Identify key

stakeholders guide

Office 365 Adoption

Where are you in the
adoption process? 3

1 Identify key stakeholders

Create a dynamic team of the right people to drive and effect change

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2 Identify & prioritize business scenarios

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Determine how your organization will use Office 365 to addresses your
business goals and challenges

FastTrack
3 Create success plan
Create a plan for realizing your goals with Office 365

4 Execute success plan

Implement Office 365 in your organization

Sustainment
Drive ongoing adoption, manage change, measure and share success
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Resources available
1 Identify key
stakeholders
 Identify Key
Stakeholders Template
3 Create a success plan
 Create success plan at
microsoft.fasttrack.com
2 Identify & prioritize
business scenarios
 Identify and
Prioritize Business
Scenarios Template
4 Execute success plan
 Champions Program Guide
Sustainment
Drive ongoing adoption, manage
change, measure and share success
 Communication templates
 Training materials
 Office 356 Learning Center
 Measure and Share Success Guide
 Sample user satisfaction surveys
microsoft.fasttrack.com 
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Why identify key stakeholders?

The most successful technology rollouts

occur when a committed team of individuals, representing a cross-section of
your organization, executes all tasks effectively and on time. This template is
intended to outline the recommended roles¹ and responsibilities to drive
successful adoption of Office 365.

Keep in mind that the guidelines here

are purely recommendations and indicate an estimated number of hours per
week for performing each role. Depending upon the size and makeup of your
organization, it is also possible for some of these roles to overlap, to have
certain team members fulfill multiple roles, or to have multiple team members
fulfill a single role.

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 Assemble your team
Role Responsibilities Department
Executive Sponsor Communicate high-level vision and values of Office 365 to the company Executive Leadership
Key roles

Success Owner Ensure the business goals are realized from your Office 365 rollout Any department

Champions Help evangelize Office 365 and manage objection handling Any department (staff)

Project Manager Oversee the entire Office 365 launch execution and rollout process Project Management

Training Lead Manage and communicate training content about Office 365 IT and/or Human Resources
Identify how specific departments will use Office 365
Department Leads Any department (management)
and encourage engagement
IT Specialist Oversee all technical aspects of the rollout, including integrations IT
Human Resources
HR Manager Integrate Office 365 into HR processes and manage HR content on Office 365
(management)
Communication Lead Oversee company-wide communications about Office 365 IT and/or Corporate Comms
Manage day-to-day Yammer network activity;
Community Manager IT and/or Corporate Comms
provide guidance and best practices
Help manage SharePoint site strategy for the organization,
SharePoint Site Manager IT and/or staff
serve as the link between business side and IT
Note: Though we recommend having each of these roles fulfilled throughout your rollout, you may find that you don’t require them all to get started with 5
your identified solutions.
Executive sponsor
Focus Ownership and guidance
Department Executive Leadership

• Plays an essential role in championing Office 365 throughout the organization

Summary
• Influential leader who understands and actively communicates the value of working in a more collaborative way

• Pre-launch: 1 hour per week

Time commitment
• Post-launch: 0.5 hours per week

• Innovative visionary who encourages new ideas and cutting-edge technology

Qualifications • Collaborates across boundaries to build strategic relationships
• Office 365 advocate that is tech/social media savvy

• Encourage Office 365 usage and emphasize that it is supported for the organization
• Articulate value proposition across executive team
Responsibilities
• Serve as a role model in the community
• Participate in a network engagement event to help launch effort

• Deliver the introduction to Office 365 communication as part of the network launch effort
• Use Office 365 capabilities to issue future company-wide announcements and updates, such as QBR’s, earnings
Next steps with Office 365 summaries, etc.
• Take advantage of the Yammer feed to keep a finger on the pulse of the organization
• Periodically “like” posts that are appealing to encourage continued good conversations/collaboration in the network
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Why are executives important to Office 365 success?

Executives have the greatest influence on culture, and their

participation is essential in driving employees’ adoption of
new technologies.

Organizations that secure executive sponsors to actively

communicate the value and benefit of Office 365 are more
likely to be successful with their rollout.

