Taylor Wimpey is on a mission to become the UK’s first digital housebuilder.
By adopting Microsoft 365 Copilot, the company is enhancing how its teams leverage the Microsoft tools they use daily.
Employees are benefiting from greater accessibility, significant time savings and a “remarkable” new way of working.
“The key to our success has been to inspire people to think about the things they do every day and then put Copilot into all of those scenarios.”
Emilia Turner, IT Business Partner, Taylor Wimpey
Taylor Wimpey is one of the UK’s largest homebuilders, having built over 10,000 homes in 2024. With 22 regional businesses across the UK and a small operation in Spain, the company is committed to delivering high-quality homes for its customers.
As part of its ambition to become the UK’s first digital housebuilder, Taylor Wimpey is strategically adopting technology to empower its teams and drive greater value for customers, shareholders and partners. In line with this vision, it became the first major UK housebuilder to deploy Microsoft 365 Copilot, accelerating its digital transformation.
“A lot of roles have a considerable amount of drudgery in them, particularly in our industry,” posits Andrew Feldon, Group IT Director at Taylor Wimpey. “We want to use technology to free people from the drudgery, so they can focus on the tasks that add value. Of course, the knock-on effect of that is they will enjoy their jobs more.”
For Taylor Wimpey, the compelling benefit of Microsoft 365 Copilot is that it is found in the tools everyone uses every day, including Microsoft Teams, Outlook, Word, Excel and Power BI.
“The Microsoft 365 applications are used by all parts of Taylor Wimpey, so it makes sense to introduce a solution that could reach all roles,” says Emilia Turner, IT Business Partner at Taylor Wimpey. “Obviously, some people use different apps more than others, but everyone uses them and can benefit from Copilot in some way.”
The trial started with 300 users across the business. Everyone given a licence had to sign up to an acceptable use policy and complete an hour-long engagement session where Emilia would walk through Copilot essentials.
“We explained what Copilot is, why we switched off ChatGPT and how using Copilot instead gives us the necessary commercial data protection,” says Emilia Turner. “As well as core Copilot functionality.”
Users have been quick to identify the tasks in which Copilot can support them.
Carl Richmond, HR Business Partner at Taylor Wimpey, explains, “I use Copilot to simplify spreadsheets and work out formulas for me. Copilot has been able to access a high level of data in Excel and organise it.”
Carl adds, “You’ve got to keep persevering with Copilot and learn how to use it. As you get better, it gets more intuitive, but you have to invest to start off with.
“For our IT Service Desk, using Copilot is a no-brainer,” adds Emilia Turner. “In service delivery, it just makes sense to use Copilot to help us write step-by-step instructions and advise people on how to do things, especially when the explanation is already on our Intranet.”
Using Copilot to search the company’s SharePoint Intranet is now one of the biggest use cases – revealing how staff are now much better able to self-serve information.
Another key use case for Andrew Feldon was a recent, significant contract review and new supplier onboarding. He says, “Using Copilot to help me review that large and very complex contract saved me several days’ work.”
Emilia Turner continues, “The key to our success has been to inspire people to think about the things they do every day and then put Copilot into all of those scenarios.”
The Taylor Wimpey team worked very closely with Microsoft, to ensure a successful adoption.
“We know there is a lot of interest across the business,” Andrew Feldon says, “So we’ve been able to be very tough: use it or lose it. As a result, our monthly active user score is very high – up at 90 percent.”
Taylor Wimpey’s approach has been backed up with a wealth of support and resources, recognising that different users want to learn and explore in different ways.
“The extensive use of Copilot is one of the reasons we have achieved so many significant benefits.”
Andrew Feldon, Group IT Director, Taylor Wimpey
The support Taylor Wimpey has offered users to aid Copilot adoption has meant that even reluctant users have uncovered compelling benefits.
“I was sceptical, but I persevered,” admits Catriona Douglas, Finance Director at Taylor Wimpey East Scotland. “It’s really about understanding the prompting. It’s not just the first question. It’s the follow up questions; that’s how you tailor it.”
Now, Catriona uses Copilot for a variety of tasks, including summarising changes to submissions in Excel, drafting meeting agendas, and checking tone when writing emails.
She says, “Copilot aids your day to day. I’m always on top of my emails. It’s incremental bits of time here and there. But that time adds up cumulatively and you’re able to get an extra task done in the day.”
“What really helped me is when Microsoft told me not to think of Copilot as some kind of tech tool,” advises Vicky Stipetic, PA to the Group HR Director at Taylor Wimpey. “Instead, I should imagine I had a PA. Well, that’s me, right? I should understand that concept! How would I tell a PA what I want?”
Now, Vicky enthusiastically uncovers new use cases every week. She says, “I use Copilot as a replacement Internet search. Instead of the first ten links trying to sell me something, Copilot just gives me the facts I need.”
“I’m very much enjoying using Copilot to help me understand anything I need to learn. For example, I asked Copilot to help me draft a little plan for how to develop my social media skills. It even helped me decipher my blood test results the other day! I don’t feel I use it as much as other people, but the times when I do use Copilot, it is such a lifesaver. I’m always on a deadline and Copilot helps me to turn things around really quickly.”
Andrew Feldon emphasises, “We want to encourage our people to keep on learning about the product and to keep investing with the business.”
“We haven’t got these amazing Copilot benefits without time and effort,” he stresses. “We’ve really managed the adoption. I’ve been doing this job a very long time and the level of support, training, workshops and all the different techniques Emilia has put in place is amongst the most impressive I’ve seen.”
