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How to Ensure a Smooth Journey from Buy-in to Implementation and Beyond

The Ultimate Guide to EHSQSoftware Success

Table of ContentsChapter 1: Making the Business Case for EHSQ Software ......................... 4

Step 1: Identify Process Improvements .............................................................. 7

Step 2: Secure Stakeholder Buy-in ...................................................................... 8

Exercise: Build Your Requirements Wishlist .................................................... 11

Bonus: Get a Fresh Perspective ......................................................................... 12

Step 3: Calculate the Cost Savings .................................................................... 14

Exercise: Estimate Your Cost Savings ............................................................... 16

Chapter 2: Navigating the Procurement Process ...................................... 17

Step 1: Develop Your RFP ................................................................................... 19

Step 2: Evaluate Vendors ................................................................................... 20

Exercise: Create your Vendor Evaluation Scorecard ....................................... 21

Software Demos: What to Expect ..................................................................... 27

Step 3: Review Contracts and Get Approval ..................................................... 28

Exercise: Determine What Questions to Ask Your Vendor ............................ 29

Chapter 3: Ensuring a Successful Implementation ................................... 31

Step 1: Determine Your Implementation Approach ....................................... 33

Step 2: Round-Up Your Internal Resources ..................................................... 35

Step 3: Create Your Communication Strategy ................................................. 36

Tips to create an effective communication strategy ....................................... 37

Step 4: Launch Your Training Program ............................................................. 38

Chapter 4: Sustaining Your EHSQ Technology Program .......................... 40

Step 1: Maintain the System .............................................................................. 41

Step 2: Expand System Use ................................................................................ 42

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Sustainability and Operational Excellence are priorities for so many

organizations. But the actual work falls on you - the Environmental,

Health, Safety and Quality (EHSQ) professional. Your world is the land

of “worst-case scenario” because if no one considers the environment,

health, safety, and quality, everyone suffers when tragic “what ifs”

become “what nows”. Lives and reputations are at stake. So, how do you

stay on top of everything?

To take your EHSQ program to the next level, you know technology will

ease the burden and improve your strategy. An integrated software

system can help – but do you know the right steps to take to secure buy-

in to get the solution you need, choose the right one, and ensure the

initiative is a success?

This guide will walk you through everything you need to know to take

your software project from vision to reality – from securing buy-in to

ensuring a best-in-class implementation.

Introduction

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Chapter 1: Making the Business Case for EHSQ Software

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Justifying enterprise software is no easy feat.

EHSQ professionals often struggle to build the

business case for new solutions because they

lack the data to demonstrate the direct cost

savings associated with efficiency gains and

process standardization.

While Human Resources, Payroll, Finance, and

Operations are often given the green light

to seek out and implement state-of-the-art

solutions to “get the job done”, EHSQ usually lags

behind when it comes to securing management

approval for new software purchases.

It’s time to change that – so you get the tools

you need to automate key environmental,

health, safety and quality processes and drive

operational excellence across your organization.

Learn More: As you begin your buyer’s journey, be sure to read Cority’s

EHSQ BUYER’S GUIDE: 5 Critical Factors for Selecting the

Right EHSQ Software.

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Follow these three steps to make building your

business case easier:

Step 1: Identify Process Improvements

There’s a good chance you and your colleagues have

already identified workflows that could be better

managed with software, but do you know all the ins

and outs of those processes and how software will

affect each step?

As you evaluate your current processes and segment

their components, look for opportunities to make your

workflows simpler. This can be done formally through

a Kaizen or Lean event like MILAR (Map, Improve, Lean,

Automate, Repeat) or informally.

It’s critical to understand your current processes from start to finish before starting this exercise. This will prevent you from fixing processes that aren’t broken, creating new problems, or having to rework solutions down the road.

Most importantly, a better understanding of your current workflows will help you evaluate and select a software platform that will meet your needs both in the short and long-term.

