If you’ve ever been part of an ERP rollout, you’ve probably heard this line:
“The system is live!”
Sounds like victory, right?
But here’s the truth most ERP vendors never admit:
Going live is not success.
People using the system confidently—that’s success.
After guiding 100+ ERP implementations across manufacturing, trading, and distribution businesses, I’ve learned one lesson that never fails:
Software doesn’t change a business. People do.
If employees aren’t trained well, even the best ERP becomes a very expensive, very complicated spreadsheet.
So how do you train employees effectively—without overwhelming them, confusing them, or burning out your project team?
Let me share what works (and what absolutely doesn’t) based on nearly two decades in real-world ERP trenches.
A Hard Lesson from the Field: What Happened After We Went Live in Delhi
Early in my career, I led an ERP rollout for a major manufacturing company in Delhi. On paper, everything looked good. Data migrated. Interfaces worked. Go-live passed without a major crash.
But by the second day, my phone wouldn’t stop ringing.
Users were lost. Sales orders had the wrong items. Production entries didn’t match BOMs. Finance couldn’t close because inventory values made no sense. And one after another, people showed up at my desk asking the same questions:
“Where do I enter this?”
“Why is it showing an error?”
“Can I just use Excel for now?”
My team spent days putting out fires instead of improving the system. Morale tanked. Leadership grew impatient. And the users?
They quietly—and sometimes loudly—wished they had their old system back.
That experience changed how I think about ERP forever.
Out of that mess came a few non-negotiables I now follow on every project:
- Top-down approval isn’t adoption. Just because the CEO signed off doesn’t mean the shop floor is ready.
- Involve users from day one—not the week before go-live. Their input shapes better design and builds ownership.
- Give them a sandbox to play in—no consequences, no pressure. People learn by doing, not by watching slides.
- Build trust before you build workflows. Fear of looking “stupid” is a bigger barrier than lack of features.
- Every department needs its own Super User—someone peers trust, not just another IT ticket number.
- Simplify relentlessly. One-page cheat sheets beat 50-page manuals every time.
Go-live isn’t the finish line—it’s mile one. Real adoption happens in the weeks and months that follow.
That Delhi project taught me:
ERP success isn’t about technology. It’s about people feeling capable, supported, and clear on what to do.
8 Practical Ways to Train Your Team—Without the Chaos
Based on that lesson (and many since), here’s how I now approach ERP training:
1. Start Before Go-Live—Way Before
Don’t wait until the system is built to talk about training. Start at project kick-off—with why, not how.
Explain how the new system solves daily frustrations:
“No more chasing inventory updates in WhatsApp groups.”
“Your sales commission reports will finally be accurate.”
When people see the benefit, they lean in.
2. Train by Role—Not by Module
A warehouse picker doesn’t need to know how to run balance sheets. Keep training hyper-focused on what each person actually does:
- Sales: quoting, checking stock, tracking deliveries
- Finance: invoicing, bank reconciliation, month-end close
- Production: job cards, material consumption, downtime logging
Relevance = retention.
3. Use Real Scenarios—Just Not in the Live System
Instead of “create a test customer,” let them practice with real products, real vendors, real workflows—in a sandbox. Anonymize sensitive data if needed, but keep the context familiar.
Muscle memory forms faster when the situation feels real.
4. Teach the “Why” Behind Every Click
Don’t just say, “Click here to approve a PO.” Explain:
“This approval locks the purchase, updates your material forecast, and stops someone else from ordering the same item twice.”
When people understand the ripple effect, they care more about doing it right.
5. Appoint Super Users Early
Find 1–2 respected, curious people in each department. Train them first. Empower them to answer basic questions, run mini-sessions, and flag recurring issues.
They’re your force multipliers—and your cultural ambassadors.
6. Make Mistakes Safe (Even Celebrated)
Say it outright: “Break things in training. That’s what this sandbox is for.”
Create a culture where asking “dumb” questions is encouraged.
The goal isn’t perfection on Day 1—it’s learning without fear.
7. Keep Training Alive After Go-Live
Adoption isn’t a one-time event. Schedule short refresher sessions at 30, 60, and 90 days. Share quick “Did you know?” tips in team huddles. Introduce advanced features only when users are comfortable with basics.
8. Measure What Actually Matters
Forget smile sheets (“Was training helpful?”). Track real signals:
- Fewer support tickets week-over-week
- Faster transaction times
- Cleaner data entry
- Higher login frequency
If people are still using shadow spreadsheets a month in, your training missed the mark.
Final Thought: Training Is Change Management—Wrapped in Empathy
At its core, ERP training isn’t about software.
It’s about helping real people navigate real change.
And change is messy. It brings uncertainty, ego bruises, and resistance—not because people are lazy, but because they’re human.
The best ERP rollouts I’ve seen treat training as an act of respect: clear, patient, practical, and tailored. They don’t just teach buttons—they rebuild confidence.
After 18 years, I’m convinced:
The difference between ERP success and failure isn’t the vendor or the budget. It’s whether your people feel equipped to succeed.
Want an ERP Built for Real People—Not Just Feature Lists?
That’s why, at BRS Infotek, we embedded these lessons directly into both Cyprus ERP and Onfinity ERP—not as add-ons, but as defaults.
Cyprus ERP, built in-house by BRS Infotek on proven Adempiere foundations, is designed for the doers: accountants, planners, shop supervisors, and business owners who need clarity—not complexity.
Onfinity ERP, where BRS Infotek is a legal and implementation partner, brings the same execution-first approach with added enterprise scalability.
What both ERPs deliver:
- Unified finance, inventory, sales, and manufacturing
- Simple, intuitive screens teams adopt in days, not months
- Built-in role-based onboarding—no dependency on external trainers
- Smart configuration instead of fragile customization
- Real-time costing, MRP, and dashboards out of the box
- Transparent, predictable implementation approach
👉 See how Cyprus ERP or Onfinity ERP works with your own data.
Request a practical, no-fluff demo with BRS Infotek at www.cypruserp.com or at Onfinity ERP
About the Author
Surya Sagar is the Founder and ERP Solution Architect at BRS Infotek.
With 18+ years on the front lines of digital transformation, he has implemented ERP systems for businesses ranging from 10-person workshops to multi-country distribution networks. He co-designed Cyprus ERP and leads Onfinity ERP implementations as BRS Infotek’s legal partner.
His guiding belief is simple:
ERP should simplify your life—not complicate it.
