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of the time. ThThis speeds the training process and provides the greatest usage of the new system.
Keep communications flflowing freely with employees so they understand how the new software implementation is going, who is benefiting, and what the overall impact is on the business’ growth and competitive advantages. The more each employee understands how their efforts to change processes affect the business, the more likely they are to invest time and energy into making those changes.
Offer training incentives for employees to encourage them to use the new soft- ware. These incentives can range from cer- tificates and plaques to gift cards or cash.
Provide a variety of training formats, from online to in-class. Give employees the choice of when to take the training, allowing them to consider their current schedules. Give them plenty of advance notice of when the training must be completed.
Ask for feedback from the trained people by sending out a survey throughout the implementation and training processes to make sure the vendor is on the right track. Then rely on the surveys to guide how the vendor is doing and what they can do better.
Offer virtual or in-person workshops monthly, which can be a forum for advanced users to pick the brain of the vendor engineers and other power users. A vendor may also offer introductory courses that cover all the essentials. For example, a workshop on construction bidding software would cover estimating, bidding, quoting, pricing and reporting.
Ongoing online learning that can be consumed at the employee’s own pace is another option. Giving each employee access to this learning environment will provide them with as-needed refreshers on performing specific actions with the new software.
User’s Group Meetings (UGMs) are another excellent way to provide training. Customers send executives, project managers, fleet managers, and others to a UGM hosted by the vendor. At the conference, attendees are treated to hundreds of classes they can choose based on their interests. UGMs are also an excellent place to network with other users to understand how they use the software.
UGMs can include Q&A with developers who will discuss where the product is now and where it is going. Users can provide the vendor team with feedback to help with their software roadmap.
Software training is important. When businesses invest in employee software education, they get a better return on the
REFERENCE
softftware they purchase.
Melody Hollis is the Education Services Manager for HCSS.
Maureen Mallach is the Manager of Professional Services for HCSS.
1. https://www.gartner.com/en/human-resources/insights/organizational-change-management
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