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Exercise: Improve Your Processes

Sort your processes into three categories:

• Activities you must do because you’re required

to by regulation or permit

• Activities you do to enhance or maintain your

corporate reputation

• Activities that have no drivers (things not

tied to program outcomes, key performance

indicators, etc.)

Activities you’re required to do1. 2. 3.

Activities you do to enhance your corporate reputation

Activities that have no drivers

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Step 2: Secure Stakeholder Buy-in

Let’s be frank: there’s probably no harder task than

getting buy-in from colleagues, management and

executives. But, without management and executive

buy-in, your EHSQ software project is ultimately going

to stall because they control the budgeting process.

Don’t despair. Securing buy-in can be tricky, but it’s

not an insurmountable obstacle. In the following

section, we’ll cover who you need to win over and how

to do it.

Making Friends and Winning Over Management

To get your EHSQ software project off the ground,

there are three groups within your organization that

you’ll need on your side:

• Executives

• Colleagues

• Information Technology (IT)

Bonus: Also consider getting an external consultant

to review what you’ve done to get a fresh perspective.

Below is an overview of the value each group provides

and how they are instrumental in moving your

project forward.

Find an Executive Champion

Getting buy-in for any initiative can be difficult, so

finding an executive champion is by far the best way

to get – and keep – an EHSQ project moving. It’s

likely that the initial idea for software came from a

manager or executive, and the final decision might

rest with this person, so engaging them early and

often is critical.

In fact, having an executive champion on your side

can make common roadblocks like funding, people

resources, and approvals all but disappear. In many

cases, your executive champion will help open doors

to other executives who are interested in or have a

stake in your project, further building that buy-in and

momentum across the executive levels and beyond.

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Meet with Colleagues

After you’ve found your executive champion,

it’s time to get your colleagues involved. Your

teammates are the most important people

to convince since they will likely be the most

impacted by the process changes that happen.

Be sure to involve them early and keep

them updated and engaged as the project

progresses. Turning your EHSQ software

project into a collaborative effort will show

management that the need is real and will

ensure everyone who wants to be involved

has a chance to voice their opinion and feel

they’re a part of the solution.

If possible, try to build a small team to help

you define your requirements and review

software options. This team should meet

regularly, establish a meeting cadence and

develop a project charter that outlines the

mission, vision and value for the project.

Your charter should outline the problems you

need to solve. For example:

• Are you aiming to maintain or obtain ISO

14001 or 45001 certification?

• Do you need to improve the efficiency of

your team?

• Are you trying to reduce or maintain the

headcount of your EHSQ department?

Having a solid, articulate argument and plan

will help sell your idea to front-line employees,

management, IT, and executives. Your project

charter can also double as a great two-minute

elevator pitch and will be helpful to refer to as

you begin building your business case.

Get IT Involved The IT department is one of the most powerful

departments to have on your side. They will more than

likely be involved in your software project once it’s

been approved. If possible, the IT department should

be involved from design through implementation and

perhaps beyond to help manage the system day-to-

day once the project ‘goes live’.

During the development phase of the project, work

with IT and your colleagues to create your list of

requirements and decide which items are simply nice

to have versus those that are required out of the box.

73% of IT departments are involved with both the selection and implementation of EHS software

- NAEM’s 2018 Ready, Set, Implement Report

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According to recent research from NAEM, the

top business objectives that shape EHS software

requirements are:

Define your requirements

And the top capabilities EHS software buyers are most

often looking for are:

Pro Tip:

Stay software agnostic and

keep an open mind. If your IT

department tells you they can

build something internally,

ask for a proof of concept.

The longer it takes for a

proof of concept, the more

likely they’re spending time

developing something new

versus configuring something

that already exists. This will

demonstrate IT’s ability to

meet your requirements, and

how quickly they can get your

project implemented.

Once your requirements list is complete, your IT

department will see if they can leverage existing

systems within the company or develop an in-house

application to meet your needs.

You should not view this step as a negative thing,

since it could save time, money and help you get

buy-in quickly.

