In our Microsoft Copilot blog - Copilot Champions: One Month with Copilot for Microsoft 365, we spoke about the internal working group we formed named the ‘Copilot Champions’ where various members of the team from our IT Services division trialled a pilot programme of Copilot for Microsoft 365, to gain greater insight into the technology, to enable us better educate our clients on its benefits. Read the blog for a recap of how their first month with Copilot for Microsoft 365 went.
So far we have explored how Copilot has supported the roles of a Regional Sales Manager, Head of Managed and Professional Services and Business Central Functional Consultant. The next blog in our Copilot for Everyday blog series (where each Copilot Champion will explore how Copilot for Microsoft 365 supported their specific job roles) is from Warren Thatcher, Support Services Manager at Sharp UK.
Introduction
Transitioning into a new role can be both exciting and challenging. You may have to learn new skills, take on new responsibilities, and use new tools. This year, my role at Sharp UK changed from being an operational role to a more strategic one. Copilot has supported me with this transition by providing me with relevant suggestions, examples, and documentation. In this blog, I have outlined how Copilot can support those transitioning into a new job role.
Step 1: Identify your learning goals and gaps
The first step to moving into a new role is to identify what you need to learn and what you already know. You can use Copilot to help you with this by asking questions about the skills, tasks, and tools that are relevant to your new role. For example, you can ask Copilot:
- What are the most common skills required for my role?
- What are the main tasks that my role performs?
- What are the best tools or frameworks to use for my role?
Copilot will try to answer your questions by providing you with suggestions, links, or documentation that can help you learn more. You can also use Copilot to compare different options or approaches by asking it to show you the pros and cons, benefits and drawbacks, or advantages and disadvantages of each one. For example, you can ask Copilot:
- What are the pros and cons of using {tool A} vs {tool B} for {new task}?
- What are the benefits and drawbacks of using {approach A} vs {approach B} to achieve a specific outcome?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of using {Approach A} vs {Approach B} for {new project}?
Copilot will try to give you a balanced and objective comparison of the different options or approaches, based on the available information and best practices. You can use this information to decide which option or approach suits your needs and preferences best.
Step 2: Use Copilot to find and learn from examples
The second step to transitioning into a new role is to use Copilot to find examples that are relevant to your new skills, tasks, and tools. You can use Copilot to search for examples by typing keywords, phrases, or questions in your editor. For example, you can type:
- How to use {new tool} to {new task}
- Example of {new skill} in {new project}
- Best practice for {new task} in {new framework}
Copilot will try to find and suggest examples that match your query, based on the context of your current work and the available sources. You can use these examples to learn how to use the new skills, tasks, and tools in your new role. You can also use Copilot to modify, customise, or extend the examples to suit your specific needs or preferences. For example, you can use Copilot to:
- Add comments, explanations, or annotations to the examples
- Change the names, data types, or parameters of the examples
- Add a section on possible negative outcomes and solutions to the examples
Copilot will try to help you with these modifications by providing you with relevant suggestions, based on the context of your work and the available sources. You can use these suggestions to improve the quality of your work.
Step 3: Use Copilot to help you document your work
The third step to transition into a new role is to use Copilot to write and interrogate your work, based on the new skills that you have learned. You can use Copilot to help you with this by providing you with suggestions, examples, and documentation as you type.
Copilot will try to help you with these tasks by providing you with relevant suggestions, based on the context of your code and the available sources. You can use these suggestions to examine your work and ensure that it is in line with what you need.
How Copilot Has Helped My Role
I have not only saved time in drafting documents but Copilot has provided me with my own Personal Assistant who I can ask for ideas and offers a ‘virtual colleague’ of sorts who I can run ideas by. In doing this, I have filled gaps in my skills and grown in my abilities, essentially learning from the responses Copilot gives as I go. Real-life examples of this include:
- Creating PowerPoint presentations quickly using meeting notes and Word documents (around 45 minutes saved)
- Writing this blog using Copilot to draft an initial copy, which I then looked through and amended accordingly (this blog took me around 10 minutes to produce!)
- Creating a phone training piece for the service desk (around 15 minutes saved)
- Giving me ideas and creating a framework draft for an end-to-end offboarding process (around 1 hour saved)
In each of the above examples, I have not only saved myself time, but I have also learned things from the responses and creations given by Copilot.
