In at least 3 orgs I have worked at SharePoint has been massively slow to take hold. IT installed it on the request of senior mgmt, but not involved staff. Come go live day staff think what the hell!
what ways can you recommend to better prepare and train and involve staff so they embrace SP ?
I’ve been involved in 3 SharePoint (now on my 4th) roll outs and I have learned from each one.  The main thing I would say that I have taken from all of them is that everything has it’s place and IT isn’t in them all, so learn to let go.
Generally SharePoint is usually pushed by IT with backing from management but the best approach is to create work streams for instance:
The workstreams consist of people from across the business including but not limited too:
Marketing
IT
HR
Other Specific Depts
Planning
This group is made up of the PM and Representatives from the main teams.  This group is responsible for planning what the other work streams will be doing, deciding the key dates fro the project and so on.
One things all SharePoint projects need is a sponsor, the reason for actually doing what your doing.  If your doing it just because it’s the latest and greatest your going to fail before you even begin.
RequirementsÂ
This team is responsible for gathering the requirements for the project i.e. what do we want from an Intranet, Extranet, App1, App2, mobile etc.  This group will interact with the different departments in your organisation to understand their needs.
Architecture
This group is mainly made up of ITPros and developers who will decide how best to install, configure, maintain etc SharePoint as a platform.
Awareness
About halfway through the project when test environments etc have been setup individuals from each department should be identified to demo features too, in some cases this can be higher management but should also contain a mix of skill levels.
A few months before launch you can create drop in classes usually at lunch times that you want to demo a specific feature.  This should be backed up with email and videos of these new features and how they will improve the way individuals and the organisation will work.
Create a brand
If you are launching an Intranet or extranet or anything on SharePoint really, brand the sites, give them an identity and not just the name of the server they are installed on.  Avoid referring to SharePoint at all if it can be helped, you want your users saying “did you see that post on awsomename.com” instead of SharePoint or the intranet
Fluffy toys
People like to get free things. Â As part of your roll out you can create branded pens, mouse mats or mugs to hand out to users, this lets them associate.
Don’t stop there
Even when you have launched your new awsomename.com you need to maintain the adoption by interacting with the business to find any pain points.  The best way to do this is to identify users that have a knack for your new thing and make then champions or super users that can answer the general questions.
I’m sure there are many things to add to this and better ways of doing things but I find the above works in most cases
Cheers
Stephen
