A Narrative on Training Within a Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations Implementation

Training within a Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations implementation is often a touchy subject. Often, when negotiating a proposal with a partner, training is the first thing that gets cut to reduce the (sometimes) enormous costs of an implementation project. I am not fully opposed to this method of cost reduction, but a company, and their partner, need to be mindful that their users are getting what they need throughout the implementation. As adult learners, what can we expect to get from the implementation process?

Adult Learning

The concept of adult learning, or andragogy, is an important concept because teachers and trainers often define how users get training using pedagogical methods, or how children learn. Andragogy versus pedagogy is important when defining how to train your users.

When considering the adults in your organization, they often bring many years of experience to the table and need to understand how the new system will affect their work life. They should be motivated to learn how the system works and how their work will be defined in the future.

For example, an Accounts Payable Clerk does not need to understand how accounts payable works and the theory behind the accounting methodology. They likely learned this in college using pedagogical methods. Now, as an adult learner with years of experience in the field, they need to get hands-on experience that will support what they already know. They will be intrinsically motivated to understand how the system works because it affects their daily work.

By learning new systems, they also build on their existing knowledge and can then be more marketable when they have worked with multiple ERP systems and bring experience to new roles throughout their career using these systems.

Train the Trainer

One method of cost reduction that is often used is the “Train the Trainer” methodology. This method can be successful, but companies need to ensure that they are selecting the right people to train their end users. This method will include training for a small group of team members who will then use their new knowledge to train their colleagues.

When this method fails, it is usually due to lack of engagement of the team members who were brought in to train. This method works best when the designated end user trainers are heavily involved in the design of the system and get hands-on experience early in the process.

Information Osmosis

Okay, so information osmosis is not a technical term, but it is something that I have observed that seems to work well for adult learners. The process of osmosis is a biological term that effectively means absorbing or sponging up a low concentration solution or solvent into a higher concentration solution or solvent. The same occurs with information when users are exposed to the meetings where decisions are made, and they can see their partner providing a demo of the solution. After repeated discussions and demonstrations, while sprinkling in some practice and hands-on experience in these meetings, users begin to understand and absorb the process of their future state in a safe environment.

Information osmosis is not the only benefit of including the end users in the process. By including them, they feel a sense of buy-in with the solution and will work harder to make sure the system works to meet their needs.

Classroom Training

Classroom training is often requested as companies close in on their pending go-live, even if it was initially removed from the implementation proposal. When this is requested, it can be because the users haven’t been involved or feel overwhelmed by the amount of new information being thrown their way. Classroom training will bring all affected users in a room together to learn how to do their jobs using step-by-step instruction in a safe environment. When I say safe environment, I mean both a system environment (because we should never complete training in our Production environment) and a safe space for learning where questions can be asked of the trainer and users can be guided through their processes.

Documentation

There are many ways to provide documentation that will aid users after their new system is live. Perhaps there is a process that is not used very often, but when it arises, needs to be handled a very specific way. In this instance, having documentation to refer to would be beneficial. This can be as simple as a Microsoft Word document, or as complex as a Task Recorder file that can be accessed through the company’s Business Process Modeler (BPM) library, available through the user interface. Task recordings are a great reference tool that can be accessed through the system that will guide users through the steps of the process. This will stay with the users and can provide benefit to them for a long time.

Additional Learning

Because we are adults, we are intrinsically motivated to learn more to as we continue down our career path. How can this system provide benefit to me? Is there a way I can streamline this process? There are several ways to continue growing as an adult learner within the Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations world.

• Microsoft Learn: Microsoft provided documentation online written by Microsoft to help users learn how to use their technologies.
• Conferences: Many user-led conferences exist, such as Community Summit, to bring users together to learn, network, and find solutions. There are great resources available at these conferences.
• User Groups: There are many D365FO user groups in different regions of the world where users congregate to learn, network, and talk about how they use the system.
• Learning Partners: Some partners exist solely for training. They offer live classroom training, asynchronous online training, and documentation for end users. Because this is what they focus on, their training is often top-notch, and they will work with you to define the best method of training for your organization.

Conclusion

Training is important, and companies need to understand what motivates their users. As adult learners, we all want to do a good job, and it can be frustrating when we are working in a new system and don’t understand what we need to do. Ensure that your users have what they need to be successful, and your post go-live transition will be tremendously easier and smoother than if the users do not have what they need to succeed.

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