Change Is A Good Thing

Change Is A Good Thing

Have you seen the tip jar that has a sign stating, “Change is a Good Thing”?  Of course, the tip jar is only referring to putting your change into the jar so that the employees of said establishment get money. Nevertheless, the play on words makes me giggle. The double meaning of it and the complete sincerity as well. Money, change, is a good thing when it is being received. Change is a good thing when it leads to improvement. However, is change a good thing when you are spending it? Is change a good thing when your changes take time to adjust to and can lead to errors or problems while learning the change?  

When it comes to upgrading your software, the struggle in answering this question is real. How and when do you decide that the change to upgrade your Dynamics NAV software and the change to daily routines is a good thing? With enough research into upgrading, you will find that this change IS a good thing. The real question is, how hard will this be, and how best can it be handled?

Fear of Change

Not one formula will answer these questions, but our job at ArcherPoint is to assist you in making the change as easy as possible. Many of our ArcherPoint blogs discuss the cost-benefit of upgrading from a technology standpoint (see links below). There is no doubt about it; it is a good thing to invest in better products and better ways to streamline your business.

I acknowledge that while change may be a good thing, it is not always easy. We all know that changing the way you do things on a daily basis can be hard, time consuming, and potentially increase risk in erroneous data entry. Learning a new interface and a new daily routine to getting your job done is not simple. Everyone, including the top technologists, know that when it comes to learning a new system, the struggle is real.

This struggle leads to a resistance to change, and thus stops us from making necessary updates. In my professional career, I see this resistance constantly. Prior to being a NAV consultant, I was completing a government audit at a city development agency. The majority of this agency’s employees were over the age of 60 and had been working for the organization since their 20’s. Here is the kicker; they still used a pencil accounting ledger! In fact, it was hundreds of ledger books. Every year, the Audit Report stated that the agency needed to move off this routine and obtain a financial software to record accounting transactions. Every year it was explained that they simply could not teach the older staff to use computers and upon the said staff’s retirement, they would begin to invest in current technology. It was in this organization’s best interest to protect their life-long employees and provide a safe place of business. So much of me understands, respects, and supports this thought process. However, this is not a best practice to keeping your organization running successfully.

Dynamics NAV and Change

I share the above story, because this is what I see in the NAV world. In the 6.0 (2009) release of Dynamics NAV, clients had a choice to begin using the “Role Tailored Client” (RTC). It was not until 7.0 (2013) that clients were forced to use the RTC. What I see now are hundreds of organizations that are just not ready to take the leap to such drastic changes that lead to re-training employees and risking errors and frustrations that could potentially halt their business routines on a daily basis. It is this fear of change that keeps organizations on versions prior to NAV2013. Upgrading from 4.0 – 7.0 happens almost seamlessly from an end user standpoint, but with a completely different user interface, the stakes are higher.

If you are one of these organizations, know that you are not alone. Not only are there organizations struggling with this, your Microsoft partners struggle with this. I have worked with NAV versions as early as 2.0, and I have spent most of my NAV career as a functional consulting living and breathing in the “Classic Client.” I loved the Classic Client and it was hard for me to switch to the RTC. However, as a functional consultant in a world of technology, not only is change inevitable, but it must be embraced. It is in the first page of software consulting ‘doctrine’ to understand that once we fully learn one version, we must learn again as the new version is released. In addition, our duty to you is to help you with this transition every step of the way.

So, is change really a good thing?  Yes, it is; especially with software upgrades. However, we know that change is not easy. What I am here to tell you is that all employees can embrace the change from Classic Client to RTC. There are some really interesting things happening within the RTC and it is my job to guide each of your users to finding the better ways to use the system. As the Functional Consultant on the Upgrade Team at ArcherPoint, I work with your end users every step of the way. Together, we will design a testing and training plan that will ease the tensions of change for all employees. We will identify pain points and put full attention where needed to allow each NAV user the space to see the true value in the positivity of change.

Stay tuned to my future blogs on specific tips and tricks for moving from the Classic Client to the Role Tailored Client.

Below are links to more information on the benefits of changing/upgrading Dynamics NAV:

Top Problems for Dynamics NAV Classic Client Users

When is it Time to Upgrade Dynamics NAV?

Reducing the Cost of Upgrading

ArcherPoint Upgrade Services

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