Free advice for improving your printing organization.

Maximizing Your Print Management Software ROI:
User Training

A Management System can provide significant benefits to a printing organization including improved customer relationships, reduced costs, enhanced efficiencies, and increased profits. However companies often underutilize the potential of their system.

Studies from Profectus and other research organizations consistently show that businesses never use 40% or more of all application functionality. Often companies are unfamiliar with all the capabilities of their MIS due to ineffective training, “crash courses” to quickly get a system operational, and cutting training investments.

To reap the greatest benefit from a management system, a printing organization needs to master it. To master a system, a company should gain a thorough understanding its capabilities, appropriately invest in initial and ongoing training, and consider embracing best practices that may be incorporated in the system.

The single most important assets of any company are its people, their experience, and their knowledge. The people operating the system and using the information provided by the system will determine whether your implementation is successful or not. Giving them the proper tools and teaching them how to use them are essential to your success. Your business management system is one of the most important tools you can provide to your employees.

Never assume that your employees will be able to learn the system and use it with minimal training. A company should expect to invest at least 15%-20% of the software cost on training. If you try to reduce the investment cost of your new system, training is the very last place to cut costs.

It is not necessary for the software provider to train all of the users in your organization. Use a train-the-trainer approach and have your best people trained by the software provider. These people develop the proper skills and knowledge to become the in-house trainers and then train other users within your organization.

The training does not end after the system is operational. Over time, new features and enhancements are added to software. Employees may move around in your organization, new employees may be hired, or the original trainee may no longer be available.

An annual budget for training will ensure that everyone is consistently taking full advantage of the system’s capabilities. Take the time and invest the funds necessary to determine exactly what training and education is required by each person, and then provide it for them. The better your people are trained on the capabilities of the software and the information it provides, the more likely your organization will maximize the system’s potential.

Craig L. Press is president of Profectus, Inc, a national consultancy that helps printing organizations implement best business practices and maximize the value of their information technology investments. www.profectus.com