And the top capabilities EHS software buyers are most often looking for are:

According to recent research from NAEM, the top business objectives that shape EHS software requirements are:

Improve ability to analyze data

Centralize data collection

Improve compliance assurance

Collect data for reporting

Improve accountability

Incident reporting

Environmental auditing/inspections

Corrective action tracking

Incident tracking

Incident Investigation

Performance metrics/dashboards/scorecards

And the top capabilities EHS software buyers are most often looking for are:

According to recent research from NAEM, the top business objectives that shape EHS software requirements are:

Improve ability to analyze data

Centralize data collection

Improve compliance assurance

Collect data for reporting

Improve accountability

Incident reporting

Environmental auditing/inspections

Corrective action tracking

Incident tracking

Incident Investigation

Performance metrics/dashboards/scorecards

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Exercise: Build Your Requirements Wishlist

Refining and ranking your

requirements is the foundation

of your project and will drive your

software and implementation costs.

List your top requirements and rank

these based on what’s necessary vs.

nice to have.

Absolutely necessary Nice to have

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Bonus: Get a Fresh Perspective

Once you’ve gained the support of executives,

your colleagues, and IT, consider finding a neutral

party to review your project details. This can be

done internally by asking a member of another

department or externally by hiring a third-party

consultant. Both will offer unique insight into

your initiative, help refine your requirements list

and strengthen your business case.

Hiring a third-party consultant to help you

develop your project can be a huge benefit,

since these individuals bring a wealth of

experience and knowledge that likely does

not exist within your organization. They will also

provide a truly fresh perspective on what to

look for in a software system, since their role

is to stay up to date on what’s available in the

market place.

When considering adding a consultant to your

project team, it’s important you bring someone

on board who has a solid understanding of:

• Technology and EHSQ software providers

• EHSQ regulations

• Project management best practices

50% of EHS professionals plan to use external consulting services in support of software selection or implementation.

- NAEM’s 2018 Ready, Set, Implement Report

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Software is nebulous, which makes it challenging

to gain buy-in. On top of that, people are

naturally resistant to change. To counter this and

secure buy-in, you must demonstrate that the

software will deliver value to the organization

and meet the needs of your users. Navigating

between executives, colleagues and the IT

department can feel like a never-ending chore,

but the better you understand the current flaws

and gaps in your processes, the better you’ll be

prepared to demonstrate to any audience how

an enterprise EHSQ software solution will add

value to your organization.

Pro Tip: Develop a detailed scope of

work that clearly spells out

where you need a consultant’s

help. While consultants provide

a plethora of lessons learned

from previous implementations,

there’s a cost. You may need

executive approval if it’s

not already in the budget.

Ultimately, your goal is to have

the consultant help you build a

defensible business case based

on real-world data they have

from previous EHSQ software

projects. People are naturally resistant to change.

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Step 3: Calculate the Cost Savings

Demonstrating cost savings can be just as

difficult as getting buy-in from stakeholders.

Management and executives want to see hard

dollar savings. This typically means reducing

headcount, but EHSQ business units are

generally already stretched for resources, so

eliminating people isn’t usually an option.

Typically, EHSQ professionals have to approach

cost savings from a different angle. Focus on

how the new system will improve efficiencies and

enable the organization to maintain programs

even as regulations change and as the company

grows organically or through mergers and

acquisitions.

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You can also calculate how a system can reduce

the risk of a non-compliance event and subsequent

fines and penalties. This requires knowing how

many non-compliance events your company has

had over a three to five-year period, how much the

associated fines were, and what the likelihood of a

future event is.

For example, let’s say you’ve had a lot of missed

reporting or regulators have identified several

findings during onsite audits. Once you have

this information, you will need to determine

the likelihood of another non-compliance event

occurring as well as demonstrate how a software

system will help to prevent this from happening

again. Be aware that these soft dollar savings do

not always win over management or executives.

However, the more recent events were, the more

likely management and executives will see a

need for a system to help manage EHSQ

compliance obligations.

PRO TIP: Remember to express all the value-added work you and your team will be able to do once they’re not overburdened with administrative tasks.

