Forum Discussion

Geoffrey Gough's avatar
Geoffrey Gough
Brass Contributor
Feb 23, 2017

O365 Fair

Looking for O365 Fair ideas.  We are wanting to host a company fair to generate excitement and create ultimate "super users".  What has worked in your organization?  Thanks.

  • We ran our first fairs last year and they were so successful that we now run them every qtr.  We called them IT Fairs because we had other areas we needed to cover beside O365, although O365 was the main focus.  We also had sessions on our SmartBoards, New hardware, training available, etc.  

    Here are some keys to success for us:

    • Utilize speakers from outside your organization.  This brought a certain credibility to the material presented.  
      • We were able to bring in our rep from Lenovo to show off the latest hardware that our users could order.  Users were able to ask her questions and interact with the devices.
      • We also brought in someone from Microsoft to teach about what is O365
      • We brought in a Microsoft Certified MVP as an ask the expert
    • Make the atmosphere fun!  We had balloons, free popcorn, door prizes, etc.  Popcorn smells help bring people in!  
    • Give people plenty of notice!  Minimum of 4wks.  Use multiple channels of communication.  We use the Intranet, email, posters in common areas, and table toppers in lunch areas.  
    • Make sure to track users that come to the fair and follow up.  We had a table at the entrance that everyone registered at, they were then given a ticket for a prize drawing, a pen, a copy of the schedule, & a plastic clip with the IT Fair website on it.  We then sent surveys to everyone that attended to gauge their interest and adjust.  everyone that filled out a survey was entered into another drawing for a prize.  

    I've attached some files that may help you.  Please feel free to contact me if I can help make your event a success!  

     

     

  • Some great ideas here and no harm in having a 'big bang' type of event to generate interest. However do take some time to plan the adoption journey afterwards and on an ongoing basis.

    You need to almost be continually supporting users as they learn to use Office 365. So using the likes of Yammer as a support network, lunch and learn sessions, workshops/showcase cafe's, video guides and much more all help to prolong the adoption journey and help people especially super users. One risk with such a fair to raise excitement is that it raises expectations and people are looking for something that solves all their business problems. And it might disappoint!
  • Kirsty McGrath's avatar
    Kirsty McGrath
    Copper Contributor

    Peter McDowall will be conducting this presentation (modified) at the next Office 365 Business User Group in Sydney on the 8th of March at 6pm (in the city).  Feel free to come and ask questions from him and the community.  It's free to attend: http://meetu.ps/e/CtwB8/jm668/f

  • Cian Allner's avatar
    Cian Allner
    Silver Contributor

    That's something we are doing at the moment, it's still getting off the ground but management has to buy into the value of super users and give them the recognition that this role adds to adoption.  The idea is to create a network of super users that can support each other and really engage with other staff in their location. The super users are being supported with training, a learning zone, which has an area especially for them, where they can ask questions with subject matter experts.  

     

    Here are some resources that may help.  Firstly you have to check out FastTrack if you haven't already. The resources section has lots of material including flyers, posters etc.  Make sure to check out the Office 365 Adoption Guide, Build a champions program and Success Factors for Office 365 End User Engagement whitepaper, linked from here, under a Create Plan. Hope that's of use.

Resources