Together for Gold at the municipality of Heerenveen with Digital Vital

In preparation for the technical implementation of Microsoft 365, the insight came: "We also have to do something to include our colleagues in this." Not everyone notices the changes in technology. However, the transition did mean something for the way in which the municipality of Heerenveen works together. "Fortunately, the decision was made quickly and we were able to get started with Digital Vital together with Wortell," says Bareld van der Meer, I&I advisor at the municipality of Heerenveen. "This strategy also fits in seamlessly with 'Together for Gold', which acts as the beating heartbeat of our organizational course."

"Technology is one thing, but if you want to take the organization with you, you have to put extra energy into it," Bareld begins. "Our desired gain is in sharing files and documents via Microsoft Teams and thus reducing email traffic. We go for one place where we can find information, so that if you expect something from someone, it is always at the same location. More efficient and easier collaboration is our big goal, as is safety. Hence the transition to Microsoft 365." The municipality of Heerenveen was already working with Wortell and thought it was logical to also purchase the Digital Vital adoption process here. Especially when it turned out that the switch meant quite a big change for colleagues and their way of working together. "It is important to provide tailor-made help to colleagues based on skills and intensity of use. You know that when you get started with an implementation, you always run into obstacles. For us, it worked well not to be dependent on multiple suppliers. If you run into something on one side, you quickly switch on the other side. That was a big advantage. That way we kept the lines of communication short."

Step by step together

The possibilities of Microsoft 365 are endless. There are actually too many to master at once. "Digital Vital helps to bring it to the organization in bite-sized chunks," says Kilian Schwennen, adoption consultant at Wortell. "Based on the priorities of the organization, the order of the 'chunks' is determined. For the municipality of Heerenveen, the steps consisted of: transition to OneDrive, a OneNote summer school, training to work with Microsoft Teams and drawing up collaboration rules." Bareld adds: "We use a group of ambassadors; the forerunners in the organization. They were trained by Kilian or me and then trained their immediate colleagues – in line with their way of working," says Bareld. "That caused a catch-up. In corona time, we had used Microsoft Teams as a video calling tool. Then we started working with the other functionalities within Microsoft Teams. During the training courses, we noticed a lot of enthusiasm among early adopters and colleagues who later joined our municipality and previously worked like this: "Yes, finally we are going to get started like this". It's those tricks that make the difference in your work."

On the shelf at Wortell

"One of the advantages of Wortell is that there is a lot on the shelf and that you can set up training sessions relatively easily. You don't have to reinvent the wheel and Wortell is a good sparring partner." Although sometimes the scales had to be taken into account, Bareld looks back positively on the collaboration so far. "You have to regularly weigh up: what do you want from the adoption process and what is good for the organization? In the beginning, Peter Usmany, Solution Specialist modern work at Wortell, helped us to convey the importance of adoption to our management. Then Kilian came into the picture. That's a good match; send a quick Teams message and reply the same or next day. It is a very pleasant interaction, with much-needed discussions every now and then." This year there is another implementation with Wortell on the agenda: the To Do and Planner app. These are tasks that you create in Microsoft Teams and put away in time: who does what and when? "AI is also a topic we want to pay attention to. For example, with Copilot you can take a bird's-eye view of the main points of a (missed) Teams meeting, the tasks that go with it and the decisions that have been made. Without scrolling through long reports."

Steering for results

"After each training session, we asked colleagues to fill in a short survey. This showed that many of them found the training easier than previously thought: clear, clear and easy to understand. And of course there were comments. Kilian and I weighed it up and changed it immediately where possible." By continuously developing the training in this way, it got better and better for the next group. "After five or six times, you hope that the basis is good so that the organization can continue with it." The hard results of Power BI confirm this. "From May onwards, the use of OneDrive skyrocketed. There was no other way, because we switched off the personal network drive in June. The use of Microsoft Teams is steadily increasing; This was already the case for meetings, and now we see it for the creation of channels and document sharing. We are going to take stock of where we can take extra steps." In the meantime, it is being monitored which topics need more attention. "It is also practical to see which departments use applications very little, so that you can offer end users help and facilitate it." And if you let the numbers speak, this also works for colleagues. Throughout the entire process, the score was an 8+.

Trial and error

"It has gradually landed, also the sharing of documents. It's okay to make mistakes, we learn as we go. We encourage you to try and just do it. Otherwise you will never learn." Bareld and his colleagues notice differences in the courage to learn and experiment. "What is difficult for several colleagues to comprehend is that we live in an era in which you spend at least a third of your time on change. And those changes are inevitable. That's a mindset you have to be open to." For Bareld and his colleagues, two points are particularly important now: the rules of the game around Microsoft Teams and archiving in coordination with Information Management and the transfer of training and adoption on the line. "In this way, we hope that colleagues, in addition to Microsoft Teams, know exactly what to do when and in which application, that new colleagues are properly engaged and that the ambassadors remain on board."

Tips for other municipalities

• Go to fellow municipalities. This provides insight into whether Digital Vital suits your organization. We have now had several municipalities in the region visit us to tell you more and we are happy to do so!
• Don't trivialize the inclusion of colleagues. It was a change process for us and the advantage of Digital Vital is that you can get into other teams and departments very easily through the use of ambassadors.
• Secure the change with the MT. We have put a lot of energy into it at the front end. You need support; I occasionally visit the MT, tell them how things are going and what we expect from them. Also to convey the urgency, so that there is availability in the teams. For example, from the ambassadors, so that they join a training course.
• Use relevant practical examples. You can give training to every department yourself, but that never comes across as well as when a colleague from your own team tells you and gives striking practical examples.
• Facilitate ambassadors in their knowledge. They can take a ready-made training under their arm, apply it to their own work and share it relatively easily with colleagues. Share questions and answers in the adoption team's Teams channel so others can see them too.
• Train the trainer. Make training available online afterwards. In principle, colleagues can do it themselves with the PowerPoint in hand; Keep mentioning that it helps enormously if people are part of the process themselves. Then they stay well connected.
• Pay sufficient attention to the mindset that prevails. If you have the same job in three years, you will not do exactly the same as you do now. Changes are part of everyday life. Of course, this is not just about Microsoft 365, but about the entire breadth of your work.