Training planning is an essential part of ERP implementation. It is more important because you are training business users who are used to a different process or system, and are completely new to this new system and processes.

Put together a training plan that covers the following points:

• Understanding the audience: How quickly are your users likely to catch up with the changes? The training plan needs to be defined accordingly to support their transition.
• Train the trainers: Consultants train the trainers, who are the business superusers or internal business analysts. The idea is to train superusers through multiple rounds of CRP sessions – training and testing to get them up to speed on the system in order for them to be trainers. The trainer approach will ensure that the business SMEs or internal business analysts have gotten up to speed well enough. It will reduce the dependency on the consulting team post go-live, and internal resources can be your tier-one support.
• Scope of training/areas to be trained: You need to account for both system and process changes. There are three usual cycles of the training process: UAT training, end user training, and post go-live (training for areas that are struggling).
• Logistics: This includes factors such as meeting rooms/travel, centralized versus location-specific, and much more.
• Training schedule and timing: Timing is key. In some areas, you may need to train the users multiple times to ensure that they are comfortable. On the other hand, areas that have not changed much may only need light training close to going live, to ensure that the users don't forget.
• Training assessment: This pertains to the ways and methods that you will use to get feedback on the training process.
• Training material and user manuals: Reviewed with the business SMEs, they may come in different forms, for example, checklists, Visio for business processes, documents with screenshots, recorded videos, mapping between the old and new world, and/or a combination of multiple methods. The development of the training materials should be agreed on at the beginning of the project – in the planning phase – so that appropriate time and resources are built into the plan.
• Signing off: Define the sign-off process and the criteria for training sign-off. It is one of the major considerations for go-live.
• Handling change: The usual human psychology is to resist change. ERP implementations are not only system changes but, often, process changes as well. These changes may shift jobs or workloads from one department to another. It is important to factor this resistance into the planning. Training is a good opportunity to help prepare people for the change. The more training you provide, the higher the confidence that the users will have in embracing the change, and you will receive less pushback.