To make enablement successful, a team of individuals with various roles and responsibilities execute detailed activities and tasks along the project lifecycle. The size and composition of the team depends on the size and complexity of the project.
For smaller projects, appoint a project manager as an enablement lead to oversee the enablement activities. You can also combine the roles of enablement lead and change lead into one role. For larger implementation programs, you need a dedicated enablement lead. Ensure that this lead has a lot of experience and understanding about successfully leading the organization's enablement efforts. To achieve the desired outcome, the lead can also prioritize and align all activities.
The team can consist of both internal and external resources, including external SAP consultants. To complete the project on time and within budget, it’s important to have the right team with the right skills and expertise.
Here are the main roles in an enablement team:
- Enablement lead
- Change lead
- Enablement administrator
- Content developer
- Trainer
- Subject matter expert
These roles are general recommendations. Adapt them to the needs of the organization and the project. Larger projects with a large team of content developers can have lead developers that manage the development effort and report to the enablement lead.
Typically, as shown in the following figure, the enablement team follows a simple hierarchy.
The following figure shows an outline of the listed enablement team roles.
The enablement lead (also called the training manager, the training lead, and the learning lead) is responsible for overseeing all enablement activities, ensuring they're aligned with the defined objectives. They deeply understand the organization's goals and how SAP implementation fits those goals. Ideally, they have experience of learning and enablement. The enablement lead is ultimately responsible for enablement and for managing enablement activities on time and on budget.
The content developer is responsible for creating the enablement content, such as e-learning modules, simulations, videos, and other instructional content. They deeply understand SAP processes and functionality and can communicate complex information in a clear and concise manner.
The trainer (or instructor) is responsible for delivering training to business users. They have excellent presentation and communication skills and can adapt their training style for different audiences and delivery methods (for example virtual and face-to-face delivery). They can also create enablement content and provide support to learners in their working environment.
The subject matter expert (also called the key user, super user, power user, business process owner, and workstream lead) is responsible for providing expertise in an area of the SAP system or business process. They provide guidance and support to the rest of the team.
The enablement administrator is responsible for managing the logistics of the enablement project, including scheduling and allocating resources to learning events. They have excellent organizational skills and attention to detail. They ensure that all activities complete efficiently and on time. Larger projects can have more than one enablement administrator.
The change lead is responsible for managing the change management process and ensuring that all stakeholders are informed and engaged. They have excellent communication and interpersonal skills to manage resistance to change and ensure that all stakeholders are on board.
In smaller projects, the enablement and change lead can be the same person.
