1. Learning While Operating
As helpful as it might be, businesses cannot stop operating to get their employees up to speed on their new business software while it’s being implemented. Consequently, the operators, whether employees, customers or administrators, must adapt to the new system while still using the old one. Learning a new system of doing things while still having to continue business operations as usual means that employees don’t have as much time to spend learning the ins and outs of the new system. This can be a frustrating situation if they’re being asked to work in two systems at once, especially if the implementation timeline demands a several-months-long switch over. Besides hosting training sessions and making a variety of helpful materials available, this frustration may be very difficult to overcome, simply because operators are being asked to learn new things while still having to keep up with the demands of the business, and operate partially on the old system.
2. Poor Training
Training should be the number one priority of companies switching over systems. Unfortunately, that’s not always the way changing software works. Whether it is the tech help team of the new system that isn’t providing the right training, or management not having sufficient time to fully educate their employees, good training can be difficult to come by for some companies. Training that doesn’t require huge blocks of time, such as on-demand support via instant messenger or email, or a series of brief, informative videos, is ideal, especially for employees that are working both the old and the new system at the same time.
3. Data Entry
This is a very straightforward, predictable issue that so many companies run into, especially those who don’t have the resources to hire temporary data entry employees. Handling data entry along with normal day-to-day business operations can be stressful on all levels, and can be one of the biggest challenges involving business software changes. Anticipating and planning for the amount of work, as well as parsing it out among the workforce over time may help alleviate some of the related stress. Switching over computer software can be an exciting transition that increases productivity and workflow, but the process can be difficult and filled with surprise time-eaters. Knowing about them ahead of time can help ease the issues you face and get you on the right track quicker and easier.
