Companies invest in enterprise software with the primary goal of enhancing productivity and efficiency by supporting business logic. The right software solution can perform various business functions including bookkeeping, accounting, customer relationship management and order processing.
Because EAM, CRM and ERP software and other enterprise applications perform a variety of key functions, they often require a substantial amount of investment. As such, some companies may make the mistake of investing in the most affordable system they can find without giving any thought to how easy it is to understand and use.
Some organizations, on the other hand, invest in systems that come at a premium price. Because of the substantial capital outlay involved, they will keep using and relying on this system even if it is already outdated or in need of a replacement or upgrade.
Effects of Having a Poor Enterprise System
When an organization has a bad enterprise system and employees are having a difficult time using it, the following outcomes ensue:
- Employees go back to using Microsoft Excel or other applications
- They stop making use of the software, or use it less than expected
- They provide negative feedback about their difficulties or issues
- They simply leave their job
Certainly, the fourth effect is something that no organization desires. No company wants to lose their top talent simply because the employees are experiencing poor enterprise software usability.
Enterprise Software Usability and Employee Retention
IFS, a leading provider of software consulting services, conducted a study among executives at industrial companies regarding enterprise system usability and got the following results:
- 26 percent said they will definitely or are somewhat likely to change jobs over poor software usability;
- 45 percent of executives aged between 36 and 45 years said they will definitely or are somewhat likely to change jobs over poor software usability;
- 33 percent of executives aged 46 years and older and 56-plus cohorts said they will definitely or are somewhat likely to change jobs over poor software usability.
Digital disruption requires effective change management. As the results show, people aged 36 years and above who are hold executive or managerial positions are the ones who will potentially leave their job because they have issues with the enterprise system. And chances are, they will move to a company that has better business technology.
But how do employees consider a tech to be poor?
According to the same study, the executives who participated stated they were not overly worried about the software having a feeble interface. They were also not demotivated by multiple steps a new process may require.
Rather, leaders in the business were more concerned about other aspects such as the software’s capability to be upgraded to meet or keep up with the business’ new or growing needs. In addition, they are concerned about the inconsistent functional conventions between one element of an application and the other.
The key takeaway from this study is that due to enterprise software usability issues, you may lose your most seasoned, talented high-ranking employees.
Signs You Need a New Enterprise System
You don’t have to wait for your top talent to resign to know that you need a new enterprise system. You have to look out for these signs that indicate you need to upgrade or change your software:
- More and more employees are starting to conduct tasks outside the enterprise system
- Communication (between employees and clients or customers and among the team members) is taking place outside the system.
- The software does not have the important features that are now considered standards for your industry.
- Some minor systems such as ERP, EAM, FSM and CRM are not yet integrated into the current software.
- Rampant work duplication in the system.
Today, digital change is at the heart of every business. It facilitates and streamlines various significant processes and functions. It can expedite the growth of a business. More importantly, it plays an important role in retaining top talent – the people you will need to sustain and bolster business growth.
If your technology is not reliable, your business will suffer. Your employees will as well. If you don’t want to lose your high-level executives, know which issues they often encounter with your current software. Do not hesitate to invest in a usable, agile and reliable new enterprise system to drive your organization forward to the future.