Switching to a new event scheduling system can seem like a daunting task—kind of like bringing home a baby or a new pet! You know the change is for the better in the long run but aren’t excited about the acclimation process.
It’s going to affect lots of people, including your scheduling team, other internal stakeholders (like your catering and AV departments), and your customers. So, you need to get the change right, particularly if your facilities are busy and you depend on them for revenue.
Then, of course, there’s your reputation to consider. If the transition goes poorly and your customers aren’t happy, word will get around quickly, potentially hurting your chances for future business. And the people who signed off on your new system also will not be pleased if things don’t go well!
Fortunately, our team at Mazévo understands all the challenges you face in getting up and running in a new scheduling system. We go to great lengths to help smooth the transition and minimize your time and effort.
Using Our Experience to Your Advantage
It’s true that every system transition is unique. But our team has helped hundreds of customers move to their new system quickly and efficiently through the years. As a result, if any challenges arise, we’ve seen them before and know how to address them to keep the process moving.
We also provide a training and rollout plan customized to your needs and expectations. (More on that below.) And because you need users to “get onboard” for your switch to be effective, we give you a communications plan and templates you can use to get people ready for and excited about the transition.
Perhaps most importantly, you work with the same implementation consultant throughout your move to Mazévo. That means there’s no wasted time getting anyone up to speed on your progress to date. Our product expert works closely with you to fully understand and meet your needs, including your transition timeline.
A Different Approach to Switching Systems
Both your Mazévo scheduling solution and our rollout process leverage the latest technology. With our approach, gone are the days when consultants had to make several trips to a customer site to help launch a system. That means you can say goodbye to all the hassles of bringing someone onsite, carving out days for training while still trying to get your work done, etc.
We conduct our training remotely via video conference calls in short sessions lasting 1-2 hours. And we provide the training when it’s convenient for you and your team. Early morning makes the most sense? Perfect! Late-day training is ideal? That works for us! Training around the lunch hour? Let’s do it!
As for the data in your current system, we can help with that, too. If you’re using EMS, we can quickly convert information into our format to minimize downtime. If you’re moving from another scheduling system, we can provide import tools that make it easy to pull your rooms, resources, customers, and bookings into your Mazévo database.
And Mazévo’s intuitive interface and streamlined processes enable you to make any final configuration tweaks—or future changes—with ease.
Getting Productive in Days or Weeks
If you were ever involved in a software transition project that took months (sometimes several months) to complete, you’ll be relieved to know that your move to Mazévo will go significantly faster!
Several factors affect the timeline, including:
- The system you’re leaving
- The amount of data you’re putting into Mazévo
- The complexity of your operations (event volumes, services provided, academic scheduling, etc.)
- The number of stakeholders impacted by the switch
But even in the most complex environments, you can expect to be productive in Mazévo in a matter of weeks. And if your scheduling is relatively simple, it’s no exaggeration to say you can be scheduling events in just days!
Capitalizing on Scheduling Best Practices
Switching systems is a great time to assess your scheduling processes and determine if any of them can and should be improved. Beyond our technical assistance, we’re also happy to provide best practices gathered from our interactions with scheduling professionals all around the country.
Plus, we hold monthly Mazévo Connect webinars that are open to all customers and frequently hosted by them. These sessions are recorded, so you can check them out on our YouTube channel if you can’t attend the live events.
Your Tailored Mazévo Onboarding Plan
We recognize that no two facilities are the same. That’s why we customize our onboarding assistance to meet your organization’s specific needs. That said, a typical Mazévo implementation flows as follows:
- Kick-off call with your Mazévo consultant. We have you provide a “demo” of your current scheduling system and process so that we can learn about your operations and understand your current state vs. the desired state.
- Data conversion. This is an optional process to pull data into Mazévo from EMS or your existing scheduling system.
- Post-conversion conversation. This session takes place two days after a conversion and involves a review of your converted data, configuration changes as needed, etc. It may be one or two parts.
- Training Session I – How To Use Mazévo (Add New Events, Edit Events, Add Resources to Events, Send Confirmations)
- Training Session II – How To Find Events, How to Run Reports, Invoicing, Approval Process
- Training Session III – How to Request Space, How to Approve Space
- Training Session IV– How To Manage Operations (if applicable, and typically involves your Facilities department)
- Training Session V – Academic Scheduling (if applicable)
Session times, order, and content vary based on your needs. In summary: It’s a highly tailored, very efficient onboarding and training process.
How To Prepare for Mazévo Onboarding
To maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of Mazévo onboarding, customers take certain steps in advance. This includes:
- Talking with their Mazévo consultant about who should be involved in the onboarding process
- Gathering the information outlined in this article
- Inactivating unneeded configuration items if an EMS-to-Mazévo conversion will be performed
Attentive Post-Implementation Support
It’s safe to say that no implementation of a “mission-critical” system has ever been completed without some follow-up questions. We expect them and are here to answer them promptly and thoroughly!
We think of this as the “system stabilization” period. It’s when you’re getting comfortable in Mazévo and addressing the finer points of how your system is configured and how you’ll use it.
And even beyond this period, we’re here for you. No question is too small (or too big)! We address most inquiries during business hours within minutes. But in any case, you can be confident that a product expert will respond as soon as they’re available.
Getting Familiar With Features in Mazévo Updates
There are two important aspects of Mazévo updates. The first is that because ours is a fully web-based system, no work is required on your part when we enhance it. Each time we make an update available, you have access to the features the next time you log in.
The second thing is that we update Mazévo regularly and consistently with small changes—rather than dropping a long list of new or enhanced features on you and your team. With our approach, you don’t need to be trained on new functionality. You simply read the descriptions provided when we announce new features or in our Knowledge Base, try the features out, and decide how to leverage them. It’s that easy!
Always Eager To Help You Get the Most From Mazévo!
Even with all we do to make your move to Mazévo simple and stress-free, we’re still happy to provide any additional assistance you need.
You can reach out to our team at support@gomazevo.com and expect a prompt reply from a friendly, knowledgeable product expert!
