November

2015

CAN ERP HELP BRIDGE THE GENERATIONAL DIVIDE?

ADDRESSING THE SKILLS GAP
Key Takeaways
While baby boomers
knew/know the business
and perhaps dont
appreciate the extent to
which technology can
help, millennials take
technology for granted
but dont have the same
depth of business
knowledge
The connectivity,
collaboration capabilities
and added visibility of
newer ERP solutions
hold the key to bridging
generational and skill
gaps
Older and younger
generations will be
drawn to new user
experiences for different
reasons, but will wind up
in the same place,
accessing enterprise
data in real time
New social capabilities
now being delivered by
ERP solution providers
can produce a
synergistic effect and
help close the skills gap,
drawing all parties into
the conversation,
sharing strengths and
creating synergy

A generational divide today fuels the skills gap in many industries. On one
end of the spectrum we see highly trained, highly skilled baby boomers
who are beginning to retire. This generation entered the work force at a
time when many processes were still very manual, requiring a greater
depth of knowledge and understanding. When faced with a new task or
activity, these workers also faced a steep learning curve. They
communicated (or not) without the aid of cell phones and the Internet;
technology played a relatively minor role as people and careers matured.
On the other end of the spectrum are the millennials who grew up with
technology. They dont know life without the Internet, smart phones and
electronic gadgets. They dont know what it is like to be disconnected.
When faced with a new task or activity they ask, Is there an app for
that? Since the answer is often yes, they are not required to develop the
same level of understanding possessed by those who may soon be
retiring.
While baby boomers knew/know the business and perhaps dont
appreciate the extent to which technology can help, millennials take
technology for granted but dont have the same depth of business
knowledge. Companies are increasingly looking for ways to bridge this
generational divide. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and other
complementary systems can help, but only with a new generation of
modern applications. By automating processes and making the user
experience more intuitive, companies can not only attract the younger
generation but also make life easier for older workers, drawing them into
the technology fold.

THE ERP CONNECTION

Those running outdated ERP applications might be puzzled by the assertion
that such a solution can bridge the generation gap or address a skill deficit.
Early ERP solutions created the need for lots of training. Not only did users
need to be trained in how to navigate menus and screens, but also in workflow
and procedure. Because early ERP systems didnt work exactly the way people
worked, workers first had to learn how to do their jobs, and then separately
had to learn how to enter data into ERP, and/or how to extract it. Depending
on how closely (or not) these two were aligned, the same ERP that was
supposed to make life easier, sometimes made it harder. While baby boomers

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Data Source
In this report, Mint
Jutras references data
collected from its 2015
Enterprise Solution
Study, which
investigated the goals,
challenges and status
and also benchmarked
performance of
implementations of
software used to run the
business.
Almost 400 responses
were collected from
companies across a
broad range of
industries. This sample
included responses from
companies of all sizes,
ranging from very small
to very large enterprises.

Selection Criteria
Ranking
Participants were asked
to prioritize 13 different
selection criteria on a
scale of 1 to 5 as follows:

might not claim to have walked five miles to school in two feet of snow (uphill
both ways?), they were accustomed to hard. They didnt revolt. They
adapted, even if it meant working around the system instead of with it.
But on a personal level baby boomers also wanted better and easier for
the next generation. And they delivered that, providing all the modern
conveniences to their children and grandchildren. And of course the
electronics of today were a natural progression for these next generations.
They took to Xbox and computer games like fish to water. And games led to
computers and cell phones and then smart phones, and then tablets.
Computers led them to the Internet. Smart phones and tablets led them to
apps.
When the generation that grew up with consumer technology entered the
real world and got jobs, they couldnt understand why the apps they used
at work werent as easy to use as the ones they were using on their smart
phones and tablets. Unlike the older generation that knew the business and
the business processes inside and out, and therefore knew how to operate
outside of the system, the younger generation had become dependent upon
technology.
The combination of these forces has led to a change in how enterprise
software like ERP is evaluated. For many years fit and functionality was, by
far, the top selection criterion. The Mint Jutras 2014 ERP Solution Study, and
other prior year studies asked participants to prioritize individual selection
criteria (Table 1) on a scale of 1 to 5. And we observed a change.
Table 1: Selection Criteria

5: Must Have/Most
Important
4: Important
3: Somewhat Important
2: Nice to Have
1: Not a Consideration
The actual mean
shown in Table 1 is less
important than the
relative priority of the
different evaluation
criteria.

