READY TO UPGRADE TO AN EXPERT SOLUTION?
Are You Ready for Lumber Expert?
Do you want to work smarter and not harder? At RDB Solutions we have developed our software with you in mind. We Deliver competitive software not only at a value but also more timely. With other companies taking up to a year, yes, I said AN ENTIRE YEAR, we will get you live in as little as
8 weeks!
Is quality important to you? – What sets us apart from our competitors is that you work directly with our software architect and the rest of the development team to ensure the best process while you upgrade to Lumber Expert. In addition to that, our commitment to you is that we will never outsource our support, we keep it available and local.
Do you value convenience? – What better way to increase convenience than to make the easiest software to navigate, that is all in one place.
· Working remotely? Staggered reopening? Busier than you’ve ever been? We focus on your wants and expectations and work towards helping you achieve your goals in a timely fashion. – No two companies are the same! The software needs for each company can and do vary greatly. You need a company that gets it.
· We focus on rapid response times. Customers are always looking for fast solutions. *66% of adults say that the most important thing a company can do is value their time. We’ve got you. We Deliver – the right services at the right time.
· We identify ‘at risk’ issues for you and work to implement effective measures to rehabilitate said issues.
Do you recognize the value? Our focus is not specifically on price or product-specific. Our focus is on the value you find in our products, price, service, and overall experience.
Most importantly – We get it! We know that the environment in which business is done has changed for each company in different ways. Let us help you re-open regardless of what your new-normal looks like.
Sit back & relax, we’ve got this.
“We don’t want to push our ideas on to customers; we simply want to make what they want.” Laura Ashley
We, like every other company in the world, tell our customers “you come first”. Here’s how you know it’s true:
We believe in long term relationships, we are embedded in your strategy. We don’t “just” build software solutions and simply getting a new customer isn’t the goal, long term relationships are. This means YOU need to be happy with us.
We strive to fulfill what we think makes us the best choice for your company:
- We focus on your wants and expectations and work towards helping you achieve your goals in a timely fashion. – No two companies are the same! The software needs for each company can and do vary greatly. You need a company that gets it.
- We focus on rapid response times. Customers are always looking for fast solutions. In fact, *66% of adults say that the most important thing a company can do is value their time. We’ve got you. We Deliver – the right services at the right time.
- We strive to provide a personalized and quality customer experience. In September’s edition, we will give a great breakdown of our customer service philosophy and why we make sure that our salespeople spend time in customer service too.
- We identify ‘at risk’ issues for you and work to implement effective measures to rehabilitate said issues.
- We sell value! Our focus is not on price or product-specific. Our focus is the value you find in our products, price, service and overall experience.
Want to save time and money? Call at 541.330.5483 or email a solutions expert for your free consultation now!
Change – who needs it? 👀
Every single organization changes, from 1 – 10,000 employees. Read on to see why employees resist and how to get them on-board with your plan.
“All organizations experience periods of much-needed change in order to achieve the results they need to grow, compete and win. Changing or improving the company or team requires focus, accountability, and consistency. And it must be led from the top. Without total and complete buy-in from the senior leadership team the desired change will fail to be achieved.” says Brent Cleeson with Forbes (1).
Consider the following possible concerns:(2)
- Loss of status or job security – Without a thoughtful change strategy to address resistance to change, you will trigger strong resistance and organizational turnover.
- Poorly aligned reward systems – As the saying goes, managers get what they reward. without a reward for your team, there is no motivation for them to support your change over the long term.
- Surprise and fear of the unknown – The less your team knows about the organizational changes you’re planning and its impact, the more fearful they become.
- Peer pressure – As the psychologist Abraham Maslow discussed, the need to belong to a group is a powerful need in the workplace. If your change effort threatens these workplace social bonds, some of your team members may resist your change efforts.
- The climate of mistrust – Trust is a fragile asset that is easily harmed, it involves faith in the intentions and behavior of your organization’s hierarchy.
- Fear of failure – Fear is a powerful motivator that can harden people’s intent to resist your efforts to implement change. If you want your change effort to be successful, you’ll need to help your team members move beyond these fears.
