The SAP Observation Deck

Failure to launch. Preventing poor user adoption

Because there are so many technical, project management and application design considerations that accompany a new system implementation, it’s easy to forget the human element of a new project.  Within the business, the people who are impacted by the new system are bound to be feeling some anxiety – some are happy with the ‘old way of doing things’ and see no need for change, some are worried about whether their job will be redundant when the new system launches and some won’t like the fact that they have no control over designing the processes they’ll need to adhere to some time in the future.

 

This focus on the human factor is backed up by a raft of statistics. One article recently cited that some 85 per cent of project success is dependent on factors related to people. Further, Gartner believe that 17 per cent of ERP implementation budgets should be dedicated solely to training – with those companies that spend less, putting their entire project at increased risk of failure.

 

So to help you have a more successful system launch, here are a few ways to help neutralise potential user hostility and garner support from the user community.

 

Create awareness - give the project its own identity:

A new system is a big deal for the business, so create some buzz around it. Use a project codename and run a competition to get users involved in suggesting and selecting a new system name. The project and/or system name can be used to tie together all your communications and help to increase recognition and familiarity. Using a slogan can also help people to understand what the new system is there to help the company achieve.  

 

Communicate at every opportunity:

 

If you have an intranet, develop a microsite for the new project. This can be used as both a marketing and support tool. Create a user forum and seed with a few FAQs to bring in visitors and encourage them to ask questions.

 

To help people understand why change is needed, create flyers, posters and emails that talk about how it will help employees, departments, business units, external customers /suppliers and the company as a whole.

 

Ask your board level sponsor to write regular internal communications detailing progress on the system development.

 

Create short articles for company and departmental newsletters to educate users about how the system will contribute to the future success of the business.  Feature project updates and have Q&A write-ups that talk about how managers expect their departments to benefit.  

 

Remember that not all staff may have access to email. For these members of staff you can use update posters on staff notice boards and flyers on any coffee tables and lunch areas. 

 

Listen and Learn:

 

Although you may have already had some conversations with business users during the scoping stage, it’s worth taking additional opportunities to talk again with key users of the current system to find out what they like/don’t like about it. User adoption can be made much easier by listening and responding to their feedback in a positive way.

 

Offer to present at departmental meetings and gatherings and be sure to invite feedback. Keep the board updated on progress through presentations and feedback sessions.

 

Provide lunchtime sessions for users to take a look at the new system and take a test drive. Use these forums to understand key concerns - and ask attendees to complete confidential feedback forms based on what they’ve seen.  

 

If possible, provide key users with some pre-launch test functionality. Offer reward and recognition for timely participation and feedback.

User Acceptance Testing should be a fundamental part of your project - not a box ticking exercise - and it will be helpful to start this initiative sooner rather than later.  

 

Help users understand how an implementation project works – and why their suggestions for system enhancements may take some time to be incorporated (or may not be included at all).

Countdown to Launch:

 

Get the training program underway as soon as possible and incorporate a few ‘train the trainer’ sessions for key system users.

 

Keep users informed.  If dates slip or timelines change then communicate this as soon as possible.

 

Create an FAQ card for the launch phase. This can include: how to login, who to call if help is needed, shortcut keys, dates for training  and how to report suspected system errors etc.

 

Set expectations – there are always a few issues that need fixing post-launch.  Tell users what the process is for reporting errors, what information you need from them to help you fix them, and what the timescales are for responding.   

 

Post-Launch:

 

Offer a program of confidential ‘user surgeries’ in the days and weeks after go-live to ensure that people who aren’t comfortable in classroom or online training environment can fully understand their particular areas of the system.

 

Send regular updates featuring hints and tips, ‘surgery’ dates, keyboard shortcuts, planned new releases and feedback on some of the user suggestions that have been received.

 

Keeping talking to your users – organise forums to get feedback and understand their concerns – and make sure that you act on it!

 

Organise a post-launch party to celebrate go-live and recognise the major project contributors.

 

Investigate industry award programs and nominate the people involved in its inception, development and roll-out.

 

If you need any help in your SAP user adoption programs please do get in touch – I’ll be happy to help!

 

Yours,

 

 

Laura

 

 

Is social media the final nail in the IT Exhibition coffin?

This week we have a crack team of Invenio personnel exhibiting at an IT conference in Sri Lanka.  A decade or so ago, corporate IT departments were in the midst of a love affair with the tradeshow.  Each year, millions of delegates would converge at various conference centres in various locations around the world to see the very latest technologies on the market (or, in some cases, watch a powerpoint of soon-to-be-available technologies!). The big vendors would spend hundreds of thousands of pounds, dollars, deutschmarks and yen to attract us to the biggest, flashiest and outré stands that were stuffed with as much tat as you could stuff into your branded exhibition satchel.  The market for stress balls and branded mints never had it so good.

But then came the internet.

With a few notable exceptions including the traditional “XYZ User Conference”, everybody wants to do business sitting behind a computer screen. These days it seems, businesses search for prospective suppliers through the proliferation of social networks that have sprung up. Blogs, discussion forums, twitters, facebook and linkedin are no longer the must-have accessory for the technology marketing fashionista - they are a mainstream requirement for IT suppliers everywhere if you are to stand a chance of getting on a shortlist.

Of course, social networking isn’t a new concept – it has in fact been around for decades in the guise of usenet and listserv et al...  but its elevated position in how we use it to find new suppliers – has all but replaced the range of human interaction provided by an exhibition.  

In his recent blog entitled “The Social CIO”, Alastair Behenna wryly stated “I’m going to have to leverage my “social” skills if I’m to succeed in “consumerising” corporate IT.”  This, in response to a Gartner press release that declared a new dawn in which we’ll have occupations that include “virtual-assistant designers ... who create Web beings that replicate the actions of a human being in providing agent services on the Web”.  OK, I’ll look forward to that.

But (bringing this blog back to its original subject) I think that social media is a poor substitute for real world business networking.  The delegates in Sri Lanka get to shake hands with our CEO and have a proper conversation about how we can work together. They get to ask questions and get unrehearsed, PR-free answers. They get to see our team in action - and we get to look our prospective new customers in the eyes. And these are the things that this blog can never do. 

Social networking is a great tool (in spite of my previous protestations!).  But I think we’ll all be a bit better off if we keep a degree of human interaction in our business dealings with each other. And that means getting out of the office and into the exhibition hall to press the flesh and grab a few stress balls to give to the kids when you get home.

Yours

Laura, Marketing Director and Chief Blogger