Source: Mint Jutras 2014 ERP Solution Study

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While fit and functionality still had the highest percentage of participant votes
for must have/most important, ease of use took the top spot in terms of
overall priority. Having all the functionality in the world is meaningless if you
cant figure out how to use it.
But the results were so close we wondered what would be the priority if
respondents had to choose. So in 2015 we changed the format of the
question, again listing the different criteria, but this time consolidating to 10
criteria and forcing the participants to stack rank them from 1 (least
important) to 10 (most important). Given the preoccupation of industry
influencers with user experience, we also changed ease of use to user
experience and substituted some of the prior criteria for new factors which
had risen in importance in our research. The overall results are clear. The top
three criteria are all related to features and functionality.
Table 2: Selection Criteria Priorities Stack Ranked from 1 to 10
Selection Criteria
Priorities 2015
Survey respondents were
asked to stack rank the
different selection criteria
from 1 (least important)
to 10 (most important).
They were not allowed to
have two ranked at the
same priority, forcing
them to decide on the
order of importance.

Source: Mint Jutras 2015 Enterprise Solution Study

User experience is still in the top half, but when forced to choose, it fell in
importance. Ease of use is an important element of the user experience, and
in fact is often viewed as synonomous. But ease of use means different
things to different people, particularly across generational boundaries. Mint
Jutras suspected this was very much the case in terms of both the definition of
ease of use, as well as the prioritization of selection criteria. So in 2015 we also
captured the year in which our survey respondents were born, in order to
categorize them in the most popular vernacular of generations. The results
were quite interesting (Table 3).
We can make several interesting observations from this comparison. Not only
do the priorities of baby boomers differ quite dramatically from those of
millennials, but we also see less consensus from this youngest generation.

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Defining the
Generations
Survey respondents were
placed in the following
groups based on the year
they were born:

Table 3: Selection Criteria Priorities Stack Ranked by Generation

Baby boomers: born

between 1943 and
1964
Generation Xers: 1965
to 1981
Millenial: born in 1982
or after
Source: Mint Jutras 2015 Enterprise Solution Study
Note: Top priority is shaded in light green

Note the differential between the criteria with the highest and the lowest
scores across each of the three columns. Fit and functionality is clearly at the
top for baby boomers (and Gen Xers) and social capabilities are clearly at the
bottom, with a difference in scores of 4.3. Surprisingly, social capabilites were
also at the bottom for millennials, but there was only a spread of 1.5 between
the bottom and the top. And at the top of the millennials list was the quality
of built-in reporting and analytics perhaps because without this built-in
capability, these younger workers might not be able to garner real meaning
from the enterprise data.
But what some might find most surprising is that millennials seem to place less
value on the user experience than both of the older generations. While on the
surface this might seem puzzling, since these are the workers balking at the
green screens and clumsy interfaces of old. But this is far less surprising when
you realize that millennials define ease of use differently than those with
more experience.
Survey respondents were asked to select the top three most important
aspects of ease of use. While baby boomers and Gen Xers define it first and
foremost in terms of efficiencies, millennials are far more likely to simply
equate it to the visual appeal of the user interface (Figure 1). While baby
boomers equate efficiency to intuitive navigation, millennials take intuitive
navigation for granted. They have never used software that required a user
manual. To them, a visually appealing user interface, which was at the very
bottom of the priorities for baby boomers and GenXers, is most important.

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Figure 1: Defining Ease of Use by Generation (top 3 factors)

Source: Mint Jutras 2015 ERP Solution Study

To be most effective, you

cant settle for pleasing
some of the audience all
of the time, or all of the
audience some of the
time. You need to please
(and engage) all users all
of the time.

