MICROSOFT 365 COPILOT ROLLOUT IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR
How a public sector procurement team cut RFP preparation from 1½ weeks to 3 days
When a public sector organisation planned to extend Microsoft 365 Copilot to 120 staff, it wanted to see how people could use it on the work they already did. Preparing a request for proposals (RFP) became one example of what changed.
The reduction is in elapsed time, from initial requirements to the completed RFP pack.
RFP PREPARATION · ELAPSED TIME
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From initial requirements to the completed RFP pack.
THE STARTING POINT
What would Copilot help staff do?
The organisation first gave Copilot licences to senior managers. A two-day course showed them where Copilot was available and what it could do across Microsoft 365. In their own work, senior managers mainly used it to reply to emails and find documents colleagues had sent them.
Before extending the rollout to 120 staff, leaders wanted to know what people would use it for in HR, Finance, Procurement and Contracts. Could it help staff prepare a tender pack, answer bidder questions or draft a contract? The organisation brought in Koshima to build the next phase around those kinds of tasks.
WHAT KOSHIMA DID
Build the programme around the work staff already do
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Agree which tasks to focus on
We asked staff what they did regularly, what took time and which teams supplied or received their work. We prioritised the tasks with the organisation and agreed what staff would practise.
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Practise in workshops and between sessions
We turned the selected tasks into step-by-step exercises using Copilot. Staff worked through them in four weekly half-day workshops and followed guided activities on their own work between sessions.
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Bring real questions to clinics
Two weeks after the final workshop, staff brought examples and questions to small-group clinics. We looked at where the steps worked, where they needed to change and what staff should check before using the result.
THE PROCUREMENT EXAMPLE
Prepare an RFP pack and answer bidder questions
Procurement had to combine the requesting team’s requirements with the organisation’s procurement process and input from Finance and Legal. The team used Copilot to help bring those materials together into one pack and draft answers to questions bidders were likely to ask. Procurement included those answers in the pack so bidders could find them before raising a query.
Use the same source during clarifications
Procurement used the completed RFP pack as the reference in a Copilot workspace. When bidders raised questions, the team could use that material to prepare a reply and check it against the pack.
Share the steps across teams
Koshima helped teams set up shared workspaces with source documents and step-by-step instructions. Teams that supplied information or received the finished work could refer to the same materials and follow the agreed steps.
Result: Elapsed RFP preparation time fell from 1½ weeks to 3 days.
ROLLOUT RESULTS
What changed after the workshops
92% daily active use
Across all users with a Copilot licence in the four weeks immediately after the final workshop.
47% estimated time saving
On selected tasks covered by the programme.
How we measured this
The daily active use figure came from the Microsoft Copilot usage report in the Microsoft 365 admin center. It covered the organisation’s full licensed user group.
Koshima estimated the time saving using the initial team member questionnaire and weekly workshop feedback. We then checked the estimate with staff in the Copilot clinics.