You’ve done the ‘hard yards’ to achieve a successful roll-out of new functionality – it was a quality software build that has been thoroughly tested, users were given adequate training and the deployment project went like clock-work. That was a month ago but user are not adopting the system as expected and data quality issues are getting worse, not better. Users are starting to complain and management is threatening dire consequences if the situation is not fixed soon.
What went wrong? The software is good so it must have been the training … right? Perhaps not!
The fact is, up-front training is rarely enough. We all know the feeling of ‘drawing a blank’ when trying to recall what was taught in the training room. A combination of information overload and lack of context leaves even the quickest learners with gaps in their knowledge.
When users have this experience, the challenge becomes how to get the information needed to fill in the gaps! Dig out the training manuals … ask the person alongside you … stop what you’re doing and call the Help Desk? These all cost time and interrupt workflow …. there’s a better way!
The ability to embed contextual, process-related guidance for users within the screen they are currently using not only increases the speed of system adoption, but also drives on-going process compliance and data quality.
To be fully effective, an online contextual help system must –
- be user selectable – expert users can turn it off,
- be visible when enabled so that hints and reminders at instantly accessible,
- provide links to more detailed information including graphics,
- allow users to instantly provide feedback on information quality or other needs, and
- be easy to maintain so that information remains fresh and relevant.
With this type of support, users have a higher level of ‘comfort’ … a feeling that help is at hand and frustrations can be dealt with before they become an annoying distraction.
Not only are users happier, but the business benefits from faster, more efficient adoption of new, improved business process automation.
The S P Keasey team has delivered over 50 Salesforce projects with a number of them being large Fortune 500 deployments. Working with an experienced change management team makes all the difference.