There is an important lesson to be learned here. Most companies have

representatives of all generations using ERP. For it to be most effective in
helping you bridge the generational divide and fill the skills gap, you cant
settle for pleasing some of the audience all of the time, or all of the audience
some of the time. You need to please (and engage) all users all of the time.
Beautiful software and simplicity, functionality and efficiency are equally
important. Navigation throughout must be intuitive for all generations,
including both those anxious to get rid of old cheat sheets and guides, as well
as the younger generation that takes intuitive navigation for granted.
Results from our ease of use question tell us that the different generations
appreciate (or not) easy access to ERP any time from anywhere about equally
(33% to 38% placed it in their top three). But if we look back at Table 3, we see
that millenials are more likely to connect the dots between the cloud, their
mobile devices and this instant access especially the cloud. Cloud options
for ERP ranked number two in priority (behind quality of built-in reporting and
analytics) for millennials, while cloud, mobile and social rounded out the
bottom three for baby boomers.
These digital factors weigh heavily on how millennials learn today. Back when
the baby boomers were just starting out (and had a lot to learn), they were
surrounded by more experienced workers, in the physical sense. But today we
often work in a virtual world of telecommuting and distributed environments.
We find 80% of the companies participating in our Solution Study operate in
multiple locations (Figure 2), and this doesnt even reflect the workers in home
offices. Even smaller companies face this challenge. These less experienced

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workers cant necessarily walk across the aisle for assistance. Instead, they
reach out electronically. So it is critical that those with more experience are
also connected to that virtual network. But both need a transportation vehicle
to support communication and transmit data throughout that network. This is
where ERP comes in.
Figure 2: Environments are increasingly distributed
Company Size
In Figure 2 company size
is determined by annual
revenue.
Small: annual
revenues under $25
million
Lower-Mid: $25
million to $250 million
Upper-Mid: $250
million to $1 billion
Large: revenues over
$1 billion

Source: Mint Jutras 2015 ERP Solution Study

The ability to connect to

ERP through a mobile
device is even more
important than many
realize. This is a clear
indication that survey
participants under-
estimate the role ERP
can and should play in
communication,
collaboration and
decision-making.

And since most millennials view their mobile devices as a lifeline to the rest of
the world, this is just another reason why the ability to connect to ERP through
a mobile device is even more important than many realize. Notice that for all
but millennials, this was second from the bottom of the priority list. And it
wasnt that much further up the list for the millennials. This is a clear
indication that participants underestimate the role ERP can and should play in
communication, collaboration and decision-making.
ERP can provide these capabilities but not by just dumping old ways of
accessing ERP to a mobile device. Give a new mobile device to a millennial and
he or she will find dozens of productive ways to use it. To get this theres an
app for that generation to use ERP on a mobile device, it has to look, feel and
behave like other mobile apps. Give someone of the older generation the
same new device, and it is just as likely to sit in a desk drawer. To get these
baby boomers to use ERP on a mobile device, you need to deliver a user
experience purpose-built to answer their questions and help them solve their

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Older and younger
generations may be
drawn to these new user
experiences for different
reasons, but they will
wind up in the same
place, accessing
enterprise data in real
time and communicating
from the same page.

most pressing problems. Todays technology-enabled ERP solutions can, and
in doing so also help bridge the generational divide. Older and younger
generations may be drawn to these new user experiences for different
reasons, but they will wind up in the same place, accessing enterprise data in
real time and communicating from the same page. The conclusion? User
experience is equally as important to both younger and older generations of
workers.

WHAT ABOUT THE SKILLS GAP?

New ways of engaging with ERP, including engaging with mobile devices,
might bring the older and younger generation together, but can it help address
the skills gap that still seems to pervade the workplace?

The connectivity,
collaboration
capabilities and added
visibility of newer ERP
solutions hold the key to
bridging this skills gap.
The new social
capabilities now being
delivered by ERP solution
providers can produce a
synergistic effect with
the result being far
greater than the sum of
the parts.

Indeed the connectivity, collaboration capabilities and added visibility of

newer ERP solutions hold the key to bridging this gap. The trick is to bring
these two generations together in order to learn from each other. This is
where the new social capabilities now being delivered by ERP solution
providers can produce a synergistic effect with the result being far greater
than the sum of the parts.
Of course the term social has different connotations to the older and
younger generations. The younger generation seems to operate from the
principle of communicate early, communicate often. And this communication
is largely electronic. They get answers from the Internet instantly, text their
friends and colleagues constantly and are always in search of the latest in
techno-gadgetry. So they immediately equate the term social to
engagement, communication, collaboration and transparency.
Mention social to a baby boomer and you get a far different reaction. While
more and more they may actively engage on Facebook to share pictures of
grandchildren and communicate with relatives and friends from a distance,
from a business perspective it is a distraction, something that should be done
on employees personal time. For the traditional businessperson accustomed
to traditional means of communication, social has an unfortunate
connotation.
Yet it would appear that baby boomers are not alone in missing the
connection between social and ERP. Social capabilities was at the very
bottom of the priorities of all three generations, albeit more dramatically so
with the more mature crowd. And yet when we identify what some of these
capabilities actually are, we get a very different response. Sure enough, all the
social capabilities that vendors are busy adding to ERP are more often viewed
as useful or must have than just nice to have. And 10% or less indicated
they would not use the capability if available (Table 4).

