Avoiding common training and project control issues

Avoid common training pitfalls

Not having a training budget is the most common training issue. The next most common is not using the training materials. To avoid this and other issues, check that you are watching for the common pitfalls listed below. The most common reasons why your training program might run into difficulty are listed below in priority order, starting with the most common issues:

1. Make a training budget first covering Readysell on site days and remote training
2. Not planning your training from the start. Don't try to learn Readysell without a plan
3. Not using the training materials. Just starting Readysell and trying to do things "by the seat of your pants" will not work
4. Get the first one hour data review meeting right:
   1.  Set a time to walk though the Stage 1 Readysell Verification Checklist with Readysell before you start your training
   2. Make sure you understand which data has been imported and what you have to do to check it
   3. Sign off the data import before you start the rest of your training program
5. Not following the training guide. Before starting any training, agree a training plan for all staff with Readysell, agree weekly targets and log the plan into your shared project planning excel spreadsheet. Lack of planning or control of your training program is the thing most likely to cause the training to fail. 
   1. Make sure all staff members know how to access the training guide. This is a very common issue.
   2. Make sure they can bookmark the training guide into their web browser (by pressing F1 in Readysell then right clicking on the help page and selecting open in new window) 
   3. Don't make up your own training program. Work through your learning in the order specified in the training guide 
6. Not taking part of the responsibility for controlling the training program. Readysell can help, but you have to take joint responsibility for controlling the training process. Common issues include:
   1. Not reviewing training progress with Readysell on a weekly basis. Set the day and time of the week when you are going to talk to Readysell to review training progress and stick to it! Review training progress with Sharon on Readysell's training team each week and check to see if you are reaching the agreed targets.
   2. Not checking with all team members that they can access Readysell, have USB headphones and scanners etc. as required for training
   3. Training the project leader but ignoring the rest of your team or parts of your team. Don't train yourself and ignore other team members
   4. Not running, at least weekly, internal training sessions and internal meetings to share the knowledge gained and to make sure all you team members are keeping up with the training
   5. Leaving too many staff members to learn the system in the last few days or even forgetting to train some staff members until after conversion
   6. Not requiring that each team member record the time they spend on training and any issues they come up with in the shared excel spreadsheet
7. Get the first one hour training session on training procedures right. Not understanding the training procedure covered in the first training session is a common issue. Readysell will organize a first training session with you about how to use the training materials. Unless you understand everything covered in this first training session your training program will not work. The first training session is critical. The key point of the first training session is:
   1. Don't just watch the training videos. Watch the video then enter an example into Readysell:
      1. The training guide contains a substantial number of videos and step by step 'cheat sheets' on how to enter transactions 
      2. Make sure you enter an example of what you have learnt into your Readysell system after you watch each video
      3. For example if you are studying the training guide section on sales orders. Watch the training video on sales orders. Then start Readysell and enter a sales order. If you get stuck, read the step by step instructions on entering a sales order, re-watch the video and try again. 

Avoid other common project issues

To avoid the most common implementation issues, follows those tips:

1. Carefully check your sell prices and contracts before go live date! You are provided with checklists on how to check sell prices, but prices are often not checked properly. Take a lot of care, also get Readysell to schedule time to help you, when checking pricing as part of completing the stage 2 and 3 data review checklists
   1. Schedule Readysell to help you complete the data review checklist 2 in respect to sell prices. It is common for users to not completely test pricing options. Getting Readysell to help is good insurance.
   2. Think about any custom pricing you have, be it contract prices, government prices, special price levels. We routinely find special prices have not been tested or communicated to Readysell. 
   3. Do not be casual about checking prices as part of data review checklist 2 and 3
2. Get the first one hour training progress meeting right. There are a number of steps that have to be completed by the first training progress meeting. If you tell us those issues are under control, but they are not, your training program will not work out:
   1. At the first training review meeting we have to go over the common pitfalls above
   2. Be as open as possible, if you have any doubts about the common pitfalls above, let us know
   3. Get any issues identified fixed before you proceed with any further training
3. Don't try to do everything on the go live date. Take your time and reduce pressure by implementing features more slowly using a post implementation plan:
   1. List the things you want to start doing after go live date
   2. Implement each new feature one at a time. Allowing time after go live and before implementing each new feature for the existing feature set to settle down.
   3. Agree your post implementation plan with Readysell before go live date