Five missteps that can sink a successful ERP implementation

For government agencies, the benefits of a centralized enterprise resource planning (ERP) system are hard to ignore. Streamlined financial and human-capital management, deepened employee engagement, transparency across agency functions, boosted efficiency across the board—there’s a lot of upside. Yet around half of ERP deployments in state and local agencies ultimately fail, representing an enormous waste of resources. Why? Here’s a look at five common pitfalls that can derail a successful implementation—and how leaders can avoid them. 

 

1. Under-committing resources  

One of the most persistent problems facing ERP implementation teams is burnout and turnover. Unlike the legacy systems that these teams may have been accustomed to, today’s cloud-based, unified ERP platforms require continuous testing, input, and feedback as they manage real-time data across multiple functions. Burnout comes into play when organizations fail to allocate enough human capital to the ongoing development and maintenance of the new system. Suddenly those tasked with running it, often in a capacity that’s secondary to their core work responsibilities, are struggling to keep up after the go-live. Nothing has come off their plate—their plate simply got bigger. 

The solution 
A smooth ERP deployment starts with an initial budget request that takes into account the long-term need for dedicated resources from day one. A good rule of thumb: plan for core team members—ideally assembled into an “ERP operations” group formalized in the agency org chart—to devote themselves fully to running, updating, and maintaining the new system. This means putting a plan in place for either backfilling roles or bringing in experienced implementation partners to fill skills gaps. This core team should be equipped to comfortably handle system administration, user training, and twice-yearly software releases. The advanced functionality and upgradeability of today’s ERP platforms can’t be the responsibility of a single superhero. 

 

2. Failing to update standards and processes and secure buy-in 

Here’s an all-too-common scenario: A government agency makes a robust investment in a cloud-based ERP platform and spends months preparing the data and fine-tuning the technical configurations. But they haven’t identified the gaps between their current standards and processes—from budgeting and procurement cycles to IT governance frameworks—and the requirements of the new ERP. To make matters worse, with just a few weeks to go before launch, the leadership team sends out a wordy email notifying everyone across the organization what’s about to happen, and how their roles and processes are going to change. With little time to digest the details, many workers feel overwhelmed by the new system. They’re also unmotivated to use it, because they don’t understand the long-term goals behind the change, and they can’t reconcile existing processes and tasks with the new platform. Adoption stalls, undermining the ERP’s effectiveness and tanking ROI. 

The solution 
Yes, new ERP systems are exciting, but even if the technology is working perfectly, efficiency gains and other benefits won’t start flowing unless a structured implementation policy is in place—one that has updated the organization’s standards and processes to be compatible with the new system—and everyone is incentivized to use the platform in the right ways. Put a business-process optimization plan in place well ahead of deployment, and get buy-in early, even before deciding on a platform, by engaging key stakeholders in every department to understand their specific requirements. When people help design the solution, they support it. As go-live approaches, leadership teams should think like influencers, developing a smartly curated stream of messaging that drives attention and engagement. That messaging should stress how the new ERP system will make work easier, help serve citizens better, and eliminate the manual tasks that get in the way of more satisfying, higher-order work. 

 

 

3. Ignoring data quality 

You can get all the employee buy-in you like, but ultimately, an ERP system is only as good as the data that’s put into it. Some agencies spend months perfecting workflows, only to be derailed by outdated, duplicative, or siloed data. An absence of effective dates, improper formatting, wrong data added to fields as a workaround, and other problems arising from flawed migration sometimes don’t surface until big errors turn up downstream—say, after teams try to close the books, run payroll, or produce a report for a board meeting.  

The solution 
Data cleanup needs to start on day one of the ERP implementation journey, not day 300, and it needs to run parallel to system configuration. Conduct comprehensive data audits early to understand what condition your data is in and what your data retention requirement are, and establish governance standards before migration. Build in significant time for multiple rounds of data migration testing; most organizations need at least three full cycles before they’re ready to go live. 

 

 

4. Falling short on training (or the right kind of training) 

No matter how well you configure the system, it’s doomed to failure if people don’t know how to use it. Unfortunately, many tech leadership teams treat training like a checkbox, cramming in a few agency-wide sessions right before go-live. Essentially, they show people where the buttons are and call it a day. But rushing training into a brief window—and offering only generic tutorials that don’t reflect actual workplace scenarios and roles—can stop adoption in its tracks. 

The solution 
Training opportunities should be offered early and often, including hands-on simulations and other sandbox environments, as well as digestible modules that acknowledge workers’ time constraints. These resources should be role-based, not generic, based on the understanding that supervisors, directors, and frontline employees will each engage with the ERP system in different ways. That means tailoring the training to real workplace tasks and activities and showing people how to complete processes using the organization’s real ERP setup. Another powerful enabler of ERP success: a “train the trainer” approach, which identifies power users who can become change champions and peer-to-peer coaches.  

 

 

5. Clinging to a get-it-and-forget-it mindset 

The legacy systems and technologies that modern cloud-based ERPs are replacing—from outdated payroll software to manual accounting processes—tend to encourage a reactive posture. Meaning: Support teams often act only when something breaks. Teams that hang onto that mindset as their organization migrates to an ERP system will find themselves falling behind, and fast. So will teams that strive for perfection on day one, laboring under the misconception that if you get the go-live right, the system will take care of itself. They’ll struggle to keep up with newly released features and upgrades and—more critically—fail to leverage the many new AI-enabled capabilities, such as predictive analytics and financial forecasting, that are increasingly central to ERP optimization. 

The solution 
Think of your go-live as the starting line, not the finish line. Sophisticated ERP systems are like living organisms that require care, monitoring, and enhancements. Set up a permanent ERP Center of Excellence that can solicit user feedback, identify enhancement areas, and plan how to leverage new features. Accelerate optimization by scheduling twice-yearly “innovation sprints” to pilot new capabilities such as agentic AI assistants, predictive talent insights, and predictive budget forecasting. 

The bottom line? Successful ERP implementation is an organization-wide endeavor, and an open-ended one. Get it right, and everyone benefits.