Microsoft Copilot adoption and enablement require careful planning and change management. Here’s our tailored approach to ensuring a smooth transition to Copilot that will maximize the tool’s benefits for your organization.

In the first two blogs of our Get Ready for Your Microsoft Copilot series, we took deep dives into the available Microsoft Copilots, essential features, strategies for getting the most from your investment, and how to prepare and protect your data. This final blog focuses on your most important aspect – your people.

While Copilot is still emerging, the tool relies heavily on several Microsoft 365 (M365) applications that have been around for years. As a Microsoft AI Cloud Partner, we have seen many implementations of modern tools like Microsoft Teams struggle to gain traction within organizations for multiple reasons.

Below are six steps gleaned from our experiences with effectively solving Microsoft 365 adoption and enablement challenges, tweaked and adapted for Copilot’s unique capabilities. They will help ensure your employees not only embrace Copilot but also find innovative ways to integrate it into their work.

1. Know the Current State of Your M365 Experience

As a Microsoft 365 shop, you may believe that employees understand the risks and benefits of using M355 applications (Microsoft Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint Online, and so on). But do you know how effectively employees use these tools or if employee enablement has hit any roadblocks like the inconsistent use of permissions?

Before your Copilot rollout, assess key M365 metrics like user engagement, feature usage, and feedback to gauge the effectiveness and satisfaction levels with your current M365 experience. These metrics may also identify employee skill gaps and Copilot training opportunities you can address up front.

Knowing where your organization has needed help in the past — and how employees overcame those challenges — will prevent costly headaches with Copilot’s expanded M365 capabilities.

Targeted training programs, workshops, or self-learning online resources will enhance employees' proficiency and confidence in using M365 tools, laying a solid foundation for their seamless integration of Microsoft Copilot into their day-to-day workflows when the time comes.

You should also assess your employees’ openness to innovation, collaboration, experimentation, and change in the ever-changing digital world. Knowing their tolerance for change will be helpful as you create a clear direction for the organization that inspires buy-in and alignment with its goals and values.

2. Get Leadership Buy-In on Your Copilot Implementation and Rollout

Without leaders who are 100 percent behind your efforts, you put your Copilot implementation and rollout at risk on multiple levels.

First, you will have a more challenging time securing the necessary budget, time and human resources you'll need. Starting without adequate resources can have a waterfall effect on your project, negatively affecting everything from planning and training to IT infrastructure. These impacts will hinder your ability to integrate Copilot into your organization's workflow.

You also need leadership on board to ensure accountability for the project's success. Without accountability and a lack of clear ownership and responsibility for driving the Copilot rollout forward, you increase the likelihood of delays and setbacks, leading to failure to achieve desired outcomes.

Finally, you need leadership to align on how Copilot fits your organizational goals: What do you need Copilot to do? How will it move you forward? Answering the hard questions will help you avoid a costly mismatch between the technology's intended purpose and your organization's actual needs that can lead to inefficiencies and wasted resources.

To illustrate, consider a recent experience we had with a stalled Microsoft Teams adoption. Leaders had approved the deployment and invested in Teams without first understanding the tool and what it could do for them. Meanwhile, employees adapted by making the most of Outlook as their Teams instances sat unused.

We met with some of the most resistant executives and invited them to explain their use cases – the things they struggled to do daily. Once we showed them how Teams could address those needs, their fears, anxieties and misunderstandings started to melt away. We then held similar sessions for some of the most adverse employees.

The result: We created a group of advocates to share their appreciation of the tool and help others work through their use cases. A similar approach would work with Copilot, and it would be a big step toward meeting the needs of your most important resource – your employees.

3. Prepare Your Employees with Copilot Training and Communication

Employees may resist change, especially if they don’t receive enough communication and training about Microsoft Copilot. Users need support, clear communication, and guidance from leadership – another reason to start by ensuring leadership alignment. Without clear communication from leadership or proper training sessions, employees may begin to speculate and make assumptions about the tool's intentions and potential consequences.

Start by developing a comprehensive communication plan that educates employees about implementing and adopting Microsoft Copilot. You will need to share:

• Why you need the change.
• What benefits employees will enjoy.
• How Copilot will enhance your organization.
• How Copilot will change some roles and responsibilities.

Your Copilot training plan should also include plenty of documentation and resources, such as user guides, FAQs, and knowledge-based articles to support ongoing learning and adoption of Copilot within your organization. Be sure to provide multiple channels for two-way communications, like face-to-face meetings and anonymous chat tools.

Finally, you can take your communication and training on Microsoft Copilot to the next level by exploring key components and concepts not commonly addressed, such as:

• What is AI? AI can be a big, ambiguous term. Help employees understand basic artificial intelligence concepts and point out examples of how they already use technologies within today's Office 365 environment and in their everyday lives.
• What about AI and job loss? Be open and transparent with employees about your organization’s use, intent and vision of AI technologies such as Microsoft Copilot.
• What is a generative AI response? Incorporate Copilot prompt examples into learning material to maximize employees’ interaction and productivity with Copilot.
• Can I trust generative AI responses? Guide employees on your organization's best practices in trusting the accuracy and appropriateness of using generative AI. Couple this message with the organization's information security best practices and guidelines to ensure a positive and productive experience.