Executive support is an essential aspect of driving

end-user adoption.

Share success stories with your executive sponsors to highlight

what is possible with Office 365 and to get them to participate
in your rollout at http://customers.microsoft.com.
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 How can Executive sponsors drive
Office 365 success?
Executive sponsors should: Ensure they understand the ABCs1

Help the project team identify and prioritize

which Business Scenarios should be used
A Active and visible participation

Play a role in communicating the vision

to other leaders across the organization
B Building a coalition with their executive peers

Actively participate and use the Office 365

capabilities to help drive adoption across
C Communicating directly with employees

end users and reinforce desired behaviors

1: Copyright Prosci®. All rights reserved. 8

How can Executive sponsors use
Office 365 capabilities themselves?
Participate in Office 365 launch and Use Skype for Business video capabilities
engagement events: to reduce the number of in-person
leadership meetings
 Help draft and sign any Office 365
awareness messaging

 Join lunch and learn sessions to reiterate the Be a thought leader with the cloud
company’s vision for change through Office 365

 Use Yammer for company all-hands or

town hall meetings

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Success owner
Focus Project ownership and guidance
Department Any department

• Provides direction, guidance and support throughout the rollout

Summary
• Ensures organization realizes the full value of Office 365

• Pre-launch: 1 hour per week

Time commitment
• Post-launch: 0.5 hours per week

• Ability and authority to facilitate cooperation and lead people toward meeting the organization’s
goals with Office 365
• Influence of organization’s investment in technology
Qualifications
• Understands and can effectively communicate how Office 365 will help the organization realize its business goals
with Office 365
• Decisive—makes well-informed, effective, and timely decisions

• Ensure organization achieves its goals and realizes the full value of Office 365
• Review and approve rollout plan
Responsibilities
• Articulate value proposition/ROI to key stakeholders
• Help with communicating the value of Office 365 to the organization and end users

• Use the Yammer All Company group to keep employees informed about the organization’s goals
Next steps with Office 365 10
for Office 365 and successes
Champions
Focus Awareness and engagement
Department Staff-level individuals, in any business unit or department

• Build Office 365 awareness, understanding, and engagement across the organization
Summary
• Enthusiastic and knowledgeable about Office 365 and eager to grow participation

• Pre-launch: 2 hours per week

Time commitment
• Post-launch: 3 hours per week

• Tech/social savvy
Qualifications • Enthusiastic and forward thinking
• Thought leaders that are eager to participate in making Office 365 a success

• Evangelize Office 365 and the business value across teams

• Build awareness through informal communication channels
Responsibilities
• Support project manager in launch activities, awareness campaigns, and engagement events
• Assist in welcoming new users, providing guidance, and best practices

• Use a Yammer group to have ongoing discussions about Office 365 activity and brainstorm ideas to boost
engagement and adoption
Next steps with Office 365
• Assist project manager by encouraging participation and directing users to appropriate training
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and reference materials
Project manager
Focus Planning and execution of the Office 365 rollout
Department Project Management

• Oversees entire rollout, from pre-launch project planning and assignments to execution
Summary and success assessments
• Experienced in successfully managing an enterprise-wide initiative or program

• Pre-launch: 10 hours per week

Time commitment
• Post-launch: 2 hours per week

• Strong interpersonal, leadership, and motivational abilities

• Results-driven, problem solver
Qualifications
• Detail oriented, excellent time management
• Social savvy, enterprise social advocate

• Define project scope, goals, timeline and milestones, and review with other stakeholders
• Assign responsibilities to rollout team and clearly communicate expectations
Responsibilities
• Ensure coordination of launch, communications, training and end user engagement activities
• Coach, mentor, motivate, and supervise project team members and resolve rollout issues/conflicts

• Create a SharePoint team site with an embedded Yammer group to keep tabs on the rollout project plan
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Next steps with Office 365
and timelines, share status updates, and delegate responsibilities
Training lead
Focus Training
Department Learning and Development, Human Resources

