Tips on Staffing Your ERP Project

Posted by Brevard Neely on November 7, 2011 Leave a Comment When it comes to an ERP implementation, it can be wildly tempting to keep costs down by relying on internal resources to get the job done. While your employees certainly need to be involved at every step, it is important not to lean so heavily on their expertise and insight that you overestimate their availability and willingness to divert attention from their own critical tasks. It can be a fine line to walk. Following are some tips on how to best include your best people:

Make sure youre staffing with folks who are available. If some of your staff are already up to their ears in the details of another major project or initiative, respect the preexisting situation and try to limit their involvement in the ERP implementation until the time is right for them to transition. It would make anyone ill at ease to hear that the work theyd been valiantly struggling to accomplish on Friday is suddenly back-burnered on Monday.

Dont assume that the ERP project is of the utmost importance to everyone. If your organizations communications about the implementation have been sparse or spotty, your staff probably wont understand the importance of the projects success and their unique role in creating that success. Thus, their level of enthusiasm or interest may not be to the level anticipated. Overcome this hurdle by taking the time to talk to your people about their roles in the initiative and address their concerns on an individual basis before assigning responsibilities.

Dont lose sight of the forest. When determining your staffing structures, remember why you hired these people in the first place: to keep your business running, not to implement ERP software. If your project plan indicates that key people will be pulled off their jobs for time during the implementation, then you must examine the opportunity cost of such a play . . . can your business handle the hit? In our experience, most organizations embarking on an ERP project position themselves for success by hiring temporary or permanent staff to ensure that the ERP software is implemented correctly and that the business is running smoothly. But hiring accomplished IT staff members can be tricky and time-consuming especially for organizations that have never embarked upon an ERP implementation before.

IT Staffing
Most organizations do not have the internal resource capacity or expertise to handle the complexities and workload of a large ERP implementation. To ensure enterprise system operability and success, organizations often need to expand IT teams both in the short- and long-term. With specialties including mobile workforce recruiting and human resources training, Panorama Consulting Solutions leverages the latest technologies to help organizations build the best staffing structures available. We are well-equipped to work either in concert with existing HR departments and hiring practices or to create an independent model specific to each clients needs. We work with a global network of experts and sub-contracted consultants that specialize in one or more areas. Each team member has been screened by Panorama to meet our exacting criteria and trained in our proprietary, proven methodologies. Below are just some of the global network of consultants, leads and managers that we can provide to your ERP implementation:

ERP implementation project managers and program managers Functional experts certified in SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics and other top ERP systems

Organizational change managers Business process analysts Data strategy and data migration analysts Solution architects and system integration experts System and business process testing managers and analysts ERP system trainers Functional experts in financials, accounting, supply chain management (SCM), warehouse management (WMS), logistics, customer relationship management (CRM), and other key ERP modules Functional experts in SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics, JD Edwards, and Tier II ERP solutions

ERP Training Tips

Posted by Brevard Neely on August 8, 2011 Leave a Comment Youve heard us say time and time again that no ERP implementation is successful without focused, comprehensive end-user training. No matter how bright you think your people are, no matter how adaptive everyone is to changes and new technologies, there just is no way of getting around it: your staff needs to be trained and then trained again and finally trained some more. Following are a handful of tips to help get your training program off the ground:

Allocate enough time. As our research reports always show, ERP initiatives frequently go over both budget and anticipated duration. By the time training roles around, organizations can be in a rush to get the project done and behind them. Unfortunately, this is the worst time to start cutting corners. Plan to begin training at least 60 days before the ERP system switchover.

Leverage internal resources. Your super-users and subject-matter experts are critical to training success; they know all the ins and outs of the system, the organization and many of the people in the training classes and likely will be effective communicators of important information. Make them key players in the process.

Variety is the spice of training. Taking a rote approach to ERP training is not the way to go. To be most effective, build up your program with several different types of formal and informal training. Options to consider include classroom training, online tutorials, self-study, cheat sheets, hands-on simulations and interactive distance learning.

Connect the new to the old. Rather than throwing enormous amounts of new information at your employees cold, create context by showing them how the new business processes are related to the old. By creating a before and after set-up, youll be able to highlight the many benefits of the new ERP system and make staff feel more positive about the changes in general.

Get your OCM working overtime. Your implementation needs to be enveloped in organizational change management activities long before training begins. An environment where discussions are welcome, communications are frequent, and executives are energized and engaged is an environment ripe for training. Organizations that wait to spill all during training rather than dispersing information as it becomes available, often overwhelm and frustrate the very people they need to make the initiative a success: their employees. Nobody ever said this stuff was easy, but there are proven tactics to make it a little less taxing.

