Stop Treating Training Like an Afterthought in ServiceNow

I’ll admit it: even with 10 years as a professional trainer, I tend to be the worst student in the room. I want to skip the slides, breeze past the labs, and just get to the good stuff. But that’s exactly why I know training isn’t optional; it’s essential. I’ve lived and breathed learning design, delivery, and adoption, and I’ve seen firsthand how skipping it derails even the best ServiceNow implementations.

Too often, training gets bolted on at the end of an implementation, right before go-live, like a box someone forgot to check. 

The result? Users who don’t understand the “why” behind the tool, process owners who can’t sustain what was built, and executives wondering why adoption looks like a ghost town.

Training isn’t a one-time event. It’s a strategy. It should start early, evolve with the rollout, and continue long after the confetti from go-live settles. Your people need more than a quick “how to click here” session; they need context, confidence, and clarity. They need to see how the platform makes their work easier, not harder.

Here’s what works:

Role-based learning: Don’t waste everyone’s time with generic training. Teach each persona what they need.

Bite-sized content: Nobody’s rewatching a 2-hour recording. Give them short, searchable nuggets.

Ongoing reinforcement: New releases, new hires, new processes, training never stops.

Because here’s the truth: ServiceNow won’t transform your business, your people will. But only if you train them. And if even I can admit I need training, so can you.