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Exercise: Estimate Your Cost Savings

Frame your discussion with

management around the value

EHSQ software will bring to

your organization:

Hard Dollar Costs

Costs Associated with Non-Compliance

GRAND TOTALSubtotal

Subtotal

Cost Estimate

€/$ Estimate

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Chapter 2: Navigating the Procurement Process

Congratulations! You’ve secured buy-in and

are ready to move on to the next step in your

journey to EHSQ software success: navigating

the procurement process. Everyone knows

the procurement process can be challenging,

especially when it’s an enterprise IT purchase.

There are multiple steps involved and each

presents a potential obstacle in your path to

project approval.

Now, we’ll walk through how to successfully

navigate the procurement process, from RFP

development to vendor evaluation and selection

and finally, contract review and approvals.

Before we dive in, here are a few things to keep in

mind when procuring any kind of software:

All procurement departments have a process for buying hardware, software and services.

Your best bet is to learn it and follow it. Very

rarely will you be able to single source your EHSQ

software, but if you can, it will significantly speed

up the process.

Work closely with your IT team.

During this part of the journey, it’s imperative to

collaborate with IT. They will help shed light on

your company’s policies for buying software.

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Step 1: Develop Your RFP

In many organizations, the procurement

department is required to solicit bids from at least

three qualified vendors for any software project,

kicking off the Request for Proposal (RFP) process.

It’s your job to create the RFP, so before starting,

make sure you have a solid understanding of the

marketplace and your requirements. IT will also

ask about the vendors’ security protocols, system

architecture, update frequency and process –

so do your research. You’ll also want to ask the

vendors on your shortlist for client references so

you can talk to EHSQ professionals like yourself to

hear firsthand what they like and don’t like about

the software.

Learn More: Read EHSQ BUYER’S GUIDE: Critical Factors for Your Software RFP to ensure you’re well prepared to develop your RFP proposals.

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Pro Tip: Be sure to invite your key stakeholders to the demos so they

can see the software, ask questions, and prepare for the final

decision-making process.

Step 2: Evaluate Vendors

Evaluating vendors can be tricky. It can feel

like you’re comparing apples to oranges. The

procurement department will ask you to develop

evaluation criteria so that your vendor selection

process is objective and defensible. Be aware:

price will be the most heavily weighted criterion.

Work closely with your IT team to help evaluate

vendors. They should be experienced at

eliminating the noise and helping you understand

what vendors can and cannot do. IT will likely

want to see at least one demo from the software

providers that you have shortlisted. Sometimes

one demo isn’t enough, so don’t be afraid to ask

for additional demos.

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Here are sample evaluation scorecards you and

your team can use throughout the demo stage

of your journey. Exercise: Create your Vendor Evaluation Scorecard

Pro Tip: Remember to have everyone fill out their scorecard during live

demos with vendors – while the product capabilities are still fresh

in everyone’s mind. Then compare notes together afterward.

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Vendor: Date: Evaluator

Application/ Module Major Functionality Ratings

NotesOverall Rating 5= Excellent 1= Poor

Major Distinguishing Features

Major Gaps or Concerns

Vendor & Product History

Company history

Number of EHSQ professionals (CIH, CSP, CHMM) in the company to design, implement, and support solution

Product development and implementation history

Product roadmap and process for product improvement

General System

Overview & Security

Assign user rights/permissions

Data entry and custom fields

Reporting capabilities

Dashboard capabilities

Document management

Support (response times for issues)

System and data security

Ability to export information to common formats (PDFs, Excel)

Query tools

System help function

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Vendor: Date: Evaluator

Application/ Module Major Functionality Ratings

NotesOverall Rating 5= Excellent 1= Poor

Major Distinguishing Features

Major Gaps or Concerns

Compliance Management and Tasking

Show storage of regulation or permit information, including citation information

Link SOPs/docs to tasks

Show task set up (including recurring tasks)

Show task due date reminder capabilities

Show task assignment (multiple owners, groups, temporary reassignment)