When offering Copilot training, it’s best to have multiple ways to deliver instruction so you can meet employees where they are and accommodate different learning styles. Without adequate training, employees may lose trust in Copilot AI and the organization’s ability to protect their data and privacy – all of which contribute to lower morale, productivity and negative perceptions of your organization among employees, customers, partners, and stakeholders.

4. Train for Copilot Security, Too

Training is also one of the best tools for combating security risks. Copilot gathers data from OneDrive and SharePoint Online, critical platforms for storing, accessing, and collaborating on documents and files. Microsoft strongly advises organizations to ensure their data storage infrastructure and access strategies are in order before beginning to roll out Copilot.

Employees not properly trained to use permissions correctly on their OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams data may expose sensitive information or credentials while using the tool. They also open themselves to malicious exploitation tactics, like social engineering attacks or phishing attempts. Any of these vulnerabilities can lead to data breaches and the potential for financial loss, reputational damage, and potential legal liabilities.

Many industries have regulatory requirements governing the protection of sensitive data, such as GDPR, HIPAA, or PCI DSS. You must also educate employees about these requirements when using Copilot and the costs of not following them, ranging from fines, lawsuits, and investigations to penalties, reputational damage, and financial instability.

5. Conduct Pilot Testing and Gather Feedback

Pilot tests or proof-of-concept projects with a select group of business users will help you evaluate Microsoft Copilot's capabilities, gather feedback, and identify any technical or organizational challenges. Encourage participants to share their experiences, insights, and suggestions for improvement to inform the broader Copilot rollout across the organization.

After your pilot tests, set up a system to continuously monitor the impact of Copilot adoption on employee morale, job satisfaction, and performance, seeking feedback and making adjustments as needed to address any concerns or challenges.

In fact, in my experience with M365 rollouts, I’ve found it’s best to provide multiple employee feedback channels (like email, chat, and anonymous feedback tools) as part of your employee education strategy. For the best result, I’ll combine that feedback with education and adoption goals, my development approach for education needs, and other initial delivery strategies, such as delivery methods, external education tools, and estimates.

A successful education program will also incorporate your company’s culture, specific details about your organization, and your user base. Goals should include education and Microsoft 365 adoption for leaders, stakeholders, project teams, champions, help desk teams, and support members in any areas where employees will have initial and ongoing needs.

As you go along, evaluate Copilot’s effectiveness in achieving organizational goals and employee well-being, making data-driven decisions to optimize Copilot AI usage and mitigate potential negative effects.

6. Foster a Culture of Continuous Learning

Copilot adoption is not a one-and-done. It is an ongoing process of learning, discovery and innovation. However, you must first know the current state of your culture and how open the organization is to improving through experimentation, continuous learning, and dedicated training time. Some best practices for continuous learning are:

• Identifying Learning Opportunities: Provide ongoing learning and development opportunities to help employees enhance their skills and knowledge. Offer advanced training sessions, webinars, lunch ’n’ learns, workshops, and certification opportunities to empower employees to become proficient Copilot users.
• Celebrating Successes: Recognize achievements and milestones related to adopting Microsoft technologies. Highlight success stories, showcase innovative use cases, and publicly acknowledge individuals and teams demonstrating exceptional Copilot adoption and proficiency.
• Creating Safe Spaces for Experimentation: Foster a culture where employees feel empowered to take risks and experiment with new ideas without fear of failure. Encourage creativity, innovation and exploration by providing safe spaces, such as innovation labs or pilot projects, where employees can test new concepts and initiatives.

Recognize the importance of ongoing learning and development by allocating time for training and skill-building activities. Incorporate Copilot training sessions into regular work schedules, allowing employees to prioritize learning alongside their daily tasks and responsibilities.

Conclusion

Ultimately, this three-part series argues for a 360-degree approach to Microsoft Copilot implementation and rollout. What's true for any software is exponentially truer with Copilot: Simply buying the tool and turning it on is a sure way to failure.

However, Copilot's ability to use generative AI, access enterprise data, and reshape how employees work raises the stakes even higher. But with a comprehensive 360 approach, your business — and your people — will fly places you can’t imagine today with Microsoft Copilot.

[cta bg="light blue" button="VIEW WEBINAR" link="https://centricconsulting.com/ub-nat-wbnr-m365-copilot/"]Microsoft recently changed its licensing model for those who can access Copilot for M365, opening it up to more businesses and individual users. Learn what this means for you.[/cta]

Do you need help with Microsoft Copilot adoption and enablement across your organization? Our Modern Workplace team is ready to guide you. Let’s talk.