Insights
Insights
More than 145 million of us have learned the ropes of Microsoft Teams in the last year and overcome the hurdles of staying in touch with colleagues from afar.
Now, with the widespread increase in hybrid working, the way we are all go about our business is changing again. So how can you ensure your staff are really making the most of Teams?
Here are some Teams features to start using:
Assign tags to names – When you want to share a document or direct a message to a group of employees, you don’t need to copy and paste the same message or tag each person individually. Teams allows users to assign team members with specific tags. For example, if a director wants to send a message to all managers, they can simply type @manager to send the message to those individuals. People can be grouped by common attributes, roles, projects, and more. With hybrid teams, it may be useful to create subgroups based on location.
Record Teams meetings and group calls – You can now record your Teams’ meetings and group calls, capturing audio, video, and screen sharing activity, which can be helpful during long presentations or when important information is discussed. Go back and view the transcript later, which is useful if you need to write something up – such as in an interview.
The recording happens in the cloud and is saved to Microsoft Stream, so users can share it securely across your business. You do need access to Microsoft Stream, however, so speak to your IT provider about setting this up.
Third party apps – Last year Microsoft opened up Teams meetings to third-party integrations. Apps are able to display content in the sidebar and send notifications during meetings. Previously, if you wanted to share an app or something more in Microsoft Teams, the only option was to share your screen.
Many companies have quickly jumped on this, including ZenDesk, SurveyMonkey, Asana (project management) and CalendarHero. Teams users can use these apps right in their channels, and most importantly, during live meetings.
Teams Rooms – Microsoft Teams Rooms is getting an update this June. For those that haven’t used it, it is a purpose built calling and meeting room solution, connecting your employees to high-spec meeting spaces in your office – even when they’re not in the room themselves.
Front Row is a new feature for Teams Rooms, an immersive room layout that makes interactions feel more natural and makes in-office participants feel more connected to remote staff.
Visually, this new layout moves the video gallery to the bottom of the screen so staff in the office can see remote colleagues face to face across a horizontal window – similar to if they were in the same room. Your meeting agenda, tasks, and notes, which can be updated in real-time, will also appear on the screen, helping you stay engaged and productive.
Microsoft Whiteboard – is a new feature that allows for collaboration in Teams meetings. You can annotate, draw diagrams and paste images on a virtual whiteboard. All Whiteboard users can share the same virtual canvas at the same time, whether they’re in the same room, on their smartphone, or even a laptop halfway across the world. What’s more, is you will see your changes appear in real-time on the screen.
New Fluid Components – Microsoft is starting to roll out new Fluid Components for its chat function. These will create live, collaborative experiences that can be edited and shared. For example, you can create dynamic widgets, such as a tables and task lists, within Teams channels, that your staff can contribute to in real-time.
These components can also be easily copied over to another chat threat or the Outlook calendar. Microsoft will also introduce the ability to pin specific messages to prevent them getting lost in the ‘Posts’ section of your channel, as well as the option to quote messages in replies. This will make it easier for employees to keep track of work and not feel out of the loop if they are working from home.
Headspace – If your days seem like a never-ending cycle of meetings, wellness software Headspace is coming to Teams later this month. This will allow employees to work through guided meditation and mindfulness exercises, reminding them to take breaks or unwind and switch off before calling it a day. It also has a Focus mode, where music and timers can help you work without getting distracted.
For more advice on how to make the most of Microsoft Teams, get in touch with our team at info@auratechnology.com.