So, you’ve made the investment in Smartsheet—congrats! You’ve taken a major step toward better collaboration, streamlined project management, and more informed decision-making. But now that the license is purchased, you might be wondering: What’s next?
Rolling out Smartsheet successfully isn’t just about turning it on—it’s about aligning the tool with your workflows, getting buy-in from your teams, and driving long-term adoption across your organization. At Prime Consulting Group, we’ve helped hundreds of teams do exactly that. Here’s our proven roadmap to get you from purchase to productivity.
1. Start with Strategy, Not Sheets
It’s tempting to dive into building right away, but a successful rollout starts with a clear plan. Take a step back and define:
- What problems are you trying to solve?
- Who are your primary stakeholders?
- What does success look like in 3, 6, and 12 months?
This foundational strategy will guide every step of your implementation and help ensure you’re building with purpose, not just features.
2. Identify Key Use Cases
Smartsheet is flexible—but that also means it can become overwhelming without focus. Start with one or two high-impact use cases, like:
- Project tracking
- Intake and request management
- Resource planning
- Reporting and dashboards for visibility
Prioritize areas where you’ll see immediate value and quick wins to build momentum.
3. Build with Best Practices
Whether you’re creating sheets, reports, dashboards, or automation, structure matters. Common mistakes in early builds can lead to user confusion and technical debt down the road.
Use:
- Clear naming conventions
- Consistent column structures
- Permissioning strategies that scale
- Automations to reduce manual work
If you’re not sure where to begin, working with an experienced Smartsheet partner (like us!) can help you avoid common pitfalls.
4. Train Early, Train Often
Tools are only powerful if people know how to use them. Start enablement early with targeted training:
- Role-based training for end users, admins, and executives
- “Office hours” or Q&A sessions during launch
- On-demand training materials users can refer back to
Empower your champions to become internal advocates who can support their teams and foster adoption.
5. Pilot, Test, and Iterate
Don’t try to roll everything out at once. Run a pilot with a small group, gather feedback, and improve your solution before launching to a wider audience. This approach helps you:
- Validate your design
- Uncover user needs you may have missed
- Build trust with your teams
Smartsheet is a living platform—your solutions should evolve with your business.
6. Measure Success and Expand
After go-live, define how you’ll measure success. This could include:
- Time saved
- Increase in visibility
- Reduction in manual work
- User adoption rates
- Share your wins internally to justify further investment and expand to new use cases. With each successful implementation, you’ll continue to unlock more value across your organization.
Final Thoughts
Smartsheet is more than a tool—it’s a platform for transformation. But transformation doesn’t happen by accident. With a clear strategy, thoughtful design, and a partner who understands your goals, you’ll turn your Smartsheet purchase into a lasting, scalable success.
At Prime Consulting Group, we specialize in helping organizations roll out Smartsheet with confidence. Whether you’re starting from scratch or looking to optimize what you’ve already built, we’re here to help.