We reached out to our best Enterprise Systems Training Managers at Jordack Consultants and asked
them to provide us with their best practices in training employees in learning and the adoption of new
software systems. Here is what they said.
1) Create a Learning Governance Council for the Systems Training Workstream.
Identify from each business unit, a key stakeholder who is available to sit on the governance council and
has insight to the business unit’s audience and operating processes. The councils’ advice is very useful,
and they will help break down any barriers to training deployment within the business unit.
2) Perform a Comprehensive Training Needs Analysis (TNA) on the depth and breadth of training
required “before” committing to the stakeholders on a training schedule.
For example, four weeks of training before the go-live date is easy to state, but, until the curriculum is
developed, is four weeks truly sufficient depending on the number of users, locations, and courses /
sessions to be scheduled? This is one of many things that a TNA will uncover.
3) Design a Training Strategy and Operational Plan.
A plan that is comprehensive enough for the project and one that aligns with (i) the project’s objectives
(ii) the overall project plan and deliverables, and (iii) is integrated into the organizational change
management (OCM) deliverables.
4) Design and Develop Role Based Blended Learning Content for Systems Training.
Learning Producers must consider an array of different learning modalities depending on their audience.
Use walk-through simulations for manufacturing production and warehousing, kick-off systems training
overview sessions for HR and Accounting that is classroom based, provide live online learning support
on desktops using a product such as Walkme. Of course, much of the training can be delivered by digital
learning using tools such as UPK or Articulate Storyline that has embedded systems simulations for
practice.
5) Develop Role-Based Training Paths.
Develop a role-based curriculum, so that the right people, are in the right training at the right time. Be
sure that your company’s positions / job titles are up-to-date and mapped correctly to the enterprise
software systems to the security system.
6) Ensure That Enough Lead Time has Been Allocated to Training Development.
It is critical to have the Training Project Manager involved at the beginning of the project, so that the
necessary planning may be done. Often, the training development work is started way to late in the
project and there isn’t enough lead time to have the training ready prior to the go-live deadline.
7) Avoid Re-work by Developing Training from a Stable Functional Systems.
To avoid rework that will add additional time in costs and schedule for training development, have a
stable functional system. For example, business processes have been finalized and test scripts have
successfully passed. Updates will also occur, but you can avoid the number of changes to the training.
8) Evaluating the Effectiveness of the Systems Training.
As part of your training project plan, build in how you will test the effectiveness of your systems training
during both implementation and post-implementation. This can be done through simulations and
knowledge tests. If you’re not meeting your goals, you can adjust the training as needed to enhance
end-user adoption.
9) Build-in a Transition and Sustainment Plan for The Training Curriculum.
If you are using an outside vendor to develop the systems training, it is very important to have a
transition plan in place on how the training will transition to the company’s HR or Training Department.
They might need their own training on the tools and process to develop different types of content. As
part of the transition plan, be sure to have a sustainment plan in place for the training assets, such as,
when to make changes to the content, how to track changes and how these assets will be put into the
Learning Management Systems.
For a no obligation consultation on planning and implementing your end-user software training, please
reach-out to Brian Petersen directly at 702-850-6036, or by email at:
brian.petersen@JordackConsultants.com.