Task status reports

Inspections

Mobile technology (offline and online)

Create custom forms

Ability to attach photos and documents to questionnaires

Ability to create dynamic and static forms

Data deviation alerts

Reporting of results (final reports)

Create corrective action workflow

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Vendor: Date: Evaluator

Application/ Module Major Functionality Ratings

NotesOverall Rating 5= Excellent 1= Poor

Major Distinguishing Features

Major Gaps or Concerns

Performance Management

(KPI / Metrics)

Uniform data collection across multiple facilities/divisions

Data validation (set limits to help assure data are within expected limits)

Units of measure and conversions

Data reporting, roll-up, forecasting/trending

Dashboards

Incidents

Track different types of incidents

Setup for Audits/Incidents (custom fields)

Notifications on creation of new audit finding or incident entry

Assign actions to one or multiple users

Track actions requiring closure through dashboards

Reporting on open/closed items

Dashboards

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Vendor: Date: Evaluator

ID Vendor Demonstration Rating (1-10) Comments

Completeness of Demonstration

1 The vendor demonstration was well organized

2 The vendor addressed all questions properly

3 The vendor explained the solution and its capabilities per the agenda

Look and Feel/Ease of Use

4 Rate the user interface

5 Degree of intuitive user interface

6 User can access major functionality with ease

7 Ability to configure the application to minimize navigation where appropriate

8 Degree of configurability to our needs

9 The solution can be customized by each user

10 Quality and usefulness of reporting tools and dashboards

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Vendor: Date: Evaluator

ID Vendor Demonstration Rating (1-10) Comments

Look and Feel/Ease of Use (continued)

11 Easy to enter data into the system

12 This solution will allow me to be more efficient

13 Overall ease of navigation for both casual and power users

Vendor Experience and Solution Viability

14 Amount company invests into Research and Development

15 Number of years in EHSQ software business including demonstrated growth

16 Customer satisfaction score

17Breadth and depth of functionality across Occupational Health, Industrial Hygiene, Safety, Environmental, Quality, Risk, Ergonomics, Sustainability, Operational Excellence, and Worker Well-Being.

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Demos are your opportunity to see the software in action and get an

idea of what it can and cannot do. It’s best to invite people from all

levels of your organization to participate in the demo, especially those

who will be impacted by any changes to processes and procedures.

Keys to Demo Preparation:

1. Make sure the vendor understands your key challenges, objectives,

KPIs, and other factors for business success. The best opportunity

to do this is during a Discovery Call (more on that in a minute).

2. Connect your in-house experts to their in-house experts before the

demo to discuss your workflows in detail and validate the vendor

understands your business.

3. Ensure every stakeholder group has a representative involved in

the demo requirements – IT, HR, and business.

Pro Tip: An engaged vendor will take what they learned

during your Discovery Call and tailor your

software demo accordingly.

Software Demos: What to Expect

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What’s a Discovery Call?

Before diving into a demo, it’s key to schedule some time to talk to the

vendor and share your specific needs, goals, objectives and critical

success factors. In the software space, these sessions are often

referred to as Needs Assessments or Discovery Calls.

Why Discovery Calls are Important

When buying EHSQ software, you want to partner with someone who

understands your unique challenges. The vendors you’re evaluating

should have internal experts in your space. The Discovery Call is

your chance to connect with those experts, talk openly about your

challenges and objectives, and let them know exactly what you’re

hoping to see during the demo. Be sure to bring examples of inputs

and outputs such as process workflows and reports and include

members from all business areas who can communicate your

organization’s challenges.

Keys to Demo Success

1. Focus on the user interface and user experience to make sure the

system is intuitive and easy to use.

2. Ask lots of questions – the best demos are interactive and

customer-led. For some example questions to ask, review this

checklist.

3. Make sure you have enough time to see everything you want to see.

4. Complete your evaluation scorecard during the demo so you can

refer to it when it’s time to make your decision.

Ultimately, demos are the best way for you, the prospective client,

to get a sense of what you are really buying. It’s also an opportunity

for you to make changes to your requirements and get buy-in from

holdouts.

