Three Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Enterprise Applications

One of the most significant investments businesses make is in enterprise software packages. However, most businesses are not fully capitalising on their investments. Often companies only use a few basic features, even when paying for deluxe packages. However, there are three things you can do to get the most out of your software investment:

·      Invest in advanced training

·      Give employees the chance to explore the software

·      Commit your management team to being fluent in the software

Invest in More Than Basic Training

Often vendors offer basic employee training as part of the fee for an enterprise level software package. But, that is as far as most businesses go with the training. If you want to get the most out of your software your employees need more than just basic training.

Negotiating a deal with your vendor or a third-party consultant to give your team advanced training will pay off in three different ways. First, where basic training yields basic results, advanced training will make your team experts with the software. This increases your productivity. Second, investing in advanced training sends the signal that you are committed to your team. Employees have more incentive to learn the software because they see you are serious about it. They know that the new package is not just a trend that will quickly be replaced by something else next month. Third, when you invest in advanced training you show your vendor you are a valuable customer. The more familiar you are with the software the better your questions will be when you need technical support, and the better service you will receive.

Allow Employees to Explore the Power of the Software

The best way to learn software is to use it. However, if employees are limited to only using the software for work tasks they are less likely to become fluent at it. The cost of making a mistake is too high.

If you want your team to really understand how your enterprise software works, give them time to explore it. This means allowing them to make mistakes in a way that won’t harm the company or your customers.

Allowing employees to use the software in a sandbox-like environment increases their skills and leads to discovering innovative uses for the software.

Make Sure the Management Team is Fluent in the Software

Leadership is all about example. If you want your employees to understand the software at a deep level, it is important the management team can speak fluently about the software.

When it is clear that the management team is willing to get into the weeds with the software it sends a clear message that the package is a company priority. Employees will be more likely to take any training you offer more seriously and to spend their own time learning all they can about the software.

If you want to get the most out of an enterprise software package you don’t want a team of casual users. You want a team of power users. But, you cannot get to that point without first investing in their development, giving them opportunities to practice, and leading by example.