SAP Education division saves companies millions in training

The education division of enterprise software giant, SAP, saves its customers millions of rands during the lifespan of a SAP implementation - not because it provides a training solution but because it provides a business solution.

So says Solution Manager of SAP Education in South Africa, Jaco van Zyl. "We help companies extract maximum value from their SAP package so that it continuously contributes to the bottom line - from the earliest days of the implementation to its replacement in, say, 15 years' time. We achieve that by assisting all levels of their staff to understand how best to use SAP to realise the company's business objectives. For instance, we help their executive team re-engineer strategies and objectives based on the business-enabling potential of SAP. And we get end-users up to speed very quickly on the practical application and potential impact on the business of SAP.

"In other words, we work with customers to tailor an education strategy that ensures their SAP solution pro-actively helps turn their business strategy into profit.

"In many cases, SAP Education actually kick-starts a company's move to continuous learning and effective knowledge management - because our education strategy integrates every aspect of an organisation's activities, including their non-SAP learning activities."

Van Zyl points out that, while companies understand that their SAP users need to be trained, they think in project terms and, therefore, that training is only necessary during the SAP implementation or upgrade.

"But knowledge transfer is an ongoing requirement. Introducing a system like SAP brings change - which generates the need for additional education to, at worst, cope with the change or, at best, turn the change to the organisation 's advantage. That brings a fresh cycle of change and education. And that's regardless of the external dynamics of the marketplace that trigger change and the need for knowledge transfer in their own right.

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"From many years of experience with customers, we know that companies that institute long-term, sustainable education and training processes are the ones that prosper. And because SAP is so integral to an organisation's functionality, a SAP Education strategy usually forms the basis for all education and training processes throughout the organisation."

A continuous, planned and integrated learning programme reduces an organisation's cost of acquiring knowledge and skills at a number of different levels. For instance, the cost of retraining people from scratch is higher than keeping them constantly up to date on new technologies or business models. There's a significant cost advantage in getting the right knowledge to the right people in time for them to use it effectively - instead of doing ad hoc or blanket training in the hopes that some of it will have some effect sometime.

"And, of course, if you're claiming against your skills development levies, you're getting back 60% of your training budget - which means you can train more people for the same money and slash the cost of building an adaptable business," says Van Zyl.

He adds that knowledge transfer has to be a 24x7 process, because you can't tell people education is a vital part of your strategy and expect them to be effective knowledge workers - and then not provide continuous access to information and learning tools. You're sending them mixed messages.

"To obviate that, learning has to be technology-enabled. But it's not an IT issue. Once any system is implemented it's no longer an IT but a business system. And, we have found that when managers see SAP adding value to the business, they start taking responsibility for it. That makes them willing to spend resources on knowledge transfer to keep the system at optimum functionality. Which means, as is correct, that line managers and not IT take responsibility for training."