How Procore Helps Specialty Contractors Achieve Implementation and Adoption Success

Specialty contractors face complex challenges every day, but adopting new technologies doesn’t have to be one of them. Procure offers a number of services on top of its construction management platform aimed at helping every company achieve its vision and implement workplace-redefining software tools.

In Procore and Dodge Construction Network’s recent survey of specialty contractorsthe most frequently cited reasons for not adopting new technologies were that too much training is required, field staff balk at the unfamiliar tools, and there simply isn’t enough time to evaluate and implement them.

Any leader in construction will sympathize with these complaints — and certainly change management is never easy. But Procore aims to make this transition as efficient and seamless as possible through three major services: 1) Professional Services to establish and optimize all your software; 2) self-paced learning for intuitive and customizable training; and 3) a network of consultants and experts to collaborate with.

Professional Services support and enhance your solutions

We know that specialty contractors have unique needs, from time-sensitive field operations to complicated billing cycles with vendors and general contractors. Procore’s Professional Services help implement software without compromising existing business processes, and also provide ongoing support to make sure those needs continue to be met.

Another way Professional Services brings user value is that they are based on outcomes not just tool or feature usage. For example, if you are struggling with an inaccurate and inefficient Time & Materials ticket management process they will help you build a process within Procore that ensures profitability doesn’t slip from missed or delayed tickets. This approach goes beyond just knowing where application tools are located and instead focuses on results and achieving the outcomes your team needs.

If your team is more hands-on and has the resources to manage your implementation we still recommend working with our Professional Services team to set the right expectations and schedule. Connecting your in-house team with a Procore expert can speed up the rollout and ensure processes are set correctly. Additionally, a dedicated Customer Success Manager can assist your team in navigating nuanced customization of Procore tools to meet your unique use cases.

An example of unique customization could be an ERP integration. These can be tricky, and we understand that there is zero margin for error in such situations. This is why we have experts in ERP integrations that can help with configuration and operational readiness, ensuring data migration and revised workflows don’t affect things like cost code formats and types. We can even help develop custom connectors specific to your company’s tooling.

Of course, ongoing technical support is a given, even for third-party integrations, and maintenance plans to keep your solutions updated.

In fact, our Technical Services teams can do more than maintain; they can optimize your tech stack, reviewing your current tools for opportunities to consolidate or update them. They can guide your team through any new APIs, workflows, or even a brand new ERP.

As the Dodge Report shows, not every team has the time or expertise to take on a new tech platform. If your team is light on construction technology talent, Procore’s Remote Administration Services are available to act as a high-touch ongoing solution for implementing and rolling out new solutions. This includes configuring accounts, reports, templates, and forms, as well as data readiness activities like entering or importing data into the new systems.

Self-paced learning makes adoption possible

Once processes are in place, it’s important to make sure your employees know how to use it. In addition to making our construction management platform intuitive to use, Procore supports customers by providing free and easily accessible learning resources and certifications.

The best place for new users to start is on Procore’s learning portal. Users can move at their own pace through step-by-step guides to all of Procore’s products. There’s a Specialty Contractor specific curriculum that’s focused on prioritizing what is most important to our SC customers. Completing this tailored course grants a certification that can be verified internally or externally, even added to a LinkedIn profile.

There are also optional and advanced courses on matters like safety, BIM, and scheduling best practices, and we’re adding more all the time.

For technical documentation, support.procore.com is where users can access a treasure trove of content, from how-to videos to FAQs to suggested workflows. It’s a great resource for those overseeing adoption and implementation as well as users that are seeking more detailed instruction on how to configure, use and maintain a product.

Procore’s custom support and education portal for organizations, Training Center, provides a private, customized support site, which includes Procore support documentation as well as any private content customers would like to add. Each company gets a private page and URL on the Procore site, where they can list their standard operating procedures, best practices, and internal documents, whether they’re Procore-related or not. If one of your employees fires up the support page, it’ll be yours that appears, not a generic one.

These private, custom pages can be organized by role, by project stage, and they’re access is managed to make sure sensitive information stays private. Procore-related resources will automatically update when our teams add features or documentation, so you only need to worry about the content your company generates. And at the end of every quarter you’ll get a report on what pages were most visited, or what topics had the most tickets — an excellent way to identify areas to focus enablement and establish best practices.

Procore’s growing Community continually provides value

The Procore user base has grown into a valuable network of people and businesses that you can connect with and learn from and contribute to.

Procore Communities offer a way to find answers or advice on the platform or in general. With more than 50,000 members across 170 different groups, hundreds of questions are answered and ideas are exchanged every day.

We highly recommend that every Specialty Contractor working with Procore signs up for our Community Group and joins our quarterly Community meetings held via video call.

The network and Procore’s own experts are here to put product updates in context, request and evaluate new features, and get official support. Groups specializing in a trade or business domain let you tailor your questions or advice to other experts in Preconstruction, Mechanical Contractors, Estimators, and dozens more.

Getting Maximum Value of the Platform with Procore’s Certified Consultants

Procore’s Certified Consultants are also here to help: these independent experts have all completed an official certification program, and are authorized to help you and your team get maximum value out of the platform. Their expertise applies both pre- and post-Procore implementation, so they’re ready to help at every stage.

Each consultant has their own individual history and background, and provides a unique range of services, so depending on your trade, region, or company size one may have special insights. And it’s not just for new customers. Certified Consultants help long-term customers adapt to market changes and apply new Procore features.

Ultimately, Certified Consultants have the same goal as Procore when it comes to customer success: to help your team extract the most value from the platform. And customers who used them experienced better alignment across the board. From experienced faster rollouts and increased adoption internally to improved ROI on their investment.

Whether it’s for initial implementation, custom reports and dashboards, tech stack evaluations, business reviews, or any other process your organization wants to improve, Certified Consultants’ deep knowledge of both construction and Procore make them a great choice for any specialty contractor.

Procore’s reach in the construction industry also means many technology providers are looking for ways to ensure their solutions integrate with ours — if they don’t already.

Procore’s App Marketplace: 400 Integrations Available

Procore uses what’s called an “open API,” meaning its programming interface is publicly available for app developers to inspect and design around. This approach has created a thriving ecosystem in the Procore App Marketplace, where over 400 integrations are already available and documented, including well-used options like Sage, Quickbooks, iSqFT, Power BI, and Kojo.

This large and diverse marketplace is useful for specialty contractors because it means tech you are already comfortable with likely already works hand-in-hand with Procore’s tools. Effective integration means everyone is on the same page, even across different departments and business processes. By systematically connecting departments. HR, finance, material tracking, and other disparate units can securely share data, avoiding miscommunications and problems like double entry.

Adoption and implementation of software continues to be one of the biggest roadblocks specialty contractors have after deciding to level up their teams. Procore not only provides the tools to do so, but services and expertise to adopt and effectively implement them. That way your company can avoid or minimize associated difficulties and arrive more quickly at solutions that let your team create more value than ever.