SharePoint Implementation & Adoption Challenges Laura Calaway

About Me

Overview SharePoint adoption is no different from any other initiative that requires a change in the way people do their work Success is often tied to leadership and sponsorship behaviors Leaders or sponsors need to promote, reinforce, recognize and reward the change They need to enable the development of organizational capability

SharePoint adoption slows, stalls or fails because… Executives are sold on the belief that SharePoint will solve their information management problems Information “findability” Governance Collaboration Leaders are not prepared for the ongoing investment required Information design and site administration competencies Vision and behavior reinforcement IT exerts too much – or too little – control over roll-out of the capabilities Too much control stifles innovation Too little control results in confusion and “sprawl”

What people-related adoption or implementation challenges are you facing? Letting go of folders Assisting people with overcoming fear of change and the unknown – hard to understand their perspective for some IT folks SP is so different from the current state (no folders on desktop, use of links to random sites makes it hard to trace back ) Takes too long to save to SP Users carrying over knowledge and expectations from prior versions/implementations Lack of understanding from executives on what it takes to get to the end state Widely varying experiences for those with distributed model (range from dead sites to highly- developed sites) “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it”

What can you do to achieve successful adoption?

Start With a Vision How do you see your organization working differently 6 months, 1 year and 2 years from now? What’s your roadmap to get there? What current behaviors might improve – or hinder – adoption? How do you define, measure and reward adoption success?

Governance Model Governance encompasses common and variable elements Corporate Portal Operating Company BUs, Regions, Divisions Functions, Departments Projects, Workspaces, Communities My Sites Highly Controlled and Standardized; One-Way Communication Common Elements Variable Elements Strategy Templates Metadata Navigation Structure Permission Levels Content Corporate Branding Enterprise Information Architecture Highly Flexible, Personalized and Collaborative IM Policies and SharePoint Best Practices

Organizational Capability Model General Users What is your organizational capability plan for each of these groups? Organizational Capability isn’t just training… it also includes: Leadership Continual learning and innovation Process design Roles and responsibilities Rewards and recognition Power Users and Champions IT Support and Professionals Sponsors

Identify Enablers and Barriers for Adoption What are the enablers? High degree of interest Previous SharePoint experience Strong sponsorship Existing processes and templates What are the barriers? Competing priorities Low capacity to meet demand People are used to emailing attachments, working in network drives, not familiar with the benefits How can we encourage these enablers? Focus early efforts on those with experience Implement campaign to market successful templates How can we remove or reduce these barriers? Re-examine priorities; set realistic expectations Reinforce expected behaviors

How will you measure SharePoint adoption success? “What gets measured, gets done...” Peter Drucker Management Consultant Measurement is the process of systematically identifying and monitoring the most effective measures for tracking implementation and progress towards desired business outcomes.

Sponsor Plan and Timeline – Shaping Curve Continually Refresh (ongoing) Internal SharePoint Help Desk Ongoing capability reviews Partnership with key players Enhance (Years 2-4) Highlight one new capability / month Establish embedded SharePoint leadership roles Build Foundation (Year 1) Focus on library management, meeting management, and lists Highlight “best use” sites “Ask Me” table in cafeteria Identify SharePoint “power users” and host monthly knowledge sharing events Align (Months 1-3) Sponsor engagement Key stakeholder roundtables Webinars Demos

Sponsor Behaviors that Make a SharePoint Adoption Successful Communicate your vision, set expectations and reinforce desired behaviors Build organizational capability multiple ways, at all levels of the organization Encourage others to share, experiment and explore the tool Formalize roles and responsibilities, including Champions and Power Users Recognize that adoption is more about people than it is about tools and technology Develop rules of engagement Give positive feedback, make suggestions and reward collaborative behaviors. Acknowledge the effort required Promote stories of success. Talk positively about SharePoint.

Contact Info Laura Calaway lcalaway@expressworks.com