Driving ERP Adoption With Change and Learning
A leading food service manufacturer was implementing a new ERP system across its facilities, facing significant employee resistance and training challenges at one key plant location.
Challenge
Previous ERP implementation attempts at this plant was unsuccessful, marked by high turnover, poor training participation, and widespread skepticism. Plant workers had minimal experience with digital systems, and supervisors were unprepared to lead their teams through the change. The client needed a partner who could not only relaunch the training effort but also rebuild trust, boost readiness, and ensure every employee had the support and knowledge to succeed.
Result
Our integrated change and training approach led to measurable improvements and a successful launch.
- Employee optimism significantly improved after the first readiness survey.
- Readiness metrics increased by 10%, reaching 89% confidence in go-live preparedness.
- Over 95% training completion rate across 569 delivered sessions.
- 176 employees successfully trained with minimal post-launch support required.
- ERP go-live was smooth, with high employee adoption and strong client satisfaction.
Solution
To drive successful adoption of the ERP system, CARA provided a team of Organizational Change Management Consultants and professional Technical Trainers. Our team delivered a comprehensive change and training roadmap.
- Conducted stakeholder interviews to assess plant culture, readiness, and risk factors.
- Delivered leadership coaching and alignment sessions to strengthen supervisor engagement and accountability.
- Relaunched awareness through Town Halls, special events, and targeted communications.
- Developed customized eLearning courses and hosted an interactive ERP Fair to generate interest and understanding.
- Delivered an 8-week instructor-led training program, including realistic “Day-in-a-Life” simulations for both supervisors and operators.
- Supported a brief 3-4 week stabilization period with targeted hypercare.
A leading food service manufacturer was implementing a new ERP system across its facilities, facing significant employee resistance and training challenges at one key plant location.
Challenge
The client, a large decentralized insurance firm, wanted to ensure more effective upskilling of its field-based agents. TPrevious ERP implementation attempts at this plant was unsuccessful, marked by high turnover, poor training participation, and widespread skepticism. Plant workers had minimal experience with digital systems, and supervisors were unprepared to lead their teams through the change. The client needed a partner who could not only relaunch the training effort but also rebuild trust, boost readiness, and ensure every employee had the support and knowledge to succeed.hey also wanted to reduce redundant spending and duplication of efforts, modernize Learning and Development approaches, and leverage a consistent operating model. They needed to shift to a focus on results and relevance by developing new skills and capabilities, increasing knowledge retention, building communities, and improving agent performance.
Result
To drive successful adoption of the ERP system, CARA provided a team of Organizational Change Management Consultants and professional Technical Trainers. Our team delivered a comprehensive change and training roadmap.
- Conducted stakeholder interviews to assess plant culture, readiness, and risk factors.
- Delivered leadership coaching and alignment sessions to strengthen supervisor engagement and accountability.
- Relaunched awareness through Town Halls, special events, and targeted communications.
- Developed customized eLearning courses and hosted an interactive ERP Fair to generate interest and understanding.
- Delivered an 8-week instructor-led training program, including realistic “Day-in-a-Life” simulations for both supervisors and operators.
- Supported a brief 3-4 week stabilization period with targeted hypercare.
Solution
Our integrated change and training approach led to measurable improvements and a successful launch.
- Employee optimism significantly improved after the first readiness survey.
- Readiness metrics increased by 10%, reaching 89% confidence in go-live preparedness.
- Over 95% training completion rate across 569 delivered sessions.
- 176 employees successfully trained with minimal post-launch support required.
- ERP go-live was smooth, with high employee adoption and strong client satisfaction.
The Story
Our client, a leading food service manufacturer, was in the middle of a company-wide ERP implementation. Each plant and location presented its own unique challenges from differences in size, culture, and preparedness to openness to change.
An added complexity was that employees were accustomed to a legacy system that required minimal digital literacy. As a result, workers needed foundational knowledge and upskilling before transitioning to a new ERP platform.
Assessing the Starting Point
While several locations had already transitioned, one plant struggled with earlier rollout attempts. Issues like employee turnover, resistance to change, low training attendance, and skepticism toward the ERP system had stalled progress.
CARA was brought in to reset the launch, rebuild trust and confidence, and ensure a successful ERP implementation all within a tight timeframe.
Laying the Groundwork with Culture Insights
We began with a strategic roadmap to guide our efforts. The first key step was conducting stakeholder interviews to assess plant culture, readiness, and potential barriers. These interviews uncovered more than 30 key themes that shaped our change and training roadmap.
Our approach focused on:
- Supervisor upskilling to foster accountability and visibility
- Transparent communication to build trust
- Personalized engagement to meet employees where they were and boost confidence
Building Buy-In Through Learning and Leadership
We partnered with plant leaders through individual coaching and group sessions to build leadership alignment, promote accountability, and ensure clear communication during the transition.
To ensure knowledge retention and readiness, we built a blended learning experience that included:
- Foundational eLearning modules
- Engaging awareness campaigns and Town Halls
- An interactive ERP Fair to introduce employees to new tools and systems in a hands-on way
- “Day-in-a-Life” simulations to help employees understand how their roles would change with the new ERP system
Measuring Progress and Delivering Value
We tracked engagement and readiness throughout the process using employee surveys. The results indicated:
- Increased employee optimism about the upcoming changes
- 10% increase in readiness metrics, with 89% of employees reporting they felt prepared for go-live
Deliverables-At-A-Glance
- 200+ communications delivered
- 80+ ERP Connect sessions held
- 176 employees trained via instructor-led training
- 569 instructor-led training sessions delivered
- 95.8% training completion rate
Final Impact
With high employee engagement, prepared supervisors, and clear communications, the plant achieved a successful go-live. A short stabilization period and minimal need for hypercare confirmed the value of our approach. Both leadership and front-line employees reported high satisfaction, and the ERP system was adopted smoothly.