Six Tips for Effective ERP Software Training

Posted by The Consultants' Corner on September 15, 2009 Leave a Comment As Panorama Consultings ERP research suggests, ERP software projects fail not due to software, but because of issues related to people and processes. Effective training and organizational change management is an area that is often overlooked and underemphasized during an ERP implementation. However, our research also shows that successful and best-in-class implementations have one thing in common: effective training and organizational change management. We recently published an article on the SearchManufacturingERP site about tips to deploy an effective ERP training and organizational change management program. Since our clients often turn to us for help with their ERP training and OCM initiatives, we thought we would share some of our lessons learned with organizations preparing for an ERP rollout. The article focuses on six keys to an effective ERP training program: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Focus on business processes, not system transactions Relate new business processes to the existing environment Leverage a multitude of tools for ERP training Train the trainer Allocate plenty of time for ERP implementation training Reinforce training with more comprehensive organizational change management activities

Supporting Your ERP System After Go Live

Posted by Eric Kimberling on October 24, 2006 Leave a Comment Those of us that have been involved with ERP projects know what its like to experience the thrill of an ERP golive. Its exciting, confusing, difficult, and full of opportunity, all at the same time. While it may be a huge step in a long battle, it is by no means a final step. It seems that many project managers use the go-live date as their primary milestone and key measure of success. However, just getting to the go-live date on-time and under budget is just one piece of the ERP benefits realization puzzle. What about the effect the new system has on the organization? Are people using the system effectively? Is the software making the business more efficient? Is it adding value to the organization? These are many questions that go unanswered until well after go-live, which is why it is important to have a solid user support program in place to supplement your technical cutover activities. Although pre-go-live end-user training can mitigate many of the risks that organizations face at the time of cutover, there needs to be additional reinforcement after go-live. For example, core project team members (or superusers) should be leveraged to provide general support and answer simple, process- and system-focused questions. Immediately after go-live, about 80% of user issues are related to lack of understanding of rather than a problem with the system, so superusers should be the first level of support. In addition, providing additional tools, such as cheat sheets and training documentation, will make employees more comfortable with the system more quickly. Refresher training should also be provided as needed on an ongoing basis.

By clearly defining your go-live and on-going support processes as part of your overall ERP planning, you will better leverage your ERP technology to realize real business benefits and ROI from your ERP project.

ERP Success Factor: The Importance of Communications

Posted by The Consultants' Corner on February 12, 2007 Leave a Comment Most ERP project teams understand the value of training. Ensuring that employees understand how to complete transactions in a new ERP system is very important, and training in an ERP software package helps enable that level of understanding. However, much more than training is required to ensure all stakeholders have a solid understanding of the new system and how it affects them. Therefore, it is important to include a comprehensive communications plan as part of your organizational change management and ERP project planning activities. For example, employee communications is just as important as training. Throughout the deployment, employees should be apprised of the status of the project, as well as how and when the rollout will affect them. Employees should know when they can expect to be trained, when they will be expected to convert to the new system, and what tools they will have at their disposal should they have problems or questions. Perhaps most importantly, employees from each workgroup should be informed how their business processes and day-to-day jobs will change. These types of employee communications go a long way to help alleviate the anxiety and confusion of an ERP rollout. In addition to communicating with employees, it is important not to overlook other key stakeholders. For example, customers and vendors also need to prepared for what to expect from your ERP project, especially if you are involved with a high-visibility organization or ERP implementation. What precautions are being taken to ensure customer deliveries arent delayed? Are there changes to the ways orders will be processed? These are just a few examples of items that should be proactively defined and communicated with customers and employees. Finally, but certainly not least importantly, it is important to keep your executive stakeholders informed as part of your communications plan. What is the status of the project? What are the major risks and risk mitigations in place? Where do you stand on budget vs. actual? Regular updates and meetings with key executives should also be incorporated into your projects communications plan. Many of the above items are handled by the project management team. However, often times these items can fall through the cracks and should be handled by the organizational change management team to ensure there is focus on these important activities. These communications are critical to an effective organizational change and ERP benefits realization plan and should be carefully considered during your ERP planning efforts. Covering All Your Bases: The Importance of ERP System Training Posted by The Consultants' Corner on February 9, 2011 Leave a Comment Spring training is finally here! To a seasoned baseball fan, it means the anticipation of a World Series Championship, warm days and cool summer evenings sitting in the grandstands, hot dogs and peanuts, home runs and stolen bases. This time of year also makes me also think about that word: training. Why, you ask yourself, do veteran players need to go through training every year? Since most have played the game for the better part of their lives, wouldnt they know as much as any coach? The answer is simple: no matter how experienced players might be, training is the lifeblood that builds a team, strengthens skills, creates harmony and builds strategy for the upcoming season. Training should be just as important for your employees. Unfortunately, it is often overlooked especially during an ERP implementation. And lack of good training is a hotbed of poor performance.

One of the least scrutinized (and most important) areas during the ERP software selection process is training; specifically, each vendors program offerings and ability to provide training at all levels. Many and dare I say most ERP vendors assume that the project team members will learn as they go. They leave the end-user training up to the team members. What many companies fail to realize is that the team members are so busy trying to make the system do what is necessary to accommodate their processes and needs that they often dont learn all the tips and tricks shortcuts, and problem-solving techniques imbedded in all software systems. Do not let training become a secondary thought during your implementation. Negotiate the need for strong, experienced trainers. Negotiate the time for (at the very least) all department managers to have full hands-on training prior to go-live. Negotiate documented processes and step-by-step instruction manuals. The best software configuration will strike out if your end-users cant navigate through the system, cant enter and move orders without difficulty, and/or cant perform to their usual high standards. If an end-user cannot provide a quick, appropriate and reliable answer to a customer, your company just lost the game. If your vendor cannot provide these services, make sure they can point you to a third-party that can train your employees in your new ERP system and leave you with documentation to assist in further training. And once your consultants have gone, be sure you develop an on-going training plan for your company. Dont leave such an important task to a peer or, even worse, an out-going employee. Make sure your team all the tools necessary (plans, documentation, hands-on practice) to hit one to the grandstand.