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM Partner Directory on the CRM Software Blog to find a list of implementation and training partners who know how to prepare your users to take full ownership of new software.
By CRM Software Blog writer, www.crmsoftwareblog.com