Pro Tip:

No two demos are alike. It’s important to focus during

demos and debrief with your team right after to share

feedback and review evaluation scorecards.

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Exercise: Determine What Questions to Ask Your Vendor

Depending on your EHSQ software

project requirements, the questions

you’ll want to ask the vendors on your

shortlist will vary, but here are some

foundational questions to get you

started:

Company History

How many years have you been in business?

What is your company’s vision, business goals and values?

How many certified EHSQ professionals are on staff?

Delivery Model

Is the solution true SaaS?

Do you or a third party provide hosting services?

Are there costs associated with upgrading my software?

Customer Satisfaction

What is your customer retention rate?

What are your support SLAs?

What is your CSAT or NPS score?

Implementation

What is your track record of delivery against your implementation strategy?

Can you outline your tools, methodology and accelerators for delivering the solution?

Who will handle our implementation? Industry experts or general consultants?

Data Privacy, Security and Disaster Recovery

Do you have any security certifications like ISO or similar?

Do you have a data backup strategy?

What disaster recovery procedures are in place to maximize uptime and reduce disruptions in the event of a disaster?

Research and Development

What does your product roadmap look like?

How much do you invest in ongoing R&D?

How are your releases and patches managed?

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Step 3: Review Contracts and Get Approval

Remember, when you’re evaluating vendors – don’t think of it as just buying

software. Think of it as entering into a long-term relationship, since you’ll

be working together for a long time. Take the time to make sure you trust

this vendor and that they can meet your company’s needs and the IT

department’s requirements. Once you’re certain, it’s time to get the legal

teams involved. Your Legal department will need to review the software

company’s terms and conditions.

In addition to Legal signoff, you’ll need executives from all sponsoring

business units to review and sign the contracts. You’ll want to make sure

Procurement is staying on top of this to ensure it’s completed in a timely

manner.

During this time, you’ll also want to work with IT and your chosen software

vendor to develop a scope of work (SOW) for the implementation,

configuration, and training that will be done to get the software up and

running. These documents will also need to be reviewed by the executives

from the sponsoring business units, Procurement, and IT. Legal may or may

not be involved in this process.

Once you have all the contractual obligations finalized and agreed to, you’re

ready to begin the implementation process.

Pro Tip: This process can take time. Persevere and stay

on top of Legal or else your project could slow

down and your budget could be jeopardized.

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Chapter 3: Ensuring a Successful Implementation

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You’ve made it this far in your journey – leapt

over management buy-in hurdles, evaluated and

partnered with the right vendor, and procured

a new system that’s going to help you drive

operational excellence and elevate your role

within the organization.

Now we’ll cover best practices to ensure the

software rollout is a success and that your team

loves using your new EHSQ solution.

Remember: implementation priorities can

change. For example, if your company

is suddenly having issues managing

regulatory and permit-driven compliance

obligations, or inspection programs have

become resource intensive - you might

decide to move these up on the priority list.

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Pro Tip: If you’re implementing multiple modules within

your new EHSQ platform, consider taking a

phased approach.

Step 1: Determine Your Implementation Approach

Your implementation will be guided by the SOW that you and the

software vendor agreed to. It’s important everyone understands

what their role is on the project and what the key deliverables are

for each milestone identified in the SOW. One of the first things

you will need to determine is the approach you will take for your

implementation: a phased or big bang rollout.

This decision will come down to how much change you are

introducing into the company and the resources you have available

during the project.

It’s important to remember that implementation is a lot more

than just turning the system on. For your software project to be

successful, you must first map your business processes to the

system, ensure proper change management, and create governance

processes for internal management and changes. This will ensure

that the work done during implementation is maintained.

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Regardless of approach, implementation is a lot like building a house. Setting up the system with your company hierarchy, security, and people are foundational elements that must be configured first. Once those components are added, you will start implementing the high priority functionality you identified (likely in your SOW) to ensure you realize value quickly.

