Training course · Microsoft 365 Copilot · Human Resources

Microsoft 365 Copilot for HR Teams

Use Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Chat in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams productively, securely and in line with permissions.

Duration
1 day (7 hrs)
Format
Online or on-site
Language
German or English
Participants
open dates or exclusive for your team
Certificate
Certificate of attendance

Overview

This course connects Microsoft 365 Copilot with the everyday processes of Human Resources. Participants work on realistic scenarios and leave with prompts, workflows and checklists they can use straight away.

Microsoft 365 Copilot brings AI right into the applications where your daily work happens: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams. What sets it apart from publicly available chatbots is its grounding in your organisation's data via Microsoft Graph – Copilot can draw on the emails, meetings, chats and documents you already have access to. In this practical day you learn to use that connection deliberately: drafting content from existing files, summarising inboxes and long threads, following up on meetings and generating presentations from Word documents.

You also learn how the licensed Copilot differs from Copilot Chat, when web-grounded and when work-grounded answers make sense, and how to use both prebuilt and your own agents. A central topic is the permission model: Copilot only surfaces what you are allowed to see, so sharing settings in SharePoint, OneDrive and Teams directly determine the quality and security of results. You leave with tested prompts for every Office application and a clear understanding of responsible use within your tenant.

HR departments are service providers, advisers and change agents at once: they manage contracts and processes, support managers and drive topics such as people development and company culture. Generative AI can take a lot off their plate. AI assistants draft policies, employment references, job descriptions and employee communications, answer recurring questions on leave, working time or benefits and help design training and feedback processes. Automation speeds up onboarding and offboarding and analyses employee surveys. HR, however, demands particular care: personnel data is highly sensitive, decisions about people must remain fair and transparent, and many AI applications require works council involvement. Considering these conditions from the start builds acceptance and turns AI into genuine relief.

The course is delivered live – either online in a virtual classroom or on-site in our training rooms in Munich, Salzburg, Berlin, Augsburg, Hanover, Bremen, Stuttgart and Kaiserslautern. We can also run it exclusively for your team.

Who is this course for?

  • HR business partners
  • HR officers and generalists
  • Learning and development specialists
  • Payroll and HR administration staff
  • Heads of HR and CHROs

Typical challenges we address

  • Handling recurring employee queries alongside strategic work
  • Producing policies, references and documents quickly and in a legally sound way
  • Coordinating onboarding and offboarding across many stakeholders
  • Analysing employee feedback and HR metrics meaningfully

What you will be able to do

  • You use Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams for your recurring tasks.
  • You write prompts that draw on existing files, emails and meetings as context.
  • You distinguish between Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Chat and choose the right mode.
  • You use prebuilt agents and create a simple agent of your own for your team.
  • Create HR documents, communications and development concepts efficiently and soundly with AI.
  • Automate HR processes such as onboarding and employee queries with clear responsibilities.
  • Take employee data protection, co-determination and the EU AI Act into account when using AI in HR.

Course outline

Module 1 Copilot fundamentals and Microsoft Graph
  • Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Chat: capabilities and licensing
  • Grounding in organisational data through Microsoft Graph
  • Switching between web and work context and referencing specific files
  • Prompt structure with goal, context, source and expectations
Module 2 Word and PowerPoint
  • Drafting from existing documents, notes and emails
  • Rewriting, shortening, adjusting tone and summarising text
  • Generating presentations from Word documents or outlines
  • Refining slides, adding speaker notes and sharpening key messages
Module 3 Excel and data analysis
  • Querying tables, spotting trends and highlighting outliers
  • Getting suggestions for formulas, calculated columns and conditional formatting
  • Creating charts and pivot analyses from natural language
  • Sanity-checking results and ensuring data quality
Module 4 Outlook, Teams and agents
  • Summarising long email threads and drafting replies
  • Summarising Teams meetings and extracting action items and open questions
  • Using Copilot Pages and Notebooks for collaborative work
  • Using prebuilt agents and creating your own with Agent Builder
Module 5 Permissions, data protection and governance
  • The permission model: Copilot only shows what you can access
  • Identifying oversharing in SharePoint, OneDrive and Teams
  • Sensitivity labels, data boundaries and GDPR considerations
  • Usage policies, team adoption and measuring impact
Module 6 Practice lab: Human Resources
  • Drafting HR documents
  • Employment references
  • Employee self-service
  • Onboarding automation
  • Survey analysis
  • People development
Module 7 Data protection, quality & transfer to daily work
  • Personnel data is protected by the GDPR and national employee data protection rules; in Germany, introducing AI systems capable of monitoring behaviour or performance requires works council co-determination under the Works Constitution Act. AI used for decisions on promotion, termination or performance evaluation is high-risk under the EU AI Act.
  • Ground rules for safe AI use in your team
  • Checking results: facts, sources, tests and the four-eyes principle
  • Personal action plan for the next 30 days
  • Open questions, outlook and resources for further learning