• Establishes a thorough understanding of Office 365 and its intended use among end users
Summary
• Manages and delivers all training content creation/customization

• Pre-launch: 4 hours per week

Time commitment
• Post-launch: 2 hours per week

• Experienced in multi-channel training development and delivery

• Ability to plan and coordinate with a diverse group of people
Qualifications
• Highly organized, detail oriented, excellent verbal and communication skills
• Tech/social savvy

• Review resources available on the Microsoft FastTrack website and customize to meet internal standards
Responsibilities • Coordinate logistics for all training activities, regularly conduct and supervise Office 365 training sessions
• Integrate Office 365 training into the new hire onboarding process

• Use a SharePoint team site with embedded Yammer group to develop and organize ongoing training
Next steps with Office 365 initiatives and programs, and provide employees a place to ask questions/seek assistance with training
• Integrate Office 365 with other training and performance management applications that are being used 13
Departmental leads
Focus Engagement and adoption within business unit
Department All departments/business units, management level

• Identify how specific departments and teams will use Office 365
Summary
• Evangelize Office 365 across teams and encourage active participation and engagement

• Pre-launch: 3 hours per week

Time commitment
• Post-launch: 1 hours per week

• Superior interpersonal skills; well-connected, influential, and respected among peers

• Understanding of and ability to navigate departmental operations, information environment,
Qualifications organization, and culture
• Strong listening and mentoring skills
• Management support and bandwidth to actively participate and fulfill leadership responsibilities

• Serve as a liaison between end user community and rollout team

• Articulate Office 365 benefits and value across business units
Responsibilities
• Deliver department-specific communications and guidance on Office 365 usage
• Identify opportunities to streamline business processes with Office 365

• Create SharePoint team site with embedded Yammer group for department, business unit, or team to collaborate
Next steps with Office 365 with one another, discuss team initiatives and projects
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• Use Office 365 to upload relevant files and keep track of assignments and progress.
IT specialist
Focus Technical setup and support

Department IT

• Oversees all technical aspects of integrating Office 365 with existing business applications
Summary
• Has the authority to make high-level IT decisions

• Pre-launch: 2 hours per week

Time commitment
• Post-launch: 1 hours per week

• Deep understanding of internal technical architecture and integration opportunities, including

Active Directory Sync and Single Sign On
Qualifications
• Experience with managing IT support team and authority to make IT decisions affecting large audiences
• Office 365 advocate

• Work with the FastTrack center to technically onboard the organization to Office 365
• Identify and involve all required IT personnel
Responsibilities
• Work with project manager on integration timing/logistics
• Communicate any technical issues or queries

• Create and design a Technical Support SharePoint team site with embedded Yammer group to answer
Next steps with Office 365
questions and provide support related to IT infrastructure 15
HR manager
Focus Business process integration
Department Human Resources

• Responsible for integrating Office 365 into existing HR processes

Summary
• Creates and manages all HR-focused conversations/content across Office 365

• Pre-launch: 2 hours per week

Time commitment
• Post-launch: 1 hours per week

• Experience in managing all HR functions including recruitment, onboarding, performance/benefits

• Ability to plan and coordinate with a diverse group of people
Qualifications
• Highly organized and detail oriented, excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Tech/social savvy

• Review current HR processes, identify opportunities for Office 365 integration

• Identify opportunities to use Office 365 to gain employee support and feedback for HR initiatives
Responsibilities
• Proactively manage all HR focused groups on Yammer
• Assist rollout team in drafting the social media/Yammer usage policy

• Create a SharePoint team site with embedded Yammer group for employees to access necessary HR documents
and ask questions about policies
Next steps with Office 365 • Create a SharePoint team site with embedded Yammer group with relevant onboarding materials to manage
new personnel
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• Introduce new hires to the rest of the organization via the Yammer All Company group
Communication lead
Focus Awareness and understanding
Department Corporate Communications

• Oversees the development, approval, and delivery of company-wide communications related to the
Summary Office 365 rollout
• Strong working knowledge of internal communications best practices