You wouldn’t hire a mechanic to build your house.Partner with a vendor who has certified EHSQ experts on staff to design, deploy and support your solution.

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Step 2: Round-Up Your Internal Resources

EHSQ software implementations require internal resources from

corporate, operating facilities and IT. It’s unlikely everyone working

on the project will be a dedicated resource, so remember to respect

people’s time and only schedule meetings when it’s absolutely necessary.

Overtaxing people with data requests, meetings, and training are quick

ways to lose buy-in. Key dedicated resources that are needed include:

• IT project manager

• 1-2 IT business analysts (could be more for larger organizations or

projects)

• Department project manager

• Department champion to help with decisions

• Vendor project team members

Bonus: You or the vendor may have also hired a third-party consultant

to be part of the team. If you hired them, they work for you and are the

liaison between the software vendor and you.

Pro Tip: Your project’s success depends on your

ability to bring everyone together and

coordinate activities. Having a detailed

project plan will help you manage all the

moving pieces and ensure everything

goes smoothly.

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Step 3: Create Your Communication Strategy

Communication is paramount to project success and the change

management process, but it’s also one area project leads tend to

overlook when developing their project plans.

People want to know what’s going on and when to expect changes. If you

can’t dedicate resources to project communication, be sure to include

communications milestones in your project plan.

Pro Tip: Sync with your internal communications team

to highlight your project and share the success

across the company.

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Create distribution lists

Distribution lists make sending communications to staff and executives easier

and more efficient. Consider creating a distribution list for executives and one

for staff who will be impacted by the changes.

Establish a Communication Cadence

As your implementation gets underway, determine which milestones are

important to communicate and to whom they should go to. If you are doing

a phased approach, it’s likely that you will be sending out communications

every two weeks. It could be more frequent if you decide to also conduct pilot

projects. For those opting for the big bang approach, communications will be

less frequent, but will need to include more details.

Determine How You Will Communicate

After you’ve established your communication cadence, consider how and

what kinds of updates you will share with key stakeholders. Tap into your

company’s resources such as intranet, blogs, knowledge sharing solutions,

and internal newsletters. You may even want to create a project website so

that people can easily find materials and information about the project. What

you will share may include:

• General announcements about project milestones

• Training event dates and times

• Training documents

• Go-live announcements for modules and sites using the new functionality

• FAQ documents

FAQ documents are some of the most useful and timely communications

pieces, so make sure you are keeping a running list of questions from

users during training and post-go-live support. You’ll also want to send out

communications that highlight the successes because this will help the

change management process and improve buy-in. Work with those using the

technology to determine how it’s helping them with their day-to-day tasks.

Share their stories. The goal is to demonstrate that the project is successful.

Tips to create an effective communication strategy:

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Step 4: Launch Your Training Program

Training is critical for adoption and overall

program success. Your project plan and SOW

should include a training line item for each

module you are implementing. For training to be

successful, you must do the following:

Identify who is doing the training

Will the software vendor, implementation partner

or your own team members provide the training?

Develop a training timeline

Will training be iterative or done all at once? If you

take a phased approach to implementation, you

should do the same for training. Pro Tip: Training doesn’t end when the project does. With true SaaS providers,

the software platform is updated frequently, so it’s important to

regularly review new features and functionality and update your

documentation accordingly.

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Step 4: Launch Your Training Program (continued)

Determine the type of training that will take place

Will training be conducted online, on-demand, or in-

person? More than likely, you will use a combination

of all three. If your company has a training

department, consider working with them to build on-

demand courses so that future users can get trained

quickly and efficiently.

Create training documentation

Documentation is critical to ensuring the success

of any software project. Be sure to work with the

software vendor and any third-party consultants

working on the project to create documentation for

system design, configuration decisions, and training.

These documents will help ensure a successful

transition from project to program and maintenance.

Pro Tip: Conduct refresher training periodically with administrators, super-users,

and end-users. These sessions give everyone the opportunity to ask

questions, share best practices and get updates on the latest features

that the software provider has released.

