ERP Training and Stabilization

Implementing ERP isn’t an easy thing to do and early training is considered one of the most important aspect before implementing ERP to your company. Employee needs to gain knowledge in order to adapt with the new system. Without proper training, 40% of the employee will not able to complete the demand of the new system. But it takes a lot of resources to do training session for ERP. Training plan which related to end-user and staff is required. In order to get training effectively, Company need to have multiple method of training. These variety will be more valuable than having a single concentrated training. Users are most often trained by a training staff that first learned how to use the ERP system during the project pilot phase. The figure of the training manager is very important in an ERP project. His major responsibility is “to ensure the availability not only of the instructors, but also to release the various personnel from their normal functions at appropriate times so that they can participate in the scheduled training sessions”. Training should be synchronized with the overall implementation project.  

Formal training of all users is not normally deployed at the beginning of the implementation. Some organizations embark upon training programs several months before the ERP goes live, by which time users have forgotten their training. After user get some training, it is important to evaluate what they have accomplish. This is where training evaluation come. With this proves whether the training has going smoothly or not. One of the most well-known evaluation by Kirkpatrick consist of reaction, learning, behaviour and results. First the reaction level is used to get insight of the participant’s satisfaction. Trainer usually get this by using survey method to get the information. There seems to be 3 kind of reaction that are measured: Enjoyment of training, Usefulness of training, Difficult of training. Second, There are some learning goal that need to be achieved by the participant. These learning goal based on cognitive outcome, skill-based outcome, and attitudinal outcome. By having the result, trainers will know what the user have achieved in the time of their training. Based on this report, trainer know when they need to step up their knowledge transfer. 

After the ERP goes live, the company need to have stabilization state which will happen for months depending on the business state. In this period, all those processes that once were just plans are now being used. New software and processes may be unfamiliar to the users. Hence, there may be problems with the quality of the work, and consequently the system may not operate as it was hoped. To avoid this, it is critical that users get the appropriate training at the right time. During the stabilization period, processing and network response times may not be adequate for the implemented system, forcing changes processing capabilities. Where does support for these problems come from? Internally, the original project team can evolve to provide support for user needs, assist with additional training and make necessary system changes.