- Faulty implementation approach – Team members may agree with the change you want to implement but they may not agree with how you are going about making the change.
Resistance is a fact of organizational change, now what are you going to do about it?
The “buy-in” of the innovators and early adopters in your organization is critical to change, big or small.
Engage your employees – employee engagement is both an emotional commitment and a willingness to give one’s best at work. Employee engagement is a valuable tool during the decision process but you also have an incredible opportunity to engage staff during the implementation process and the effect will be better than you bargained for. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you about the rewards that team building and staff empowerment have on productivity. Get your team involved!
Understand that resistance is inevitable and move forward with that understanding. Build a strategic plan to help your team perceive your changes in a positive way and to change anyone with a negative perception over to your way of thinking. Ensure your team has a true understanding with at least a perceived amount of control and you are well on your way.
Software Integration – Worth It?
Yes, it is worth it, in the end!
Software integration is like pulling up the carpet in a fully furnished home, it is a challenge regardless of the transition length or size. Your new software company should have an integration plan with a carefully thought out schedule to discuss with you. A few examples of items to anticipate are:
- Gain remote access to the server
- Install database software
- Install Lumber/Trader Expert on server
- Overview meeting with staff
- Enter master data
- Detailed staff training
- Overview meeting with traders
- Training for traders/sales
In the interest of minimizing interruptions to your company, the following are several items to engage your staff in building a quality implementation plan:
As I mentioned in one of my previous blog posts, How to Choose the Right Software Company for you, employee engagement is a valuable tool during the decision process but you also have an incredible opportunity to engage staff during the implementation process and the effect will be better than you bargained for. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you about the rewards that team building and staff empowerment have on productivity.
So, how do you engage your employees in the implementation process? Anne Prins,
Director of Growth at Hot Air Blog says, “Evaluate each of them to determine which of the five groups they fall under”, see below: [i]
- Innovators – These are technology enthusiasts by nature, and they’re excited to dive in and figure out how the new software can improve their existing workflows. Engage & encourage these Innovators! They will be your champions of change.
- Early Adopters – Like innovators, these users will try new software faster than the majority. Getting buy-in from this group is critical because their opinions influence how the Early Majority feels about trying the new tool.
- Early Majority – This group is more practical in their approach to new software. The Early Majority typically waits until the software is vetted by others. They want to know how new software improves their existing workflow before they feel comfortable adopting it.
- Late Majority – These users will only adopt new software when they need to, or when it becomes unreasonable not to. The Late Majority will use the software once you’ve made it a concrete part of your business operations.
- Laggards – Laggards tend to use familiar technology and software as long as they possibly can. They’re often uncomfortable learning and using new tools. The only way to move this group may be to force them to use the new software by eliminating legacy options.
Create an understanding with your staff, engage them early and often, set specific goals and update staff with your timeline regularly. We all know who the decision makers are but your staff will certainly appreciate your efforts.
Training should be flexible and meet the needs of your company. Do you want individualized in-person or online training? Do you want instructor-led training classes? Do you want the software company to train a team of your employees on the processes so they can train the rest of your staff? There are options and it is up to you and the software company to navigate what the best option is for your company. It is important to show your employees how exciting this transition is, how useful the new software will be for them, and to set a fair but firm timeline.
Let’s set real and proper expectations here. Having a transition path doesn’t mean that you won’t have any hiccups while integrating. What it does mean is your new software should have utilities that will transition the information from your database(s), i.e. vendors, customers and general ledger accounts from your old software to your new software or, at least, have the ability to code one for you. This saves time in transition and helps to alleviate some of the stress.
With the ease of use, I see $avings! Who doesn’t like a stronger bottom line? If your new software is easy to use, it will likely be easy to learn, manage data entry errors, and increase productivity. The effect of this is seen in the strength of your team and, of course, your bottom line.
Taking your company through a software transition is stressful regardless of how much you prepare or how great the software company is. The best way to ensure the least amount of stress is by following the steps outlined above. Make sure to encourage employee engagement, know your needs, and build a viable plan for transition. If you follow these steps, your transition will be as stress-free as one can possibly be.