A Consultant's Perspective: Implementing Employability Solutions
Strategic consulting services are an essential and fundamental component to ensuring a successful implementation of any enterprise solution for higher ed institutions. Only a few providers are able to apply best practices from subject matter experts and dedicate time to really understand the client’s needs. Many EduTech software providers today typically connect their implementation managers to the university teams to ask a standard set of questions as if they were ticking some preselected options. They then load the student or alumni data, provide some access credentials, and allow the university team to figure out most system functionality out by themselves.
Exactly at the moment, when those previously created high expectations were about the materialize, the most frustrating and daunting experience begins. The teams have to go through a great amount of self-training and online guides, the reason for change has not been made clear to them and they feel unsupported. These providers, in their attempts to cut down on costs or to cut down on the decision-making process, oversee the importance of strategic consulting services as a key component of the success of the solution.
There is a wide range of strategic services that can be associated with a successful software implementation, however, one of the most important ones is a solid on-site strategic process discovery engagement upon commencing with the project. With regards to Symplicity CSM, this service engages the entire employability team to discover existing processes, set the vision for change, and identifies any potential risks. Lastly, it then looks at the technical requirements that align with the first two areas and sets a plan for immediate next steps. The success of the solution about the institution is firstly about people, then processes and then the technology to support it.
The Symplicity strategic consulting services team is made up of experienced consultants from the EduTech sector and higher educational institutions. The Symplicity team can speak in six different languages across their consultants and each consultant applies a highly analytical approach. The process of discovery and mapping is supported by in-depth functional expertise of the solution to ensure that each implementation is a success for all stakeholders involved.
Over the last three years, I have personally conducted 11 on site process discovery sessions from Australia and Singapore to Mexico and Colombia. Here is what I have discovered through my experience working with institutions from all over the world:
If you would like to learn more about Symplicity products or our strategic consulting services, schedule a conversation with us.