“At the beginning, our training was very generalised,” admits Emilia Turner. “As we’ve progressed, we’ve taken an iterative approach. Training is now much more focused on roles and individuals.”
As well as demonstrations at regional and directors’ meetings, the team has led scenario discovery workshops to focus in on specific roles and the Microsoft 365 apps which are relevant to them. The team’s innovative approach has even included an AI escape room, where participants must use Copilot prompts to solve the scenario.
“I’ve started offering one-to-one sessions, where we sit down and look at what an individual’s week looks like and how we can integrate Copilot,” Emilia Turner explains. “Now, people are thinking creatively and embracing Copilot in more random tasks that maybe they wouldn’t have considered before.”
“Of course, there are productivity and commercial gains from using Copilot,” says Andrew Feldon. “But if your choice of technology tools can make staff happier, you’ll get the productivity gains anyway.”
A key strand of Taylor Wimpey’s recently launched employee value proposition (EVP) ‘Make a Home at Taylor Wimpey’ is a commitment to supporting employees with the tools they need to build their future at the Company and to support them in providing the best service for the company’s stakeholders.
“Copilot supports our EVP because it really does make Taylor Wimpey a great place to work,” states Andrew Feldon.
Seven in ten of Taylor Wimpey’s Copilot users say that now they’ve used Copilot, access to it would affect their decision when choosing a company at which to work.
One of these colleagues is Susan Burns, Head of Customer Service at Taylor Wimpey. She says, “If Taylor Wimpey didn’t provide Copilot, I’d buy it myself!”
Vicky Stipetic agrees, “Copilot is a huge attraction piece for me. If I look for another position again, I would be looking to go to a company that had Copilot.”
One of the most impactful benefits of Microsoft 365 Copilot at Taylor Wimpey has been its role in improving accessibility and creating a more inclusive workplace. By helping employees work more efficiently, the tool has reduced stress, enhanced productivity and supported neurodivergent individuals, including those with dyslexia.
“Copilot has not just changed my job but the way I feel about life,” says Susan Burns. “I was diagnosed with dyslexia when I was 25. I certainly don’t wear my disability as a badge of honour and, over the years, I’ve come up with various coping strategies.”
“My ‘aha!’ moment with Copilot came when I suddenly realised, I wasn’t working late – I hadn’t worked beyond 6pm for a week!” continues Susan Burns. “I’m not starting work already exhausted because I’ve been up since 6am trying to catch up. I don’t have the same levels of anxiety. My work-life balance has improved – I actually have a life!”
100 hours report writing reduced to 20
Day-to-day tasks which were once difficult are now much less daunting.
Kelly Canfield, HR Development Manager at Taylor Wimpey, explains, “Last week I wrote an article, pulling information from different sources and adding people’s quotes. Previously, I would have put that work off. It would have taken me hours to formulate a paragraph. I would have had to ask someone to check it through. We’re talking tens of hours of effort. With Copilot, from start to finish it took six hours.”
Susan Burns agrees, “I recently worked on a housing association report. Previously, it would have taken me around 100 hours of work. With support from Copilot, I completed it in 20 hours. It’s still a big chunk of work, but the time savings are huge. And it’s not just my time. Like Kelly, I would have sent it to my manager to check – another one of my coping strategies.”
For Susan and Kelly, the accessibility benefits are incredibly empowering.
Susan Burns says, “Copilot has empowered me to say ‘this was a problem, but I’ve now got a solution’. I can talk about my dyslexia in a way I couldn’t before.”
Taylor Wimpey’s adoption of Microsoft 365 Copilot has proven to be a powerful step towards innovation. The tool has demonstrated clear business value while transforming the way employees work—making their jobs easier, smarter and more efficient.
“Our ambition to become the first digital housebuilder is driven by our commitment to operational excellence and empowering our employees. Copilot has been a significant step towards this goal and has already helped us to streamline processes and enhance our digital capabilities. I have been thrilled with the enthusiasm from our employees, as we work towards a culture of innovation within Taylor Wimpey," says Jennie Daly, CEO at Taylor Wimpey.
By investing in Microsoft 365 Copilot, Taylor Wimpey is shaping the future of its workforce. As the organisation continues embedding this tool into daily operations, employees are gaining valuable digital skills, saving time and improving their well-being.
“Working with Copilot is a mindset shift,” says Vicky Stipetic. “As it continues to evolve, we’re staying ahead—not just keeping up, but leading the way.”
“This IT rollout has been unlike any we’ve done before,” says Emilia Turner. “When we introduced a new AI tool, the team was genuinely excited. We wanted to harness this enthusiasm, and as a result, we’ve developed entirely new ways of working. It’s truly remarkable!”
As part of Taylor Wimpey’s review of the results so far, it considered the userbase in terms of 14 different personas. Andrew Feldon reports, “It doesn’t matter what the persona or pay grade is, there is a net benefit to using Copilot. And that’s not even measuring the wellbeing benefits – which are just as important as the productivity gains.”
Based on the results seen so far, Taylor Wimpey has increased its number of Copilot licences to 1,000 and there is an appetite in the business for more.
Andrew Feldon states, “Our Copilot adoption rate is so high; therefore, the rollout has been incredibly successful,” states Andrew Feldon. “The extensive use of Copilot is one of the reasons we have achieved so many significant benefits.”
“I have been thrilled with the enthusiasm from our employees, as we work towards a culture of innovation within Taylor Wimpey.”
Jennie Daly, CEO, Taylor Wimpey
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