Cost savings in training and support
Erin Pidcock, Operational Development Manager for Multiplex, faced the challenge of delivering global training for the new system, in addition to providing continued support to users as each region went live. At IFS World Conference, Pidcock saw a ClickLearn demo and was excited about the value that it could provide. Multiplex has around 1,000 IFS Applications users, 250 in finance and 750 in projects (construction). Pidcock is responsible for the continuous training and support of the Projects group.
The burden to continuously travel around the globe to perform ERP training in remote locations, or go to the expense of flying users to Sydney for training on IFS Applications centrally, would require considerable cost and be an inefficient use of employee time. ClickLearn provided a new option. Pidcock commented, “Multiplex has achieved large cost and time savings in training using ClickLearn. I can create amazing training videos with ClickLearn and include the entire background context that in the past I had to deliver in person. Now, we can deliver the training where the people are, and nobody has to travel anywhere.
After purchasing ClickLearn, Multiplex’s first priority was to create about 120 videos covering 8 key IFS Applications modules. “I launched ClickLearn to all our Multiplex sites globally, in April,” said Pidcock. “The instructions showed users how to make ClickLearn their home page in IFS Applications, and in that first month support desk ticket numbers dropped by 33%. Since then, we have seen a steady reduction in ticket numbers each month, despite more projects and users being added into the system. Our longer-term goal is a 50-75% reduction.
BENEFITS
- Reduces the cost and time to traind and support IFS
- Users train and learn at their dest with videos and a live guide inside of IFS
- Reduces Help Desk Calls by 50% or more
- Eliminates concern about whether everyone has the current version of work instructions
- Creates well formated work instructions with a uniform look and feel
Initially, we had 2 people, full time for 6 months creating and revising work instructions, they had about 40 in Word document format. Then, after each region’s go live, there was a constant revision cycle to keep everything up to date with system changes and our teaching approach. With ClickLearn in about half that time, I’ve created 120 work instructions in Word, PowerPoint and video formats, plus the virtual assistant. And the videos are such high quality. There is just no comparison between the manual way and the ClickLearn way.
But the best feature is the ClickLearn Virtual Assistant. I tell people, ‘just turn on the virtual assistant, you can work within your real project and it’s not going to let you do anything wrong.’ That live guide is just brilliant.
Erin Pidcock, Operational Development Manage, Multiplex
Trainers and end users find ClickLearn easy to use and make it an essential addition to their IFS software
Pidcock and other Multiplex trainers had no difficulty getting up to speed on ClickLearn. She explained. “Learning how to use ClickLearn wasn’t hard. The key for me was to put the techniques into practice as quickly as possible. After my first 7 or so work instructions, I was good to go. I created about 120 work instructions in just a week. Editing took some time, but that was just because I was adding specific company and regional context to the process information that ClickLearn did for me.”
ClickLearn creates uniform documentation, which is very important to effective communication and user acceptance. “With ClickLearn everyone is learning the same thing, the same way, and we know that communication is effective and efficient. We’ve never had globally uniform training materials. They make a big difference to everyone.
If anybody comes to me and says they want to get IFS Applications, I would say to them, ‘that’s great, but to ensure you benefit from IFS Applications faster and even more efficiently, you’ve got to get ClickLearn also.
Erin Pidcock, Operational Development Manage, Multiplex
Keeping process documentation current is also easy with ClickLearn. “To replace a work instruction,” said Pidcock, “we just upload the new ClickLearn recording to our SharePoint site. It immediately appears in all of our users’ Learning Portals in IFS software. That’s great because we are 100% certain that everyone is always using the current version of every work instruction. In the past, with work instructions on paper, we could never be sure that all our users had scrapped the old one and had the new one. Now we don’t have to worry about that. Also, we can update and share new training material very quickly.”
Multiplex’s end users adopted ClickLearn quickly. “Our IFS users really like ClickLearn. It gives them what they want when they want it right at their desk. When I go around now, I hear IFS Applications users telling others, ‘if you don’t know how to do that, just go into ClickLearn and it’ll show you how.'”
“We’re growing so fast that the demands for training just can’t be met in the traditional way. With ClickLearn I have a channel that all the new users can tune into and they get exactly what I would give them in person.”
Pidcock Says, “if anybody comes to me and says they want to get IFS Applications, I would say to them – that’s great but then you must get ClickLearn also.”
Looking forward to IFS Applications 10 and centralizing the IFS user experience around ClickLearn
Pidcock commented, “Multiplex and IFS are in for a long relationship. Now we’re looking to the future and for even more ways to do more with IFS software. And we’ll never go live on any IFS application again without ClickLearn work instructions being in place.”
Multiplex is also planning further advances in their use of ClickLearn. “We plan to make ClickLearn the official home page in IFS Applications for our commercial users, that’s 600 or 700 people. So they’ll have the IFS Navigator along the left side of the home page and the ClickLearn Learning Portal in the center of the page,” explained Pidcock.
Beyond that, Pidcock said that her next stage is to create a ‘Tips and Tricks’ section in ClickLearn as well as a troubleshooting facility. “You type in the error that you’ve got and ClickLearn automatically brings up a ‘how to fix it’ response. That’s really what support does these days anyway, so we plan to automate that process using ClickLearn’s capabilities.”
About Multiplex
Multiplex is one of the world’s largest global construction companies. Multiplex has been delivering landmark property, commercial structures and infrastructure assets for more than 55 years, with a focus on sustainable growth. Founded in 1962, Multiplex has completed over US$66 Billion work to date and has an annual revenue of approximately US$4 Billion. The company has offices in Australia. the Middle East, United Kingdom, Canada and India. With almost 3,600 employees worldwide, Multiplex has earned some 630 awards and estab¬lished itself as a leader in the residential, health, retail, commercial, tourism, education, engineering and infrastructure sectors.