• Pre-launch: 5 hours per week

Time commitment
• Post-launch: 2 hours per week

• Demonstrated success in developing and implementing corporate communications to a variety of audiences

• Experience using social media tools and approaches as part of communication strategy
Qualifications • Outstanding writing, proofreading, and editing skills, excellent verbal communication skills
• Authority to approve and deliver corporate communications, strong working knowledge of communications
best practices

• Work closely with other members of the steering committee on rollout communication strategy
• Customize communication materials to meet any internal guidelines
Responsibilities
• Ensure timely delivery of all pre-launch and launch communications
• Position Office 365 and Yammer as a primary corporate communications channel

• Use a Yammer group to issue company-wide announcements and newsletters and respond to questions/feedback
Next steps with Office 365 17
• Use a Yammer group to share news and articles related to the organization/industry
Community manager
Focus Yammer network facilitation
Department Corporate Communications/Social Media Strategy

• Manages day-to-day network activity and helps project manager with Yammer rollout strategy
Summary • Well connected, authoritative, and has experience in communication, technology, and social media

• Pre-launch: 15 hours per week

Time commitment • Post-launch: 10 hours per week

• Well-connected, enthusiastic, and engaging professional who has an understanding of internal company structure and culture
• Social media/networking expert and Yammer advocate
Qualifications • Multi-disciplinary and capable of motivating/influencing diverse stakeholder groups
• Ability to effectively communicate business value/ROI to various stakeholder groups, including executives

• Champion Yammer to new and existing users, serve as a role model and community support
• Participate in training preparation and delivery, communication development, and distribution
Responsibilities • Encourage engagement to optimize network value, provide best practices on network etiquette and usage
• Manage Yammer events and awareness campaigns, compile support resources into a Yammer
learning group

• Actively engage with members in the network, respond to unanswered posts, share conversations
to appropriate groups
Next steps with Office 365 • Create and upload support resources to Yammer101 group, answer how-to questions, provide tips & tricks and
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product updates
SharePoint site manager
Focus SharePoint site facilitation
Department IT/Corporate Communications

• Manages day-to-day SharePoint site activity and helps project manager with Office 365 rollout strategy
Summary
• Well-connected, authoritative, and has experience in communication, technology, and social media

• Pre-launch: 10 hours per week

Time commitment
• Post-launch: 4–5 hours per week

• Well-connected, enthusiastic, and engaging professional who has an understanding of internal

company structure and culture
Qualifications • Proficient in SharePoint and Office 365 advocate
• Multidisciplinary and capable of motivating/influencing diverse stakeholder groups
• Ability to effectively communicate business value/ROI to various stakeholder groups, including executives

• Champion Office365 to new and existing users, serve as a role model

Responsibilities • Help manage SharePoint site strategy for the organization, serve as the link between business side and IT
• Encourage engagement to optimize value, provide best practices on usage

• Actively engage with SharePoint site users, respond to requests and feedback
Next steps with Office 365 • Create and upload support resources to SharePoint, answer how-to questions, provide tips & tricks and
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product updates
Gather your team
If you’re still rolling out Office 365 workload by workload, you may need to adjust your team since all workloads don’t have the
same end user impact. The table below shows the list of stakeholders recommended for each of the Office 365 workloads.

OneDrive for Skype for

Role Office Exchange Online SharePoint Online Yammer
Business Business Online
Project Manager     
Executive Sponsor    
Success Owner      
Champions     
Project Manager      
Department Leads  
Education Lead      
IT Specialist      
HR Manager   
Communication Lead      
Community Manager 20 
Microsoft FastTrack Learn how to get the most
out of Office 365, quickly
get your team onboard,
and drive adoption.
Scenarios
Scenarios inspire people to work in new ways using Office 365,
along with related communication kits to support adoption.

Approach
A three-step approach to drive adoption supported by
downloadable templates and best practices.

Resources
Helpful resources to learn about other customer stories
and special offers to make it easier to get started.

Community
Talk to thousands of other Microsoft customers as part of the
driving adoption community at http://aka.ms/DriveAdoption.

fasttrack.office.com 
© Copyright Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

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