Forum Discussion
Case Study #1: Adoption as a Marketing Campaign
When a user is given new software, the first question they usually ask is, "how do I still do my job?"
Similar to Chandler Milne, I like to think about the job the user is hiring the software to do, and then start early with small gems of wisdom, long before they have the software. Communicating the story about how the software will change the way the user works--for the better--is crucial to successful adoption.
So much of adoption is based on breaking down barriers. Once the user understands the true benefits--saving them time, making them more productive, avoiding that unprepared embarrassment in a meeting, etc.--they will be begging for the change to happen rather than fighting it.
If you don't understand your users, you can't be successful with this approach. We like to give users small bits of wisdom, asking them questions along the way. Then we segment the training we offer them by their roles, job tasks, or business scenarios. For example, the needs of an exeuctive admin who is looking to upgrade from Outlook 2007 to Office 365 is in a very different place from a sales guy, using a Mac, who just started at the company, and previously only used Google.
What if you cannot afford to have the one on one training and support to get users to adopt it? Our struggle is the systems we have in place now work just fine. It seems like Teams is just adding a new way to do the same things. For example, the chat features. We already have Skype for Business/email and those two work just fine. If we are talking about files, well we already use file server shares for that.
How do you get users to change that thinking? This is the struggle we have.
kengland2 There are certainly solutions that can bring a 1:1 learning and adoption experience without the 1:1 price tag and in the EDU space you're probably eligible for discounts. I suppose organizations should be asking themselves A) what value does driving adoption bring to the organization and B) by not allocating budget to adoption is that just a short-term gain, long-term loss?
Like Cian Allner mentioned, evaluating why you bought O365 and what you have accomplished so far is very important. Have you maximized your investment? Are users working in new, more productive ways or are they just "fine" with a basic level of functionality?
CDW published a pretty good article on change management and steps you should take if you don't feel like you've completely capitalized on your investments:
https://blog.cdw.com/software/4-steps-successful-change-management-video
At the user level, getting them to change isn't easy - you're absolutely right in highlighting that struggle. Most everyone faces it. What I've seen work most effectively is:
- Communicate the change - It's not "Field of Dreams". Users won't magically start using OneDrive just because you put it out there. Let them know it exists and why the organization is making the change.
- Develop affinity for the change - You might have mentioned why the change benefits the org (security, cost, etc.) but don't forget to regularly tell the users why the change benefits them (productivity, mobility, speed, etc.). MSFT sold you on 365, but did anyone sell the user?
- Communicate consistantly - habits are hard to change and without encouragement and reminders users may slide back into old ways. One initial email or a bunch of links on an intranet will not cut it. Be proactive.
- Build the support network - Cian Allner hit it again on the head. Make sure you develop your champions, management, etc. to promote organic adoption growth and so that users have peer support.
Creating a culture of change is not easy, maximizing your MSFT investments takes work, but making these things a reality are VERY worth it. Again, most organizations need some help and there are solutions out there, for some Microsoft may also provide funding.