Practical scenarios from your field

Drafting HR documents

An AI assistant drafts policies, works agreement proposals, job descriptions and employee information in plain language, which HR then checks against employment law and agrees internally.

Employment references

Based on a structured performance assessment, AI drafts a reference letter at the appropriate rating level with favourable yet truthful wording, which HR checks against established reference conventions.

Employee self-service

A knowledge assistant answers questions on leave, travel expenses, working time or benefits based on approved policies, cites the source and hands complex cases to HR.

Onboarding automation

Workflows create checklists, welcome emails, induction plans and tasks for IT, the line manager and buddies, so new joiners are well prepared from day one.

Survey analysis

Free-text answers from employee surveys or exit interviews are anonymised and clustered by theme, sentiment summarised and fields of action for leadership and HR derived.

People development

AI supports the design of training programmes, competency models, learning paths and guides for performance and feedback conversations, tailored to roles and company culture.

Prerequisites

Confident everyday use of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams; no prior AI knowledge is required. You work in HR and know the core HR processes and basic employment law in your organisation.

Technical requirements

A laptop with access to Microsoft 365 via your work account; a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence is ideal for all exercises, while Copilot Chat covers part of the content.

Data protection & compliance

Personnel data is protected by the GDPR and national employee data protection rules; in Germany, introducing AI systems capable of monitoring behaviour or performance requires works council co-determination under the Works Constitution Act. AI used for decisions on promotion, termination or performance evaluation is high-risk under the EU AI Act.

Suggested dates

All dates are suggestions – your preferred date is always possible.

  • Tue, 24 November 2026 Online Request
  • Tue, 8 December 2026 Bremen Request
  • Fri, 8 January 2027 Online Request
  • Thu, 14 January 2027 Salzburg Request
  • Mon, 25 January 2027 Online Request
  • Thu, 11 February 2027 Kaiserslautern Request

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Chat?

Copilot Chat is available to many work accounts without an additional licence and answers mainly from web content and uploaded files. The licensed Microsoft 365 Copilot also reaches your emails, meetings and documents through Microsoft Graph and is built directly into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams.

Can Copilot see my colleagues' confidential files?

Copilot respects existing permissions and only surfaces content you can already access yourself. Problems arise when files are shared too broadly – with the entire organisation, for instance. In the course you learn how to spot such oversharing and how to fix it properly together with your IT team.

Do I need prompting experience for this course?

No. We start with the fundamentals of good prompts and practise them directly in the Office applications. What matters is that you are comfortable using Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams day to day. Everything else – from referencing files to working with agents – we build up step by step through realistic tasks.

Does the works council have to agree to AI use?

Often, yes. In Germany, as soon as an AI system is technically capable of monitoring employee behaviour or performance, the works council has co-determination rights, plus information and consultation rights. We show how to involve employee representatives early and what an AI framework agreement typically covers.

May we process personnel data in AI tools?

Only in approved environments with a data processing agreement, a clear purpose and a legal basis. Many tasks, such as drafting policies or training concepts, need no personal data at all. Where they do, minimise and pseudonymise the data. In the course we develop practical rules for your HR team.

How much does “Microsoft 365 Copilot for HR Teams” cost?

The course costs a flat €949 plus VAT per participant – whether online or on-site. This includes 1 training day(s) with a live trainer, course materials, a lab environment and a certificate of attendance.

Can I suggest my own date?

Yes. Our suggested dates are just a guide. In the request form you can always describe your preferred date or period in free text – we check availability and confirm within one working day.

Is the course online or on-site?

Both are possible: live online in a virtual classroom or on-site in Munich, Salzburg, Berlin, Augsburg, Hanover, Bremen, Stuttgart or Kaiserslautern. We can also run the course exclusively for your team.

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