Do you understand the dangers of joyriding with business software?
What is the impact if the end-users of the management software have not had enough training to obtain their ERP/CRM ‘driving license’?
Did you ever drive before you had your license? Pretty dangerous, right? A fender-bender was the least of your worries. Driving a car without enough training is a huge risk. And can cause major damage. With a big material impact that can haunt you for years. But what about the use of business software in your organization? What is the impact when the end-users of your business software haven’t had enough training to get their ERP/CRM? driver’s license? An analysis.
Traffic safety is important. So the rules of the road are there to keep us safe. It’s how we make sure a would-be driver is skilled enough. A driver license is issued only after a convincing demonstration of those skills. And everyone understands that getting this license costs (a lot of) time and money.
How different it is with business software. Even though you can cause a lot of damage with the improper use of an ERP/CRM system, there is still no oversight. Not from government nor, indeed, from your own management! What’s more, it’s usually the company’s very management that considers training and instruction as too costly. And it’s often one of the first cost elements negotiated downward in the buying process.
Let’s be honest. The vendor offering the greatest number of training days is usually the one first crossed off the shortlist. Too expensive of course! Surely you realize that this increases the chances for project failure?. And recent hires end up being trained by their colleagues. It’s the blind leading the blind.
The potential consequences of this approach are disastrous!Your users make a mess because they’re not qualified. Even more likely is that they’ll probably continue their carefree use of information islands in Excel or Access. At the end of the day, you’ve come no further: another day older and deeper in debt..
So if you really strive for project success, you need always ensure sufficient training! During the implementation process, of course. But also when upgrading to new versions.And when hiring new employees. After all, that is the only way to prevent joyriding with your business software..
