This is the second post of a two part series. If you have not read M365 Adoption Battle – Welcome to the Pandemic Induced Pain feel free to give it a read to understand the premise for this post.
Amazing Introduction
My father, who recently passed away, had a quote he loved to tell my brother and I. “Work smarter, not harder!” This would certainly apply for any IT employee anywhere in this world. The reliance on technology has continued to increase and spread into many aspects of our lives. It has gotten to the point where it could be crazy if someone on a conference was unfortunately given the name Alexa… I know I may or may not have done it on purpose to trigger playing a amusing song. LOL Those who are supporting this technology when their team numbers are low, need to come up with more ingenious ways to give great support and still accomplish their other tasks as well. In this post I am going to describe how I was able to do just that with the company I am currently working for. This is certainly something that any individual or company’s IT can duplicate and is encouraged. Like anything, results may vary. That being said, take what is stated here and tailor it to the culture of your company. Just remember you are trying to simplify not add more to your already full plate!
The 411
As you may have ascertained from the title of this post, building a community is your saving grace. I miss the days of the huge SharePoint user groups, conferences put on by Microsoft, SharePoint Saturday’s and so much more. Time has become more precious, and the pandemic certainly has done a number on in-person meetings. Lets face it, virtual pizza is just not that filling. There are still user groups meeting virtually allowing you to join from anywhere on the planet. Now I know what you are thinking, what does this have to do with easing my situation at work where a team of one is trying to support hundreds of individuals. The answer is elementary my dear Watson. Build a community and raise your own champions.
The Story
Until recent, I was the only expert for SharePoint and many of the other apps in M365 (O365) in my company. When I walked through the doors, it was a green field. They never had used SharePoint for corporate. OneDrive? What was that. This Delve thing scares me… you get the idea. To gain exposure when I first started, I would have a meeting with anyone who had any interest shown at all. A grass roots movement started to form and started to gain some momentum. After about nine months passing, I was having more meetings than time would allow and still had my ‘day’ job to do as well. Working with my manager at the time, we produced the idea of office hours that grew into much more. I believe it has to do with my love for the community, my personality, and the knowledge I had brought to the table that allowed for me to accidentally come across this formula. The thing is YOU can do it as well.
I created a reoccurring meeting for 2 hours every Friday throughout the year. I did take the two weeks during the Christmas vacation, so 50 weeks out of the year they were held. This is the first key, you need to be consistent. Once people knew that I was there every Friday (same bat time, same bat channel) they knew where to go to ask questions. Any question about M365 and the apps that come with it was fair game. When questions were getting answered, others who were waiting for their turn learned things. Soon, a group of ‘regulars’ started to show up to the office hours. Why? They wanted to learn from other associate’s questions. This let them know what others in the company were doing to collaborate, share information, and innovate new ways of working.
Some of the office hours felt more like a game show called “Stump the Expert.” Sometimes questions were asked that I may not have known the answer to at the time. If I did not know, I would let them know. If there was not a line of questions, we would work together to produce a solution. If there was a large line, I would put in OneNote their question and research it during the week. This also helped with the repeat attendees. Do not be afraid to say you don’t know something. If you come across someone who says they know everything there is to know about M365…. heck just SharePoint is lying. The applications are too large, too broad, too deep to know everything. I have a good friend who has been with SharePoint since it was known as Project Tahoe. If I asked him today if he knows everything there is to know, I bet he would still say no. Anyone who says they know everything, is someone you want to avoid. Its just not a reality.
As time progressed, the regulars were absorbing the knowledge. Soon some of the easy questions, they were answering instead of me. When that started to happen, the change was well on the way. The concept of it being just ‘office hours’ was starting to dissolve. It was the budding of a community. People would build off other people’s questions with the desire to learn more. People asking questions found themselves having questions about what they were doing and why more often. If no questions were brought to the table, the regulars would share stories and interact like SharePint after SharePoint Saturday events minus the alcoholic drinks, but you get the idea.
What brought this concept to a new level was when we introduced Microsoft Teams to the entire company. We identified multiple regulars who asked questions and asked them if they would like to become champions. They were from multiple areas of the company such as HR, supply chain, finance, legal, retail, etc. Once the group was formed and other regulars caught wind, people were asking to join! The Teams Champions were treated to additional training from Microsoft and gold partners. Online conferences using Teams to be able to lean and ask questions and so much more. From that, many started their own office hours modeled from the one that started it all.
Tips and Tricks
- Always be yourself. I like to think I am funny though my family reminds me I skipped the dad jokes and tell granddad jokes. I give answers, but I don’t speak like Ben Stein in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
- Have fun with it.
- Be encouraging. Encourage those who do ask questions to stick around, as they may hear something they like. Encourage them to come back even if they don’t have questions.
- Don’t answer if you don’t know. Be honest, if they think you are going to throw shade, they won’t come back. Remember you are doing this to make your life easier.
- Have them drive. Ask them to share their screen so you can walk them through the steps. They will learn and be more appreciative than you are doing it for them.
- Make sure your organization knows the value of your office hours. If you get an email asking questions, just have a canned response telling them how it is an awesome question and to bring it to the office hours so others can learn the answer as well.
- Don’t get discouraged! I am in the fourth year of office hours. It did not happen overnight.
Wrapped in a Bow
I have given you the formula to make this a solution within your own organization. You can absolutely have success in supporting your company with a block of focused time like the office hours I described to you here. This will give you a forum to support numerous people with the least amount of effort. The journey is amazing, enjoy it! If you have questions or comments, please leave them down below. I would love to hear from you.