KOHLER Achieves Near-Universal Adoption of Microsoft 365 Copilot

KOHLER, a company with a rich history spanning over 153 years in manufacturing premium kitchen and bath products as well as operating a world-class hospitality brand, has successfully implemented an AI change management strategy. This approach enabled the company to achieve a remarkable 98% adoption rate of Microsoft 365 Copilot across its workforce.

The key to KOHLER’s success lies in its comprehensive AI change management program, which included enterprise-wide licensing for Microsoft 365 Copilot and extensive training sessions. Strong C-suite support, a thriving champions network, and vocal advocacy for AI use cases throughout the business also played crucial roles in driving adoption.

In just six weeks, KOHLER reached an impressive 98% adoption rate of Microsoft 365 Copilot, benefiting over 5,000 employees who collectively saved between two to five hours per week. This significant time savings was accompanied by a notable improvement in code releases, with GitHub Copilot contributing to a 25% increase and error defects plummeting by 75%. To date, the company has created an impressive 3,000 agents.

KOHLER’s commitment to AI adoption is evident throughout its organization. Senior IT Manager Matt Wilson, who spearheaded the creation of a ‘Leadership Candor Coach’ using Microsoft Copilot Studio, combined principles from radical candor with KOHLER’s own ‘Bold Leadership’ pillar. This innovative approach resulted in an agent that keeps KOHLER’s values at the forefront.

The ‘Candor Coach’ is designed to help leaders uphold KOHLER’s core principles, as explained by Wilson: ‘The Candor Coach agent is designed to keep our values top of mind.’ Eric Tabor, Chief Digital Officer, emphasizes the importance of leadership buy-in and support in driving AI adoption. He notes that their CEO, David Kohler, consistently highlights AI as one of KOHLER’s top three priorities.

KOHLER’s approach to AI adoption is centered around bold leadership and encouraging leaders to engage with new technologies. This mindset is exemplified by the ‘Candor Coach’ initiative. Tabor stresses the need for a change management team and top-down support when implementing such significant changes, highlighting KOHLER’s commitment to driving AI forward.

Organizational Change Manager Sheri Tower played a pivotal role in creating a leadership toolkit designed to build excitement about new technologies. This toolkit was combined with specialized training sessions that made the value of transformation clear to leaders. As Tower notes: ‘It’s essential that leaders see the value of AI so they can encourage it within their own teams.’

KOHLER’s champions network, comprising over 200 members from various departments, serves as a platform for sharing ideas and best practices related to AI adoption. These communities are facilitated through Microsoft Viva Engage and virtual meetings, fostering collaboration and knowledge-sharing across the organization.

One of KOHLER’s champions is Delane Boll, Senior Administrative Assistant, who shares her learnings with fellow administrative assistants via Microsoft Teams. She highlights the benefits of using Copilot: ‘I’ve seen firsthand what Copilot can do in saving time, and it excited me to come up with different prompts or use cases that could help my peers.’

KOHLER’s approach to training emphasizes gradual progression from entry-level to more advanced skilling, supporting experimentation along the way. This multi-tiered strategy targets specific areas of the business with tailored training sessions, as noted by Tower: ‘What stood out from other technology deployments is that we focused distinct resources and training at all three levels of the business throughout our Microsoft 365 Copilot deployment.’

The company’s early round of Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat training drew thousands of attendees. Tabor emphasizes the importance of expanding the scope of training to include more big-picture aspects, such as dissecting processes and converting them into AI workflows.

KOHLER has already achieved its original goal of 95% adoption in nine months, surpassing it within just 40 days. As Wilson notes: ‘Our original goals were 95% Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption in 9 months. We hit that within 40 days.’

The company’s governance and security approach to AI has undergone a significant shift. Tabor explains: ‘My instinct is to lead with governance and cybersecurity on everything new, but we realized we were taking the cool out of one of the coolest technologies we will see in our lifetimes.’ KOHLER now leads with a more enabling mindset, focusing on ‘yes’ rather than security-centric approaches.

Today, KOHLER boasts an impressive 98% adoption rate and has achieved significant time savings. The company is already exploring new frontiers, including agentic AI and participation in the Microsoft Frontier Program.