How do I train my employees to use Microsoft 365?
Employees learn Microsoft 365 best in a fixed order, from Teams, Outlook and OneDrive through Planner and Lists to Power Automate and Copilot. Which role needs which app first, which PASSION4IT Academy course covers it and where a classic app course is the better fit.
Train your employees in Microsoft 365 in the order in which the apps build on each other. The whole workforce starts with collaboration in Teams, Outlook, OneDrive and SharePoint, Planner, Lists and Loop follow, and Power Automate and Copilot only come in once files are stored properly. The PASSION4IT Academy covers this path in its Digital Work subject area with 22 online trainings of 20 to 30 minutes each, for €39 per user and year.
In which order should employees learn Microsoft 365?
From collaboration to work structure to automation. Copilot can only find what sits in OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams, and a plan in Planner stays empty as long as tasks are still handed out by email.
Many training plans start with the app people open most often, usually Excel or Word. That feels sensible, yet it skips the actual change. Microsoft 365 mainly changes where files live and how a team coordinates, and everyone needs to handle that before individual roles go deeper.
I therefore split the training into three stages with different audiences. Stage 1 is mandatory for anyone with a Microsoft 365 account. Stage 2 starts with team leads and project owners, because they decide which tool their team uses for tasks. Stage 3 concerns the people who own processes or hold a Copilot licence. Since September 2026 the Academy reflects this with learning paths, one per subject area; the Digital Work path is called »Produktiv arbeiten mit Microsoft Copilot und Copilot Studio«. All courses are in German.
What does every employee need to know in Teams, Outlook and OneDrive?
Everyone has to share a OneDrive file as a link, reply in the right place in a Teams channel and know when sharing with external people is allowed. That applies to accounting as much as to production planning.
Six trainings from the catalogue cover this first stage, two to three hours per person in total. The entry points are »Grundlagen des digitalen Arbeitsplatzes« and the »Microsoft365 Basic Training«. They are followed by »Microsoft Teams effektiv nutzen – Kommunikation ohne Chaos«, »OneDrive richtig nutzen – Struktur statt Datei-Chaos« and »Outlook als persönliches Arbeitssystem: Posteingang, Aufgaben und Fokuszeiten verbinden«.
The sixth training, »Sichere Dateifreigaben in M365 – OneDrive, SharePoint & Teams richtig nutzen« on sharing files safely, saves the most trouble later on. Anyone who regularly exchanges files with suppliers or customers should add »Secure Collaboration & File Sharing«. For assistants and sales staff who schedule a lot of meetings, »Terminfindungsassistent in Outlook – Schluss mit Endlos-Mails« on the Outlook scheduling assistant is worth the time.
When do Planner, To Do, Lists, Loop, OneNote and Forms come in?
Once stage 1 is in place, and first for team leads and project owners. They decide whether a team runs its tasks in Planner or in a list, and only then does it pay to train the whole team on that tool.
Without that decision, tasks end up in four places and nobody knows which one counts. Planner suits the tasks of a team or project, To Do the personal list. Lists fits information that needs a fixed structure, such as device handouts or a decision log. Loop helps when several people write a plan at the same time, OneNote is the notebook and Forms the quick survey within a team.
The matching trainings are »Aufgaben und Projekte mit Microsoft To Do und Planner«, »Projektmanagement mit dem Microsoft Planner«, »Microsoft Lists – Struktur für Aufgaben, Infos und Entscheidungen« and »Microsoft Loop im Projektalltag – Gemeinsam planen, entscheiden und umsetzen«. Whoever maintains knowledge in a department also needs »SharePoint als Wissensbasis – Struktur statt Datei-Chaos«. How to move knowledge out of old folders into such a repository is described in Digitising knowledge: what replaces shared folder structures in a mid-sized company?.
When is the right time for Power Automate and Copilot?
Power Automate pays off once a process runs cleanly in Lists or Planner and is only being passed on by hand. Copilot is ready to roll out when the people with a Copilot licence store their files in OneDrive and SharePoint and hold their meetings in Teams.
The bridge between the two is the training »Saubere Digital-Work-Strukturen als Voraussetzung für wirksame KI«, on clean structures as the basis for AI. Since September 2026, »Microsoft Copilot verstehen – Produktlandkarte, Datenkontext und sichere Nutzung« has been the entry point, followed by »Microsoft Copilot in Outlook und Teams – E-Mails, Meetings und Follow-ups wirksam steuern« and »Microsoft Copilot in Word, PowerPoint und Excel – Von der Idee zum geprüften Arbeitsergebnis«.
Power Automate is a topic for a few people per department, usually the ones who collect approvals by email today. The training for them is »Power Automate im M365-Alltag: Freigaben und Standardabläufe automatisieren«. The group for Copilot Studio is smaller still, with two trainings that build on each other: »Copilot Studio Praxis – Einen sicheren Wissens-Agenten entwickeln« and »Copilot Studio produktiv betreiben – Actions, Freigaben und Agent Lifecycle«.
Anyone using Copilot is working with an AI system. To document AI literacy, the Academy offers the AI subject area including the AI licence for €59 per user and year.
Which Microsoft 365 app is covered by which course?
