When Implementing New Software, Training Staff Properly Is Key to Success

Our favorite bookkeeping guest blogger is back! Heidi Seal from Bay Business Services shows us how to pimp the sales funnel with WorkflowMax.

Why it’s important to train staff properly when implementing new software:

Implementing new software into your business can be an exciting time and yield tremendous results, but if staff are not trained properly then you will never reap the full benefits! Here are some good reasons to invest in and prioritize training your staff properly if you are considering rolling out new software:

Staff training contributes to employee engagement

There can be a variety of thoughts and feelings towards new software from different staff members – each person is going to have preferences, tendencies and strengths that may affect their attitude to adopting new software. Having great staff training will not only show the ‘why’ behind the ‘what’ so your staff can understand how it will make their life, and the organization better from a big picture perspective – it will also give them a sense of confidence as they interact and start using the new software. If they have confidence in themselves as a user, they will be less likely to duplicate what the software does in their own external manual systems

Staff training adds to your bottom line

An often hidden cost of business can be the time spent making mistakes, fixing mistakes, hiding mistakes, bluffing through mistakes and putting in place long-winded workarounds. This is all time that could be better spent chasing new business, improving organizational systems, completing billable work or having team building time. Not only can mistakes be time-consuming to fix, poor use of new software can lead to on-chargable time or cost slipping through the cracks.

Though it may cost you to invest in the first instance in your staff training, it will pay dividends down the track as your bottom line becomes more transparent and robust

Staff training will illuminate the full capabilities of your new software.

I often come across businesses who skip receiving training on software they’ve adopted. They’ve been using the program for months or even years and are unaware that there is functionality that is available to them they’ve never used. A prime example of this in WorkflowMax is the Collaboration Manager, Document Management integration capabilities and Job Financial Summary.

Many businesses who have not received proper training may only be scratching the surface of what this software can do for their business – it’s a real shame and a big opportunity that is missed to maximize efficiency and reporting.

Staff training gives the opportunity for customized learning

Having a staff training plan will allow for you business to hone in on the unique scenarios that are relevant, and receive training specific to your needs. It also allows for different level staff to receive different level training – for example field staff will have different access levels and different interaction with the software than higher level management or administration. Simply sending employees to watch generic help videos (although a good starting point) does not allow for questions to be asked, scenarios to be worked through, customized reporting to be explored or hands on help to be offered. Each business is unique, so it makes sense that training also needs to be unique to an extent to be truly helpful and relevant.

Don’t let comprehensive staff training be an afterthought when implementing new software into your business. It is a worthwhile investment that will definitely yield your business great returns!

Heidi Seal is the Director of Bay Business Services — A leading Bookkeeping business based in the beautiful town of Tauranga, New Zealand. She loves running, volleyball, trying new recipes, and going to local cafes. She blogs about Small Business, Cloud Computing, and more at Bay Business Services. You can follow her on Twitter @heidi_seal.