How Ongoing Training Drives Long-Term Business Success Beyond Go-Live
Successful change management depends heavily on the quality and continuity of training. It’s not just a question of teaching people how to use new systems or follow new processes—it’s about preparing them for a smooth transition and equipping them for sustained success. As directors, managers, and key decision makers know all too well, even the best-designed solution can fail if users aren’t adequately trained to adopt and apply it.
What’s often overlooked, however, is that training isn’t a one-time box to tick before a go-live. Rather, it’s a layered, continuous process that unfolds across different stages of change, before, during, and long after implementation. End-users, new joiners, and even seasoned employees need ongoing guidance to keep pace with evolving tools and practices, both internal and external to the organisation.
This article explores the four essential areas of end-user training that contribute to effective business transformation: preparing for go-live, supporting post-go-live execution, onboarding new users, and building capability in business-as-usual (BAU) training teams.
Equipping Users with What Matters Most Before Go-Live
When a business is preparing to go live with a new system or process, the sheer volume of information can feel overwhelming. Yet the goal at this stage is not to train people on everything. What matters most is that end-users are competent and confident in the tasks that pose the highest risk to business continuity if done incorrectly. These are the critical transactions and processes that must function smoothly from day one to avoid disruptions to operations, customers, or compliance obligations.
Training before go-live should be focused, practical, and tightly aligned with job roles. Employees should understand how their work is changing and how their responsibilities are evolving. Effective training supports this transition not only by clarifying what has changed but also by guiding users step by step through the new expectations and ways of working. Whether it’s capturing a sales order, handling a customer query, or running a payroll process, these core activities must be second nature by go-live.
Hands-on sessions, simulation-based practice, and scenario walkthroughs are all effective ways to prepare users at this stage. What’s important is that they’re able to execute with minimal supervision from day one. The confidence this builds pays off quickly in adoption, accuracy, and reduced reliance on hypercare support.
Preparing Users for What Comes After Go-Live
Not all critical tasks happen daily, and not all are executed over the go-live period. Some business activities, such as the first month-end close, annual performance reviews, stock take events, or financial year-end preparations, only occur after the system has been live for a while. Yet, these are often the times when errors can have an outsized impact, especially if users haven’t been adequately prepared for them.
This is where a staggered approach to training becomes essential. End-users should be provided with targeted learning that supports them as these infrequent but important events arise. Often, training for these scenarios is best delivered closer to the time they are needed, when relevance and urgency are high. This may take the form of refresher courses, live walkthroughs, or easily accessible guides and video tutorials. What’s key is ensuring that these resources are planned well in advance and that teams know where to find help when the time comes.
By treating training as an ongoing support mechanism rather than a once-off intervention, organisations can reduce the likelihood of business interruptions, reinforce adoption, and maintain confidence in the new systems long after the initial launch.
Supporting New Joiners and Role Changes
Even once the dust has settled after go-live, the need for training doesn’t disappear. Staff turnover, promotions, and role changes are constants in any organisation. Every new hire or newly promoted employee represents both a training need and an opportunity to strengthen system usage and adherence to standard processes.
A well-integrated onboarding training path ensures that newcomers can quickly get up to speed without disrupting team performance. This includes access to foundational materials, structured learning programmes, and shadowing opportunities with experienced users. For new managers or team leads, more advanced training may be required to help them understand reporting tools, approval workflows, or strategic insights derived from the system.
Crucially, onboarding training should be consistent in quality and aligned with how the system is currently used, not how it was used at go-live. This is another reason why ongoing refinement and updating of training content is important. As systems are enhanced and processes are fine-tuned, the training must adapt, too.
Enabling Business-as-Usual Training Teams
Lastly, to embed a culture of continuous learning, businesses must invest in their own training and support teams. These teams are responsible for maintaining the quality and relevance of training over time. When equipped with the right tools, knowledge, and mandate, they become a powerful engine for ongoing user development and system optimisation.
BAU training teams need more than instructional materials; they need deep system knowledge, access to user feedback, and the capability to translate process updates into meaningful learning interventions. They should be involved early in any new system enhancements and play a proactive role in coaching users, refreshing materials, and addressing emerging gaps in understanding.
Training the trainers is just as important as training the end-users. By giving internal training teams the confidence and capability to lead learning efforts, organisations create a sustainable model for growth and change readiness.
A Continuous Journey, Not a One-Time Event
Training is often treated as a phase in a project, but in reality, it’s a capability that must be sustained over time. Whether preparing for go-live, guiding users through post-go-live milestones, onboarding new staff, or supporting BAU teams, training is a continuous journey that never really ends.
Organisations that embrace this view are better equipped to navigate change, reduce risk, and unlock the full value of their technology investments. More importantly, they encourage and promote an environment where learning is valued, users feel supported, and innovation becomes part of daily operations.
For businesses undergoing change, the question is no longer whether to invest in training; it’s how to make it an enduring pillar of success.
If you found this article insightful, you might want to read The Importance of Systems-Specific Training: Enhancing Digital Transformation and ROI and Building a Strong Change Management Team for Your ERP Project.