Creating a Hiring Strategy for Multi-Phase ERP Programs
- September 24, 2026
Large ERP transformations rarely happen all at once. An organization may begin with finance before expanding into procurement, supply chain, manufacturing, or other functions. Global organizations may deploy by region or business unit, creating a transformation that unfolds over several years. The technology roadmap is often carefully sequenced, and the workforce strategy needs to be as well.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Build the workforce roadmap alongside the ERP roadmap.
- Separate temporary demand from permanent capability needs.
- Maintain a core team across phases.
- Staffing for the next deployment should begin before the current phase finishes.
- Employees can progressively assume responsibilities currently owned by external specialists.
- Hiring decisions should support both implementation and the future ERP operating model.
A staffing model designed for the first phase can become poorly suited to the third. Some skills are required throughout the transformation, while others peak during design, build, testing, migration, or stabilization. Meanwhile, contractors roll off, employees move into operational roles, and later phases introduce new requirements. The broader talent environment adds another challenge.
A strong hiring strategy for multi-phase ERP programs anticipates these changes rather than staffing each deployment independently.
CREATING A HIRING STRATEGY FOR MULTI-PHASE ERP PROGRAMS
Start with a Program-Level Skills Map
Before determining how many people to recruit, identify the capabilities required across the transformation. These might include program leadership, enterprise architecture, functional expertise, process design, data migration, master data governance, integration, security, development, testing, change management, training, cutover, and production support. Then map those capabilities against the program roadmap.
Some capabilities will be needed continuously, while others fluctuate considerably. Data migration demand may increase before each deployment. Testing resources may peak during validation. Change and training teams may expand as go-live approaches. The challenge becomes greater when phases overlap.
An integration architect expected to begin Phase Two may still be resolving Phase One stabilization issues. Business SMEs may be simultaneously supporting production and participating in the next design.
A program-level skills map makes those collisions visible before they become schedule problems.
Don’t Treat Every ERP Need as a Permanent Position
Multi-year programs can make temporary demand look permanent. Before creating a position, consider how intensely you need the capability, for how long you’ll need it, and whether you’ll need to retain it after the transformation.
Permanent employees can provide institutional knowledge and long-term ownership. Contractors can address temporary capacity needs and specialized skill requirements. Consultants can provide expertise around complex problems or outcomes. Upskilling can develop employees who already understand the business. A mature hiring strategy for multi-phase ERP programs uses these options together.
Maintain a Core Team Across the Transformation
Program leadership, architects, process owners, data governance leaders, integration leadership, security leadership, and selected functional experts can provide continuity between deployments.
That continuity matters because an ERP template contains hundreds of decisions. Why was one process standardized? Why was an extension approved? Which local requirements were rejected? Which integration pattern was selected? If everyone who understands those decisions leaves after the first phase, subsequent teams may repeat analysis or unintentionally undermine the original design.
Use Each Phase to Build Talent for the Next
Multi-phase ERP programs create a valuable opportunity: employees can develop alongside the transformation. An internal employee might observe an external specialist during the first deployment, perform the work with coaching during the second, and lead it during the third. That progression reduces long-term dependence on external expertise.
Moreover, waiting for one deployment to finish before staffing the next can create a continuous cycle of urgency. Instead, workforce planning should look at least one major phase ahead. If the next deployment requires capabilities the organization doesn’t possess, recruiting or development should begin while the current phase is underway. For instance, if design cannot begin without an architect and that position remains vacant, it belongs on the project risk register.
Plan For the Future
Every multi-phase transformation eventually becomes an operating environment, so determine early which capabilities the organization will need afterward. Who will own the platform? Integrations? Data governance? Security? Releases? Functional support? Which activities will remain outsourced? Those answers should influence hiring throughout the transformation.
Someone hired during Phase Two might eventually become a product owner, while an employee trained alongside a consultant may become the internal expert supporting the platform after go-live.
YOUR STRATEGY SHOULD EVOLVE WITH THE PROGRAM
The workforce plan created at the beginning shouldn’t remain static. Timelines will move. Requirements will emerge. Employees will change roles. Contractors will roll off. New technology will create new skill requirements.
In fact, 66% of workers expect technology to affect their jobs over the next three years, while 72% say they need more learning and development opportunities to keep pace. A strong hiring strategy for multi-phase ERP programs evolves accordingly.