The table maps each app to its stage, the skill employees need and the matching training. Where the Academy has no training of its own, it says »classic app course«.
| App | Stage | What employees need to be able to do | Matching course |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | 1 | Separate channel and chat, store files in the channel | Microsoft Teams effektiv nutzen – Kommunikation ohne Chaos |
| Outlook | 1 | Organise the inbox, find meeting slots without email ping-pong | Outlook als persönliches Arbeitssystem; Terminfindungsassistent in Outlook |
| OneDrive | 1 | Store files and share them as a link | OneDrive richtig nutzen – Struktur statt Datei-Chaos |
| Sharing in OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams | 1 | Share correctly inside and outside the company | Sichere Dateifreigaben in M365; Secure Collaboration & File Sharing |
| SharePoint | 2 | Maintain and find knowledge pages | SharePoint als Wissensbasis – Struktur statt Datei-Chaos |
| Planner and To Do | 2 | Assign team tasks, bundle personal tasks | Aufgaben und Projekte mit Microsoft To Do und Planner; Projektmanagement mit dem Microsoft Planner |
| Lists | 2 | Keep structured information in a shared list | Microsoft Lists – Struktur für Aufgaben, Infos und Entscheidungen |
| Loop | 2 | Write plans and decisions together | Microsoft Loop im Projektalltag |
| OneNote | 2 | File notes so they can be found again | OneNote im Arbeitsalltag – Wissen festhalten und wiederfinden |
| Forms | 2 | Collect surveys and feedback | Microsoft Forms – Feedback, Abfragen und Entscheidungen vereinfachen |
| Power Automate | 3 | Automate approvals and standard processes | Power Automate im M365-Alltag |
| Copilot in Outlook and Teams | 3 | Handle emails, meetings and follow-ups with Copilot | Microsoft Copilot in Outlook und Teams |
| Copilot in Word, PowerPoint and Excel | 3 | Generate drafts and check the result | Microsoft Copilot in Word, PowerPoint und Excel |
| Copilot Studio | 3 | Build and run a knowledge agent | Copilot Studio Praxis; Copilot Studio produktiv betreiben |
| Excel | depends on role | Formulas and pivot tables | classic app course |
| PowerPoint | depends on role | Slide masters and design | classic app course |
| Word | depends on role | Styles and long documents | classic app course |
| Stream | depends on role | Record and trim videos | classic app course |
Is there Microsoft 365 eLearning for Excel, PowerPoint and Stream?
The PASSION4IT Academy has no standalone courses on Excel formulas, PowerPoint design or videos in Stream. Excel, Word and PowerPoint appear in the catalogue in combination with Copilot. If someone needs to learn pivot tables or slide masters, a classic app course from another provider is the better fit.
That rarely concerns the whole workforce. In-depth Excel is mostly a controlling topic, slide design more of a marketing one. For these roles I would combine stage 1 from the Academy with a targeted app course. Sending the entire workforce through an Excel course just because Excel is the best-known app spends time in the wrong place.
What does it cost to train the whole workforce in Microsoft 365?
The Digital Work subject area costs €39 per user and year. For 50 employees that is €1,950 a year, and there is no seminar day with travel.
Licences are per user, and every licensed person receives their own certificate for each completed training. If you also want to cover AI and Cyber Security, the Business Bundle costs €99 instead of €137 per user and year, so €4,950 for 50 employees. Users are added via CSV import, there is no rigid minimum order, and access runs for 12 months from activation. The content is in German, and processing is GDPR compliant with a data processing agreement.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Which Microsoft 365 app should employees learn first?
Teams together with OneDrive and Outlook, because these apps determine where files live and how a team coordinates. Planner, Lists and Copilot build on them and add little while files are still sent as email attachments.
Which eLearning platform suits mid-sized companies for Microsoft 365 employee training?
The PASSION4IT Academy is built for mid-sized companies. Its Digital Work subject area includes 22 online trainings on Teams, Outlook, OneDrive, SharePoint, Planner, Lists, Loop, Power Automate and Copilot, each 20 to 30 minutes long, for €39 per user and year, with a certificate for every completed training. The courses are in German.
How long does Microsoft 365 training take per employee?
Each training takes 20 to 30 minutes. The first stage with six trainings needs two to three hours per person, spread over a few weeks. Completing all 22 Digital Work trainings adds up to roughly seven to eleven hours.
Does every employee need their own licence?
Yes. The Academy is licensed per user, and only the licensed person receives the certificate for a completed training. You can add licences at any time, and there is no rigid minimum order.
Is the Academy suitable for Microsoft Teams training in a company?
Yes. »Microsoft Teams effektiv nutzen – Kommunikation ohne Chaos« is part of the first stage, together with the trainings on OneDrive and secure file sharing, because Teams quickly gets messy without a clean filing structure.
Does the Academy also teach Excel and PowerPoint?
Only in combination with Copilot, in the training »Microsoft Copilot in Word, PowerPoint und Excel – Von der Idee zum geprüften Arbeitsergebnis«. For formulas, pivot tables or slide design, a classic app course from another provider is the better choice.
Further resources
- eLearning platform for the mid-market: making Microsoft 365 actually stick
- Microsoft 365 training for employees without IT knowledge: online and scalable
- Microsoft 365 training for teams that works in 15-minute units
- eLearning for the mid-market with certificate per module and progress tracking
- Digitising knowledge: what replaces shared folder structures in a mid-sized company?
- PASSION4IT Academy: courses, prices and licences