Forum Discussion
AnnaChu
Microsoft
MicrosoftWhere Does End-User Adoption Start?
This April, we're putting the focus on conversations in the Driving Adoption community. We kick off the discussion with insights from Microsoft research we conducted on IT Pros.
Where Does End...
Great topic!
Too many organisations fail to fully understand where they and their employees are at when they decide to move to Office 365 in terms of how they work. The first point in pre deployment is so important. But from experience it is often overlooked. Too often it is seen as a project with a start and end date. That's why the post deployment elements usually end too quickly. The training sessions are over, the training materials produced and gathering dust and so on. But adoption doesn't stop. It's ongoing. So organisations need to plan and cost for that over an extended period of time.
Migration is also not treated as a major change management exercise. It changes significantly how people work. What tools they currently use and have to learn to use. They are expected to change their habits just because you have given them a new set of tools. That's hard to do.
As all organisations are different and depending on size it gets more and more difficult, it's important to understand how people work and what tools they use and indeed what their work day habits are. You could do this by surveys, focus groups/meetings. Then this will give you a picture of what Office 365 can bring or problems it can solve. Focus on the problems it can solve first. Show people how the tools and ways of working can solve those problems. Office 365 can't be all things to everyone. You have to focus on the little battles, the quick wins, the simpler problems. Get those right and you will be on your way.
After deployment you can assess whether those problems have been 'fixed' for people. If not you have to go back and see what went wrong. If they have then move to the next set of problems.
As Office 365 continues to change and offer new features you have to aware of any problems that can be fixed but also problems that may arise from a change or new feature (bug!!). That is where the ongoing adoption process comes in. It's why Office 365 adoption and migration is not a project, it's a journey with bumpy roads....
I do think many company's assume that because they've already deployed the software, that it's too late to drive adoption...or they assume their first push was all they really needed to do. Then, when they look at their usage metrics, they are shocked that their software usage looks like a barren waste land.
Anytime a user is given new software, the first question they usually ask is, "how do I still do my job?" We need to start by helping the user feel less resistant to the change. Too often, adoption efforts only focus on returning the user to the status quo. Why did we buy the software if our plan is to just use it the exact same way we used our previous software?
It's best to start early, before deployment, but it's never too late to start the process of educating your users. Introduce how the products will not only help them do their job they way they did before, but faster, more efficiently, and with higher quality outputs. Once they've mastered the essential concepts, then we need to raise their sights to new ideas. There is always a better way, users just don't know those better ways exist. We find that continually reinforcing ideas and sharing new ways to get more out of your software will drive lasting change.