You’re reviewing a new CRM that would be a game changer for your business. Everything from the sales demos to the customer reviews and the 14-day free trial has made it clear you need to purchase this software. But once purchased, completing an entire implementation process might seem like too much of a time investment. So, you decide to install the software, offer one training to employees and try to make it work.

You’re not alone. Many business owners purchase and install software without taking the necessary steps to implement it successfully into their day-to-day operations. However, for any such investment to be worthwhile, you must take the time to set yourself, your business, and your employees up for success. I promise it will make all the difference. You’re more likely to reach your goals if every team member using the software understands what it should be used for, how to use it, and the value it brings to their role and the company overall.

What is Software Implementation? 

Software implementation is a series of steps businesses follow when incorporating new tools. This process covers everything from choosing and purchasing new software and setting related business goals to technical configuration and employee training. Below are a few key steps you’ll want to take advantage of when implementing a new piece of software into your business.

4 Key Software Implementation Steps Critical to Success with Any Piece of Software? 

  • Develop an Implementation Schedule: This might be the simplest yet hardest step to take action on. Setting aside time for long-term projects, especially in today’s age of convenience and efficiency, can be challenging. However, creating and executing an implementation timeline for technical configuration, employee adoption, training, continued updates, etc., will only set you and your company up for success. Bring your stakeholders together to develop this timeline and then start executing. Side note: Strategic planning is crucial, but start acting once you have a timeline and milestones outlined. Don’t get stuck color coding timelines when you could be moving forward with the plans you’ve set forth.
  • Technical Configuration: In this step, you’ll work with key stakeholders, the vendor, and your friendly neighborhood IT consultant (if you’re working with one) to define and customize the various aspects of the software to fit your business needs. Ensuring the software is customized to your business will save you time and energy in the future.
  • Integration: In this step, you’ll move existing data into the new software. This step can be done manually or through automatic processes but ultimately depends on the capabilities of your old software and the new tool. It’s great to get the vendor and your IT consultant involved in this step to ensure you have support should there be any challenges. Ultimately, if you can, I suggest using automation to transfer the data to save your internal team time while reducing the stress around the project.
  • Employee Training: You can have a strategy and a timeline. You can configure the software beautifully. But if your employees aren’t comfortable using the tool and don’t see its value, you won’t see optimal results. You must train your employees on what the software can do, why it is crucial, and how it enables their success as individual contributors. These training sessions should occur during initial implementation and continue on a regular schedule throughout the software’s lifetime at your organization. As the software evolves and is updated, employees should be allowed the opportunity to up-level their skills with the tool.

Conclusion:

Software can work on its default settings to a certain degree. However, most software companies, even those with imitated customizations, assume that businesses will configure software to best fit their business needs.

To ensure optimal success, you want to strategically plan your integration timeline, increase efficiency by configuring the software to fit your business needs, move pertinent data and information to the new software, and train employees to leverage the software to its fullest potential. Software implementation is crucial to obtaining the total value of your investments and knowing how to approach such a process can be overwhelming. Having your managed service provider step in and help lead this effort will save you time, headaches, and money down the road.