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Table 4: Are these social capabilities useful? Shhhdont call them social

Source: Mint Jutras 2015 Enterprise Solution Study

You might be wondering if this too varies by generation. The answer: Not as
much as you might think. The only capability that was valued significantly
more highly by millennials was the ability to capture a conversation and
associate it with a business object (e.g. a customer, an order, etc.) But
remember, millennials are very accustomed to carrying on a conversation
electronically, so making the mental leap to capturing the conversational trail
is not a very big leap. For a baby boomer it may well entail redefining what is
meant by a conversation.

YES, ERP CAN HELP. BUT NOT JUST ANY ERP

By now, you are probably thinking, that perhaps ERP can in fact help bridge
the generational divide and fill some of the skills gaps we experience today.
But not every ERP will be able to help. It takes a certain level of feature
functionality, coupled with enabling technology. Below you will find some of
the next generation capabilities required, including those that might be called
social.

ENTERPRISE SEARCH:
It is not clear exactly when Google became a verb, but that is exactly how
many people use the term today. Looking for information, or an answer to a
question? Just Google it. Wouldnt it be great if you could do the same with
your enterprise data within ERP?
Next generation ERP solutions with social capabilities do this by incorporating
a simple (to use) enterprise search capability. Dont know exactly what you are
looking for? Dont know exactly where to look? What do you do? In the real
world, you start searching and perhaps as you start to retrieve information,
you refine that search. Why not apply the same principle to accessing data in
enterprise applications? Search by customer, order, supplier, part or product,

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Without Google-like
search capability in ERP,
users needed to know
where and how different
data elements and
business objects are
stored and this
knowledge is dependent
on technology skills.
Adding an enterprise
search function bridges
that skills gap and
allows users to work,
discover and learn more
naturally.

perhaps combining data residing in your enterprise applications with
unstructured data available on the Internet.
Without this level of search capability in ERP, users need to know where and
how different data elements and business objects are stored and this
knowledge is dependent on technology skills. Adding an enterprise search
function bridges that skills gap and allows users to work, discover and learn
more naturally.

CONFIGURABLE USER INTERFACES:

Over the years ERP has progressed from hierarchical menus and tabbing
through forms to point and click and drag and drop. Now as we also begin to
bring these applications to mobile devices, touch screen technology is
emerging. Those ERP solution providers that are truly providing modern, next
generation ERP are employing a mobile first philosophy of design. If you
allow individuals to choose the paradigm they are most comfortable with and
customize it to their individual needs, you get everyone on the same page.
Younger workers can use familiar interfaces and devices to build their
knowledge of how the enterprise works while older workers are introduced to
the ease with which they can connect to the business.

PERSONALIZED WORKSPACES:
These may be called dashboards, portals or even workspaces. Think of them as
a home base of operations from which you can easily access the data and tools
you need and use every day, all day. The power of a well-constructed
workspace lies in blurring the boundaries between ERP and other enterprise
applications, desktop tools like spreadsheets, email, instant messaging, alerts
and more. You are able to reach out and touch any of these without closing
down or minimizing one application before firing up another.
As always, a picture is worth a thousand words. Click on a chart to drill down
into further detail. The need to learn new navigational skills disappears.
These workspaces are also a convenient place to insert that enterprise search
button. These too should be easily configured and customized by role or by
individual.
Younger, less
experienced workers
wont even know what
to look for. Older
workers, aware of
potential danger, may
not know where to look.
Why not have ERP
deliver data to you
without having to ask
for it?

