Improving employee work habits with Microsoft 365 adoption

As shown by our client, with the right change management plan in place, even a complex business setup can be seamlessly transitioned to new, more efficient ways of working.

Upgrading technology to keep up with business demand

The organization is a recognized leader in the wholesale distribution of pharmaceutical products in Poland. They have been building their market position over the last couple of decades largely through a dynamic sales network and support services.

The company invested a lot in digital workplace modernization, yet some parts of its technology stack were still to be updated. To improve the efficiency of business operations, as well as workplace perception among their people, they decided to migrate their Lotus Notes to the Microsoft 365 suite.

After executing the pilot phase of the deployment, however, the client realized that the change should not be limited to the choice of technology. Above all else, it had to address the needs of employees and their ways of working.

Their strong attachment to the previous toolset, combined with the working habits built up over many years, were two main reasons the company made a bold decision to find a reliable partner to guide them through the adoption process.

Taking the right approach to change management

Given the size of the organization, the complexity of the business, and huge expectations for the new technology, Predica knew the project would have to be extensive in terms of scope but optimized in time to ensure the initiative’s success.

We formed a group of early adopters, called ambassadors, who worked with common Microsoft 365 use cases, guided by the principles of the ADKAR model and our proprietary adoption framework.

ADKAR model by Prosci

In dynamic organizations, an internal network of influencers can be very effective in promoting the adoption of new technology. That is why we formed such a group at the client’s company. Their task was to inspire and educate their peers, which would benefit the entire organization in the long term.

Communicating the need for change

With the client successfully and actively engaging in the pilot phase, the ground for further adoption development was solid. Aware that success will not be achieved solely with occasional communication or training sessions, the company dedicated some of its resources to fully support the initiative.

Additionally, to encourage the adoption, the client created a storyline that was present in the communication right from the very beginning.

The story behind the change helped to engage employees and ensured their active participation, which is considered one of the success factors from the change management perspective.

The narrative contributed to the positive outcomes and strongly supported the structured and orchestrated adoption activities.

Structured adoption framework

Once the extensive adoption program was designed, the time came to put it into practice. Working with the client, we selected a team of ambassadors who participated in a series of scenario discovery workshops based on the Design Thinking method.

Such co-creative sessions with ambassadors allowed the team to develop a set of unique business scenarios that fit the specific needs and realities of the company:

Microsoft 365 business scenarios

Those cases were promoted within the organization in the next phase of the process to ensure greater adoption of the M365 services.

Meanwhile, our Adoption Consultants worked hand-in-hand with the client’s team to outline role and activity plans aimed at tackling the complex subject of change management.

We aimed to engage a couple of people on the company’s side – the so-called Sponsor who would empower the change initiative with their visibility and credibility, as well as the company managers for supporting the ongoing processes.

Change management roles and activities

As a next step, through close and insightful collaboration, we developed a thorough Resistance Management Plan to prioritize the most important resistance factors that could negatively impact the project, such as:

• an insufficient number of M365 licenses
• managers not utilizing the communication tools in the most effective way
• lack of knowledge about the upcoming changes

We created a comprehensive mitigation plan with a list of action items to effectively address these issues through communication, training, and other required activities.

Realizing the adoption and change management benefits

To support our client in introducing employees to M365 services, our Adoption Consultants delivered a number of activities and assets for the organization, including:

Change management assets

These elements contributed to the success of the adoption initiative and helped equip the workers with the necessary knowledge and skills to use their new tools effectively.

However, success would not be possible without a strong engagement of the client, whose resources supported the processes. For that reason, upon process completion, the adoption stream was smoothly handed over to the organization’s internal team.

Thanks to close cooperation throughout the process, we could conduct a successful adoption campaign that left the end users thrilled about and well-prepared for the new M365 solutions.

Building such an attitude from day one enhanced collaboration between employees, improved their overall productivity, and eventually – enabled the organization to gain more from the technology investment in terms of return.

Given the knowledge the client received as a result of our cooperation, they can easily continue on their digital transformation journey and benefit fully from their modern workplace capabilities.

The client knows now how to leverage the best practices of change adoption to successfully set the path toward introducing more advanced Microsoft 365 solutions and realize the benefits they expected in the long run.

Summary

By implementing the change management plan, the company improved the work habits of its people, who now make the most of the new digital services.

With support from Predica, our client learned how to prepare its people to embrace other processes and behaviors in the future. That knowledge and skills will help them to continue modernizing the way they work further, leading to better collaboration and positive business outcomes.

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