Optimum’s brief was to design, develop and deliver a role-based end user training programme tailored to Turner & Townsend’s business processes.
Richard Peers, Turner & Townsend’s finance director UK, said: “We wanted to do it right and we didn’t have the capacity or expertise to train users internally. Optimum had the system knowledge, the experience of global rollouts and the most credible solution”.
Optimum first carried out a Rapidscope® assessment to detail who needed training in what, when and where. The training content for each workstream was developed based on the group’s UK system build. This would be used as a global template, updated for each subsequent regional implementation.
Optimum created lesson plans and courses with supporting documentation. The materials included quick cards for key processes, detailed reference guides, concept videos, interactive eLearning and trainer packs for each module.
The training delivery in the UK took place during the Covid lockdown of 2021 so was all done remotely. Turner & Townsend often had 800+ attendees for each course, so three Optimum trainers held virtual sessions with up to 40 people in each over a six-week period.
D365 was an entirely new system to the end users so the training courses were inevitably intense and process heavy. To help cement the learning Optimum created short videos on the key processes from each session. They could be accessed on Sharepoint and served as a quick, visual reminder of how to complete each task.
In addition, Optimum recommended training SMEs to act as in-house ‘change champions’. The idea was to enable them to host breakout sessions within each course to answer users’ questions. Key issues were then shared and discussed back in the wider group.
The training delivery to Australia and NZ at the start of 2022 also had to be remote because of the countries’ ongoing Covid pandemic restrictions. Optimum’s consultants adjusted their working hours, training through the night from 10pm to 5am or midnight to 7am. For the Middle East, they worked Sunday to Thursday.
The complex project brought a range of challenges for Optimum. In tandem with the diverse geography, different time zones and Covid restrictions, Turner & Townsend had some tight and often immoveable deadlines. They were though still finalising the system build and new business processes when Optimum began creating the user training, making it a ‘constantly moving target’. The key to success was to be ultra-flexible.
Peers agreed: “We had a lot of decisions to make in difficult circumstances but Optimum rose to the challenge. They were very flexible, worked hard, took our feedback on board and adapted to make it work.”
He added: Their senior team was open, pragmatic and very responsive. It was appreciated and I’d use them again.”
