You're facing resistance from employees on ERP changes. How will you get them on board?

To mitigate resistance in ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) implementation, engaging people effectively is crucial. Here are some strategies: 1. Communication and Transparency: Regularly update employees about the project's progress, benefits, and impact. Clear communication helps in reducing uncertainties and misconceptions. 2. Involvement and Inclusion: Involve employees from various levels and departments in the planning and implementation phases. This inclusive approach can foster a sense of ownership and acceptance. 3. Training and Support: Provide comprehensive training and ongoing support to ensure employees are comfortable and proficient with the new system. Addressing skill gaps can alleviate fears of incompetence.

It is must to have a Core team (representative employees from each module) who are well experienced and system savvy who can represent their departments. Additionally there can be some 'Show and Tell' sessions in which these Core team can involve one more layer of users for their views and comments on ERP solution elements being implemented. Sometimes we get very practical or operation level suggestions to include and smoothen the process flow. With this the employees too feel heard as well as part of the ERP implementation process. Also they get better understanding to system requirements thereby can be helpful during Master Data collection. So engaging during solution finalisation can be of great help.

Logrando definir Un plan que ayude a visualizar un crecimiento y utilización del erp en labores de las personas no se puede medir lo que no se utiliza, como decía Henry Ford los recursos se emplean o se utilizan.

The business goals, objectives and expectations of the ERP initiative need to be effectively communicated at the beginning of the ERP implementation project to all relevant stakeholders. They must be informed of its progress to ERP go-live and continuous business process improvement throughout the ERP lifespan. Appropriate training, ERP user acceptance testing and ongoing support are different ways to mitigate resistance to change and promote the adoption of the ERP system by the employees.

Clear Communication of Benefits: Communicate the benefits of the ERP changes clearly and directly to employees. Highlight how the changes will improve efficiency, reduce workload, or enhance collaboration. Address their concerns and show empathy towards their apprehensions. Training and Support: Provide comprehensive training sessions tailored to different user roles to familiarize employees with the new ERP system. Offer ongoing support through helpdesk resources and dedicated support personnel to address any challenges or questions they may have during the transition period.

Clearly articulate why the ERP changes are necessary. Communicate the benefits in terms of efficiency improvements, better data accuracy, streamlined processes, and enhanced decision-making capabilities. Acknowledge and address their concerns and uncertainties about the ERP changes. Listen actively to their feedback and provide transparent explanations or solutions where possible. Help employees understand the broader context of the ERP changes within the organization’s strategic goals and long-term vision. Explain how these changes align with the company’s growth and success.

First we need to make people aware why change is needed and we are not having any impact on existing data and also need to convey the key benefits of new ERP over older one. The UI of new ERP also should be making tasks easier to interact with everyone and for each thing we should not have any dependency on technical team. Also we need to consider key business users who are in the core of ERP users and they are not much technically exposed so we need to explain them how the new ERP is going to save the cost of organization.

In my experience the success of ERP implementations largely hinges on user adoption and comfort with the system. Unfortunately, many organizations overlook the critical aspect of training, prioritizing secondary or even unnecessary customizations, flashy automations, and complex reporting dashboards. When proper training is provided: - User satisfaction significantly increases. - Business efficiency reaches its full potential. - Business processes become streamlined. - End user mistakes are minimized. - The need for ongoing support and troubleshooting is reduced. - The organization can fully leverage the capabilities of the ERP system. - Change management becomes more effective, facilitating smoother transitions.

Begin by assessing the specific training needs of different employee groups based on their roles, responsibilities, and familiarity with the ERP system. Create comprehensive training materials that are tailored to different learning styles and levels of expertise. Detailed guides on navigating the ERP system and performing key tasks. Online or in-person interactive modules that allow employees to practice using the ERP system in a simulated environment. Plan training sessions that accommodate employees’ schedules and preferences. Consider offering multiple sessions to cater to different shifts or departments.

Training is an important change management activity which occurs during and after ERP implementation. It provides ERP knowledge and skills about its concepts, detailed features of ERP modules relevant to every user and hands-on ERP experience. The learning outcome is about confident employees who are motivated to use the ERP in the workplace with ongoing ERP user support. With post-implementation ongoing training of new ERP modules and upgrade features, they are engaged in constructive feedback for continuous business process improvement enabled by the ERP system.

Begin by actively listening to employees’ concerns without interruption. Take notes and ensure that each concern is fully understood before responding. Validate their concerns by acknowledging their perspective. This shows empathy and demonstrates that their feelings and opinions are respected. Offer clear and transparent information about the ERP changes, including reasons for the change, expected benefits, and how it aligns with the organization’s goals and strategy. Help employees understand how the ERP changes will impact their specific roles and responsibilities. Provide concrete examples or scenarios to illustrate the benefits and changes they can expect.

Soft skills are needed to clearly understand the ERP requirements and feedback of employees during ERP requirements gathering and definition, training, testing and support. These must be considered for selecting the best-fit ERP system and continuous improvement of the deployed ERP system.

Alongwith early engagement of employees, having some awareness sessions about overall ERP solution shall bring positive perspective from employees. There can be illustrations in form of 'Day in Salesman's life post ERP' or similar for other module roles, can give a comparative how the new system will be more easier to work with and provides lots of information to take decisions on. Common benefits of no repetition of inputs, transaction tracking, reports at fingertips, Dashboards, Alerts etc can be quite understood.

The ERP benefits are streamlined business processes with real-time and accurate information and analytical insights for improved decision-making with reduced risks. A well implemented, maintained and supported ERP system enables lean management for improved customer satisfaction, employee productivity, revenue and profit margin.

Progress can be monitored with key performance indicators like turnover, operating margin, customer churn, inventory turnover and manufacturing cycle time measured by the ERP system. Their trends and patterns can be visualized as charts and graphs in role-based dashboards and storytelling to enable appropriate decisions and actions for continuously improving the operational and financial performance of the enterprise.

Resistance to change is often a result of fear. Try to understand what it is the people who are resistant are afraid of. For some it may be that they can see their jobs will be different when the new system is implemented and they don't like the uncertainty of that, or even of feeling like the new person all over again in a job they were comfortable and confident doing before. For others it may be they can see the efficiencies the new system will bring and they're genuinely worried if they'll have a job moving forward. If you can show them how they can be more valuable to their organisation in the new system and the improvements it will bring, the fears can subside, and those who were most resistant can become almost evangelical