Picture this: You’re a key member of a team responsible for implementing ServiceNow at your organization. The stories are written, the code is developed, the legacy applications are consolidated—you can practically taste the GoLive cake. Everyone agrees the software is intuitive, and it certainly seems that way to you after months of work. So, you wonder, do you really need to spend time and money on user training?
In fact, a better question might be: Do you really want to speed up your time to value and avoid service disruption at and after Go Live? And, do you really want to build ServiceNow advocates who champion the platform from day one, driving user adoption? Of course you do!
Even for the most intuitive software, user training is an essential part of your implementation strategy. The best user training plans comprise awareness campaigns, champion support by influential leaders, and hands-on skill-building.
Below are the top three ServiceNow user training myths, debunked.
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Myth 1: People will figure it out. We’re turning off the legacy platform anyway; they won’t have a choice.
Fact: Even the most intuitive software can be frustrating when you’re first learning it, especially when it’s a change from your old habits. That frustration can lead to low or slow adoption of critical features, resulting in service disruption at GoLive and a longer runway to your ROI, eroding support for the platform. User training allows you to shape the change story around your digital transformation and ensure that the software is being used as-designed.
Myth 2: We don’t have the time or budget in our project plan for user training.
Fact: Get creative with your timeline to incorporate user training. User Acceptance Testing (UAT) can provide a window to create training materials, which can be scaled super-fast through digital training content. As for budget, industry studies show that one hour of training saves five hours of lost productivity1, and that digital transformations are 50% more likely to succeed when training is offered to develop specific skills. So, skipping user training means you end up paying more for the total cost of ownership (TCO).
Myth 3: Users don’t want to sit through a long training session, anyway. They like to learn on-the-job.
Fact: That may indeed be true for many users. But, there are many ways to get creative with training so that it’s at your users’ fingertips when they need it. In-application guided tours, short recorded videos, quick reference cards, and other training modalities can supplement, or even replace traditional instructor-led training where appropriate.
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The challenges of a ServiceNow implementation can make it tough to find the balance between urgent and important tasks. Former American President Dwight D. Eisenhower once said:
Especially whenever our affairs seem to be in crisis, we are almost compelled to give our first attention to the urgent present rather than to the important future.”
User training may not be the urgent present of your ServiceNow implementation, but I guarantee it is a key element of your important future. Planning for that future now will drive long-term platform success and value.
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The Ask a Training Expert blog is published monthly by members of the ServiceNow Training Solution Consulting team. For more information about ServiceNow Training and Certification, visit our website. Please comment on this article to see your question featured in upcoming blogs.