PUSH VERSUS PULL:

While all of these new consumer grade interfaces can be very valuable, they
only deliver answers when interrogated. Younger, less experienced workers
wont even know what to look for. Older workers, aware of potential danger,
may not know where to look. Why not have ERP deliver data to you without
having to ask for it? In its most simple form, this could simply be in the format
of an alert.
Event management, which is the underlying technology that triggers an alert,
is hardly new, but still not widely used. An event manager can be constantly

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searching for conditions or events that occur (e.g. a big order comes in) or fail
to occur (e.g. payment of a large invoice does not) while you go about your
business. Alerts can be delivered in any number of ways, but the most
common today is still via email.
While the exception management facilitated by these alerts is certainly a plus,
executives and line managers can still be blind-sided by a notification that
seemingly comes out of the blue. Of course in some cases the sensitivity level
can be increased to give a warning, but think how much more valuable it
would be to have the ability to monitor a stream of activity surrounding that
big order or the efforts made to collect payment from that delinquent
account. In order to do that, you need to be following the account.

THE CONCEPT OF FOLLOWING

If you arent already a fan of social, the concept of following someone or
something might not seem immediately familiar to you. But chances are, you
are already following someone or something either in your professional or
personal life. Perhaps you follow the stock price of specific companies, or you
watch a stock exchange like NASDAQ or the Nikkei. Or maybe you follow the
stats of your favorite sports teams. Maybe you do that through newspapers,
online or using an app on your mobile device. Perhaps newsfeeds are
delivered to you through email. Regardless of the delivery method, the
objective is to stay informed.
What if you could easily apply that same concept to your customers, orders or
prospects? Lets look at that big deal you are expecting to close. The sales rep
has it on his forecast and his manager also feels confident. But if you really
want to get a feel for the timing and the likelihood of closing the deal, today
you probably pick up the phone and talk to the rep or his manager. But do you
get the full picture?

Social capabilities can

easily draw all parties
into the conversation,
sharing strengths and
creating synergy.
Younger workers are
drawn into real business
conversations and more
mature workers can be
guided through using
these electronic means
of engaging, sharing and
collaborating.

Wouldnt it also be helpful to follow the trail of activity that has already
occurred during the sales cycle? What if you could see the conversations or
chatter between sales rep and manager? What documents have been
delivered to the prospect? And what if this potential deal is with an existing
customer? Wouldnt you like to be able to scroll through the support activity
over the past few months, including the calls, issues and resolutions? Has the
customer experienced any quality or delivery issues? Have they been
consistently paying their bills on time or is the outstanding balance over 90
days? Think what could be learned, potentially filling more of those
information gaps that are only aggravated when you have a skills gap.

COLLABORATION
Simply aggregating all this activity and data and making it available to all
interested and involved parties provides an environment conducive to
collaboration. These tools can easily draw all parties into the conversation,

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sharing strengths and creating synergy. Younger workers are drawn into real
business conversations and more mature workers can be guided through using
these electronic means of engaging, sharing and collaborating.
We are already seeing increased engagement with ERP at higher executive
levels of the organization. The majority of companies surveyed (81%) claim all
executives have direct access to ERP. But do they engage on a regular basis
and are they engaging collaboratively? Although the younger generation
intuitively works collaboratively because they are always connected, baby
boomer executives are more likely to simply make an executive decision.
While we have made significant progress in top-level executives simply gaining
access to ERP, we still have a long way to go before they are well equipped for
collaborative decision-making. We need to give them access directly from the
mobile devices (which they all carry these days) and apply these social
concepts in order to draw them into the real-time communication of the
digital world.

SUMMARY AND KEY TAKE-AWAYS

Can new ways of engaging with ERP teach the younger generation the
business while awakening the more mature crowd to the potential for new
technology? The answer is a definitive Yes! Not only has ERP itself matured
to better reflect and adapt to the changing business world, but new ways of
engaging with modern, next generation solutions are emerging. Need to
access data from anywhere, any time? Theres an app for that. Need to access
it from your mobile device? Yes, theres an app for that. Need to communicate
throughout the chain of command, across the generational divide? Yes, theres
an app for that. The app is ERP.





About the author: Cindy Jutras is a widely recognized expert in analyzing the impact
of enterprise applications on business performance. Utilizing over 40 years of
corporate experience and specific expertise in manufacturing, supply chain, customer
service and business performance management, Cindy has spent the past 10 years
benchmarking the performance of software solutions in the context of the business
benefits of technology. In 2011 Cindy founded Mint Jutras LLC (www.mintjutras.com),
specializing in analyzing and communicating the business value enterprise applications
bring to the enterprise.