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Chapter 4: Sustaining Your EHSQ Technology Program

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By the time you’ve reached this point, your new EHSQ software solution should be in place and your

team should be realizing the benefits of an integrated system.

But, the project isn’t over just yet. As with any new system, your EHSQ platform will need to be

maintained over time. Here are a few tips to optimize your solution for continued success:

Step 1: Maintain the System

As with any software system, there is a need for ongoing maintenance. This responsibility will

ultimately fall on your organization’s system administrators, business unit leads, and IT team. They

will all need to work together to manage and maintain key aspects of the system.

For SaaS solutions, this usually means managing user permissions, data integrations, organizational

hierarchy, and updating pick lists and inspection forms. While these activities may not warrant

a full-time dedicated resource, be aware that resource need will ebb and flow depending on

the company’s organic growth, as well as mergers, acquisitions, and divestments. A governance

committee should review and approve all changes after “Go Live” to ensure the integrity of the

system remains.

Additionally, resources will need to be available for training new users and conducting refresher

training with existing users. It’s recommended to have a person designated internally to handle user

issues with the system rather than everyone calling the software provider’s help desk. This generally

saves time, reduces confusion and helps with user adoption.

Lastly, work with your software provider to determine your adoption rate. This can be done by

reviewing when users last logged into the system, how much time they spend in the system and

determining what they do while in the system.

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Step 2: Expand System Use

Once everything is up and running and management is pleased with your

project’s success, consider reviewing ways to expand the system to add value

to other areas of the company. You can start by:

Reviewing processes that you couldn’t change

It’s likely your EHSQ project budget wasn’t large enough to improve everything

that you and your colleagues initially identified. Now that implementation

is complete, it’s time to review your list and determine how the existing

functionality in the system can enhance these processes. This may require the

development of a new business case or maybe it’s something that you and a

small team can accomplish as a side project. Either way, doing this will help to

ensure user adoption.

Identifying business units that would benefit from the existing platform

Your project was largely focused on E, H, S and/or Q, but there are other

business units that can benefit from solutions in an EHSQ system. Audits,

inspections, and incident management are three modules that have wide

appeal across corporations. As long as your software is flexible and secure,

there are few limitations to expanding the solution beyond EHSQ processes

and procedures. Be sure to check with the software vendor to see if you need

to add additional user licenses. You may also need a project budget and

support from the software vendor for this, so make sure you fully scope out

this effort before diving in head first.

Adding new modules that can help drive continuous improvement

You’re probably only using a small percentage of the modules your software

vendor offers. Review their website, attend their conferences and training

sessions, talk to your account manager, and work internally to identify

opportunities to add new functionality to streamline other processes. Keep

in mind that adding new modules will likely require creating a business case

and securing budget approval. Procurement may also require you to submit a

single-source justification, which documents why you are not going out to bid

for the services you are requesting.

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Summing UpNow you should have a solid understanding

of how to take your EHSQ software project

from vision to reality and how to maintain and

optimize the solution for continued success after

implementation.

An EHSQ software project takes time, dedication,

and coordination, but if done properly, it provides

tremendous long-term value to your company and

can even help elevate your role, too.

More and more companies are realizing the

value that EHSQ professionals bring to their

organizations and are willing to invest in new

technologies to break down silos, centralize and

standardize processes and drive operational

excellence across the enterprise.

Navigating the software buy-in, selection and

procurement process can be daunting, but don’t

get discouraged. We’re here to help.

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MEET CORITY.Proven, award-winning software, recognized by independent industry analysts for covering every aspect of EHSQ. Our powerful, fully integrated SaaS model is designed, deployed, and supported by experts who have literally walked in your shoes. Cority has an unmatched record of deployment and adoption success, plus the highest client satisfaction in the industry. For over 30 years we’ve been trusted by leading organizations to advance their success and provide measurably better EHSQ outcomes.

Let’s take the next step together.

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About the AuthorIan Cohen, MS

Product Marketing Manager

Environmental, Safety & Sustainability Solutions

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