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End User Training During Software ImplementationFor many business owners or managers, making the decision to implement a new software system is a difficult one to make. Oftentimes, the changes and risks that come with a software implementation can discourage those business managers who are looking to streamline their company’s processes and improve overall efficiency with a new system. There’s a ton of information out there on the advantages of using an efficient, up-to-date ERP system but not that much on how to properly handle an implementation phase. No Software Provider wants to scare their clients right from the get-go but this is definitely the wrong approach. By not educating the new software users and providing all the necessary information right from the start, all parties will suffer during the implementation phase.

Therefore, to begin with, it’s important to know the possible risks involved in such a project. This can include failure, user resistance, employee stress and anxiety, improper use of the system, misunderstandings, problems, doubts, fear of change etc. In order to ensure that these risks are eliminated or reduced, end user training is definitely required. These trainings will provide employees (or end users) with the right amount of attention and skills needed to help them acclimate to new processes (that have been changed by the new system implementation) as well as to the new system itself.

You can begin by creating a training plan then scheduling it accordingly, by department or simply by department heads and managers. Trainings can be given either in small groups or on a one-on-one basis. Documentation of course will also be provided to ensure that employees can easily access a “how-to” guide on using the system.

Once these trainings are underway, its advantages will be quite evident since trainings can alleviate stress, combat fears, bring acceptance to the system, reduce system errors and misunderstandings. Bottom line, when software users are properly educated on new functionality and processes, it’s a WIN-WIN for everyone! The trainings will teach end users the necessary skills needed to prevent problems and to use the system in the most efficient way possible. Individual performance will improve thus increasing productivity. Business managers will be happy as well as Software Providers.

As a Software Provider, our team truly understands just how important it is to pay attention to the USERS (or employees) and their needs during an implementation phase, rather than on solely the system itself. We realize how difficult this time may be for some people, especially if they have been used to working with the same processes and systems for years and have developed habits and routines in their workplace. Introducing a new software management system, with new processes, can disrupt their work life and this most definitely can cause stress and fear.

As a complete ERP software implementation can typically take about 12 months, it’s important that during this time, everyone is working together, as a team, for a successful and smooth phase. No surprises or headaches!

Project ManagementIt’s time to ditch those Excel Spreadsheets and long Email threads you’ve been using to manage all of your company projects and tasks. I love Excel, don’t get me wrong – but it simply is no longer efficient and reliable for project and task management.

It’s 2016 and it’s time to bring efficiency to a whole new level in order to stay competitive and keep up with our ever-changing business environment. Your Excel sheets lack collaboration features and are too time consuming. Important emails can get lost in the whole mix of project threads and don’t allow project information to be easily searchable. What does your company need then to add value and increase productivity? Project Management Software, of course, that is also optimized for mobile integration. Read more

User Training for New ERP Implementation – Done Right!

In many of my previous articles, I repeatedly mentioned the term “user resistance” when it came to implementing a new software solution at a company (no matter its size). I tend to put quite a bit of focus on user resistance since this happens all too often at companies and it can easily be stopped (with a bit of work of course)! Read more

Inventory!!! Here’s my answer in one simple phrase: Track your stock properly!

This may seem like such an obvious thing to do if you are in the Manufacturing industry but funnily enough, there are still tons of companies out there that are not tracking their inventory correctly or with the proper tools. These companies are then left with either too much or too little inventory. How can this affect their business? Read more

Last week, we published an article explaining why proper business data protection should be taken seriously in this day and age. Today, I will dig a little deeper and go over 4 main questions every business executive should ask him/herself in order to assess if their current backup and recovery process and solution are effective and complete to reduce or even eliminate downtime. Read more

Business ImprovementWe are already nearing the end of the first month of 2016. I am sure you are all already swamped in a crazy workload. Back in December, we gave our readers a post-holiday mission – to sit down after the busy holiday season, once things calmed down, in order to carefully examine their company’s current processes to find areas that can be improved and simplified. This would allow business owners and executives to then write down some objectives that they’d like to accomplish during the coming year. Read more

Millennial WorkforceCan one generation truly make such a big difference in the business world? Absolutely!

Millennials are quickly becoming the largest generation in the workforce. According to Dan Schawbel (Forbes, 2013)3, “by 2025, Millennials will account for 75% of the global workforce”. Compared to the Gen X’ers and Baby Boomers, Millennials go into the workforce with different work and culture expectations. They expect transparency, collaboration, a great company culture and tech innovations. Read more

Namtek Consulting Services' Top 10 Blogs from 2015We’ve compiled a list of our most read and shared blog posts in 2015. These posts cover tons of different topics ranging from EDI communication to Productivity Apps to ERP Implementations to IT Business Tools.

False Advertisement: The Truth about ERP Implementations

This article really touched upon the negative experiences of ERP implementations at businesses. It goes on to answer the question: “Why do companies have such terrible software implementation experiences?” Our experts’ conclusion was that either their ERP Provider is only providing them with half-truths about implementations to sell their own products OR business executives make their own assumptions and do not do the proper research required beforehand. Getting the RIGHT and TRUTHFUL information from IT Providers as well as doing your own research on implementations is absolutely critical. Read more to get the real story behind those false statements about ERP Implementations. Read more

BoostingEfficiencyThere are tons of big and small ways to increase a company’s operational efficiency. In order to stay ahead of the competition, it’s critical to focus on what your customer really wants from your business (& how you can provide it faster and cheaper), figure out how work really gets done by your employees (manage and improve your business processes), and remove any obvious inefficiencies like unnecessary manual data entry, continuous order delays, overproduction, etc. Read more

Business Tools: ERP, Business Intelligence, Business Continuity, eCommerceIt’s hard to ignore all these new tools and apps on the market used for personal or business use. Take a look at Slack, a great communications platform for office use, or Hubspot, for marketing automation and CRM, or even Hootsuite, for social media automation. All of these tools have grown exponentially over the last few years in the business world. There are many more game-changing business trends ahead and today’s list is built on ‘integration’, ‘automation’, ‘visualization’, ‘SaaS’, and ‘disaster recovery’. These trends are nothing new; they are simply making their way to the smaller players. Large enterprises have had their fun with their tools and apps over the years; it’s time the smaller businesses have some fun as well. I’ll focus on the top 4 game-changing tools that will be used by small and medium businesses in the coming year and how these tools will change processes and performance for the better. Here we go; Read more