One Size Fits None: Why Copilot Training Must Be Tailored by Team

Jul 13

How are you approaching Copilot training?

Thinking about doing a big sesh with the whole organization, right? Like, let’s get EVERYONE into the auditorium, unfurl the ‘big screen’, wheel in the coffee and donuts and get down to it.

Sounds like a great idea!

Until you realize.... not everyone needs the same guidance. One of the biggest mistakes that organizations make is taking the old one-size-fits-all approach.

We actually call that one-size-fits-none.

Because a sales professional preparing for client meetings has very different needs than an HR manager creating policies or an executive reviewing strategic updates.

If the goal is ease, productivity and adoption (um, isn’t that always the goal?), training needs to meet people where they are and bring them what they need.

The Problem with Generic AI Training

Generic training often focuses on features, demonstrations, and broad use cases.

Depending on the trainer’s comfort level, there’s every possibility that they don’t really interact across departments – as humans, we tend to stick with what we know.

So, if we know sales really well, that team is going to get a banging training session. The other departments? Not so much.

The generic in us will focus on features, demonstrations and broad use cases. Again, a trainer with a lean toward a specific department will quite possibly zone in on that department by default.

The result?

People leave knowing what Copilot can do but not necessarily how it helps them tomorrow morning.

What does specific departmental training look like?

Well, great question. The key is to dig into the tasks that drag them down, slow the boat, and what would make the most impact. Where do they REALLY need the old Copilot tool? Here are a few examples.

If I were training a Sales Team, I’d focus on using Copilot for the tedious tasks that drain my energy. We’d work on

Prospect research

Presentation creation

Meeting preparation

Follow-up emails

Proposal support

Copilot’s support on these tasks alone will bring more selling time and less administrative work.

Your Sales Team’s ears just perked up!

If I were training an HR team, I’d focus on the people side of things. In that case, I’d be using Copilot for things like

Job descriptions

Employee communications

Policy summaries

Training materials

Interview preparation

HR needs to focus on the people, and having the support of Copilot for standardizing forms and communication is a game changer. More time for, well, people.

If I were training the always hard working yet underappreciated Admin Team, we’d work on things like

Meeting management

Notes and recaps

Scheduling support

Process documentation

Communication drafts

Your key Admin people will become even bigger rock stars when they capture all the recaps, documentation and whip up drafts like a boss. Time saved, organization improved, team is humming.

And, also, let’s talk Leaders. They don’t get to escape training, they need to tailor it for their specific needs just like the rest of the team. They would focus on