How can you become an effective ERP trainer or facilitator?

1 Know your audience

Before you design and deliver your ERP training, you need to understand who your audience is, what their needs and expectations are, and how they learn best. You can conduct a needs analysis, a learning style assessment, and a pre-training survey to gather this information. Knowing your audience will help you tailor your training content, methods, and materials to suit their preferences, goals, and challenges.

2 Use a blended approach

ERP training can be delivered in various formats, such as instructor-led, e-learning, self-paced, or on-the-job. Each format has its advantages and disadvantages, depending on the topic, the audience, and the context. To maximize the effectiveness of your ERP training, you should use a blended approach that combines different formats and provides multiple opportunities for learning, practice, and feedback. For example, you can use e-learning modules to introduce the basic concepts and features of the ERP system, then use instructor-led sessions to demonstrate and explain the specific functions and processes, and finally use on-the-job coaching and mentoring to reinforce and support the learning outcomes.

3 Engage your learners

ERP training can be complex, technical, and sometimes boring for the end-users, especially if they are not familiar with or interested in the system. To overcome this challenge, you need to engage your learners and make your ERP training relevant, interactive, and fun. You can use various techniques to engage your learners, such as storytelling, gamification, scenarios, simulations, quizzes, polls, discussions, and case studies. These techniques can help you capture and sustain your learners' attention, motivate them to participate and learn, and relate the ERP system to their real-world situations and problems.

4 Evaluate your training

To measure the effectiveness of your ERP training, you need to evaluate your training using different methods and criteria. You can use Kirkpatrick's four-level model of evaluation, which consists of reaction, learning, behavior, and results. Reaction refers to how the learners feel about the training, learning refers to how much they learned from the training, behavior refers to how they apply the learning to their work, and results refer to how the learning impacts the organizational goals and performance. You can use various tools and techniques to collect and analyze the data for each level of evaluation, such as feedback forms, tests, surveys, interviews, observations, and reports. Evaluating your training will help you identify the strengths and weaknesses of your training, as well as the areas for improvement and follow-up.

5 Keep learning and improving

As an ERP trainer or facilitator, you need to keep learning and improving your skills and knowledge, as well as staying updated on the latest trends and developments in the ERP field. You can join professional associations and networks, attend webinars and workshops, read books and articles, and take online courses and certifications to enhance your professional development. You can also seek feedback and mentoring from your peers, managers, and clients to improve your performance and credibility. By keeping learning and improving, you can ensure that you deliver high-quality and relevant ERP training that meets the needs and expectations of your audience and organization.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?