Every company has a "Joe". Joe is the guy who began working for the company right out of high school. He's worked there for 19 years and is now in a supervisory role in the warehouse or the plant. Joe hates computers. He uses a cheat sheet to perform only those tasks required of him on the legacy system. The word is out that Joe has threatened to quit if he has to learn SAP. (You know he can't afford to do that, but his negative feelings need to be handled now, rather than later.) Joe is very knowledgeable in his field and highly respected by his peers. It's entirely possible that Joe's attitude toward SAP will be critical to buy-in by others in Joe's area. Your job is to figure out how to roll out corporate-wide SAP training without rolling over Joe. Where do you start? 

Prior to Training:

• Identify all the "Joe's" in the company.
• For each "Joe", identify a trainer or mentor who can gain his trust or establish a rapport.
• Have the trainer/mentor involve Joe in a few relevant process and configuration discussions early on, so Joe has an early understanding of how things will work.
• As the configuration process advances, give Joe a tour through some screens and transactions. You may need to tell him that you need his approval, or would like his opinion of the transaction process.
• If Joe has not used a PC or a mouse before, enroll him in a continuing education class at the local university, or a computer store class. If necessary, enroll him in an online class or work with him privately.

During Training:

• Before each training session that Joe will attend, take him aside and train him privately. This again may need to be under the guise of getting his opinion of the functionality, or even helping you determine the scope of the training session. Be certain he's had the opportunity to practice with many of the screens and transactions that will be covered in each class before he attends it.
• Take every precaution to ensure that Joe is not embarrassed in front of his peers.

Obviously, you cannot invest this amount of time and effort with many of your staff. However, you should be able to make time for those identified as most critical to the future of the company.

Before "Go Live":

• Create a Quick Reference Guide of the SAP transactions Joe will use. This should include a description of the task, the menu path to access the transaction, and the Trancode shortcut for the transaction. It might also include a procedure number that maps to a documented procedure that Joe can refer to for further details. Figure 1 shows a brief example of a Quick Reference Card for MM staff using SAP's Apparel/Footwear Solution (AFS).

Figure 1: Example of a Quick Reference Card

• Create customized user menus on Joe's SAP desktop so he can easily find and access important menus. (System>> User profile>> Start user menu)
• Give Joe a tour through his customized menus, Quick Reference Card, and documentation.

Post Implementation:

• Provide Joe with a "mentor" who can provide support in a subtle fashion. Remember to also have a mentor on hand for those first end-of-month and end-of-year tasks.
• Remember to check in on Joe occasionally. Many users get through the first few months without a hitch, but lose confidence as they attempt to perform additional tasks or master new skills.
• If Joe is a person who enjoys recognition, be sure to send kudos, awards, etc. to bolster his confidence.

With these tips in hand, you should be well equipped not only to salvage the "Joes" in your company, but to convert them into confident users and SAP supporters. Ready to get started? I suspect you have a "Joe" in mind right now. 

Cheryl A. Cave, Managing Editor, SAPtips. Cheryl has acted as project manager for several multi-million dollar SAP training initiatives throughout North America. She has been in I.T. management for more than fifteen years, including data-center management, project management, change management, systems analysis, data modeling, quality management, and business process reengineering. The bulk of her career has centered around Information and Training design and delivery.