Change is the new norm for businesses. A fresh generation of workers brings new expectations to the workplace, crossing paths with the ongoing pursuit of productivity and a new focus on how information is shared and used. Technology is evolving rapidly to help organizations keep up with the new demands.
Microsoft 365 offers tools and solutions that support customers’ increasing emphasis on collaboration and teamwork. Having the tools isn’t enough, though. To support a new teamwork culture and capture the full benefit of their investments, organizations want to accelerate adoption of Microsoft 365 and ensure that their employees develop genuine proficiency with tools such as Office 365, Microsoft Teams, Yammer, and SharePoint.
Organizational change management—helping people master new ways of working—is one of the keys to driving adoption and proficiency when new tools are introduced in the workplace. For more than 25 years, Alithya has been one of Microsoft’s leading Adoption and Change Management partners, helping a wide variety of organizations implement new technologies to drive cultural changes in their businesses. Our proven approach ensures organizations can capture the benefits of Microsoft 365 and helps them establish Teams as the new hub for teamwork.
The challenge: new tools, new expectations
Alithya has identified several intersecting trends that are driving demand for their change management solutions. “First, you have changes with the cloud and the faster pace of technology updates,” explained Barry O’Donnell, Senior VP of Alithya's Digital Adoption Practice. “Then, there’s increased diversity with multiple generations in the workforce now, more part-time workers, more people working remotely, more contractors and they all have different expectations of how they want to engage across the organization.”
At the same time, clients’ businesses continue to become more global, creating a growing need for tools that provide seamless teamwork experiences across multiple languages and enable employees to work effectively in virtual and global teams.
Microsoft 365 can help customers meet these challenges, and effective use of organizational change management solutions can help customers accelerate adoption and drive usage. “When you look at the pace of digital transformation and why projects fail, research indicates that change management makes a big difference. Clients are six times more likely to succeed when change management principles are leveraged,” said O’Donnell.
The solution: a methodology to drive adoption of Microsoft 365
A proprietary change management methodology called PROPEL lies at the heart of Alithya’s change management solutions. Based on the Prosci ADKAR (Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, Reinforcement) methodology, PROPEL provides customized adoption and learning programs to set up clients for long-term success with Microsoft 365.
“Our PROPEL methodology is at the core of everything we do. It starts with a Change Management Workshop using an assessment that allows us to understand the needs of an organization,” said O’Donnell. “There are the needs from a user standpoint and organizational needs in terms of a broad digital transformation. Some of the executive-level priorities may be different than what the real needs are at the user level. PROPEL helps ensure we really understand all of those things, so that we can provide the best recommendations for moving forward.”
Examples of PROPEL Deployments with Microsoft 365 Include:
Local state government
Alithya developed a comprehensive communications, training and support program that made it easy for state employees to use a “How do I…?” live-support system to get quick answers to questions related to their Microsoft 365 deployment. Using highly targeted email and Yammer campaigns that reached influential user groups, plus a wide range of communication opportunities across relevant intranet sites and social network pages, the program reached thousands of employees and drove high levels of engagement and adoption within targeted agencies and teams throughout the state. Program managers used dashboards to track call center usage, effectiveness of training courses, adoption, and more.
Fortune 500 healthcare organization
Digital transformation at a large healthcare company called for a phased approach to support their shift to the cloud. They began by moving users to Office 2016, then migrated users to Exchange Online to enable their employees with the core set of Microsoft 365 services. Next, they moved communications services to Skype for Business. During each phase, Alithya closely monitored adoption and usage data and adjusted training content and schedules to deliver maximum impact. Alithya also reviewed the questions employees were asking the support teams and worked closely with team leads and managers to ensure employees were fully engaged during each phase.
Global financial and payment technology provider
After deploying Office 365, a global financial and payment technology provider found that usage of OneDrive, Skype for Business and Microsoft Teams did not meet expectations. Alithya recommended a more mobile-focused approach to ensure training was accessible to a workforce that was not only younger than average, but also culturally diverse and physically dispersed. The multi-faceted training solution included live digital training for remote workers, mobile on-demand trainings and live support via Skype to help employees better understand how to best use the technology to perform their job functions.
Global retailer
A large, global company deployed Microsoft 365 to revolutionize how their employees collaborate and work together. To help the retailer adopt Microsoft Teams, Alithya developed a series of Excite Days designed to introduce their global workforce to Teams chat and project management activities. Excite Days include a number of engaging activities, such as a scavenger hunt, trivia games and other hands-on challenges that gave employees experience with Teams. Live usage data was used to adjust training to ensure activities addressed the unique needs of each targeted user group, including Firstline Workers and Office users.