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The overall ease of use, ability to collaborate, and coordination of quick team meetings make Microsoft Teams an effective platform for business. It’s easier to use than you may think and as workforce roles and locations change (both now and in the aftermath of COVID-19) many businesses may continue to allow employees to work remotely. But because people are different and so are the teams they participate in – working remotely can cause some challenges. Microsoft Teams allow you to set up your workspace your way, with all your people, content and tools in one place. If you’re still learning about Teams, we can help you determine if it’s right for your situation, and if you’re already using this great program, these simple tips will help you and your team make the most of your collaborative workspace. 

Start with chat

• Try only using chat rather than email for short, conversational messages like “Can we postpone tomorrow’s meeting?” or “Nice job with customer X.”
• Keep favorite channels, chats, and teams at the top of the list for quick access. Simply right-click on the item and click Favorite next to the name.
• See more ways to chat here.

Get the app
Microsoft Teams is available as a desktop app and as a mobile app for iOS and Android. You can also run Microsoft Teams as a web app—click here.

Create the right teams and channels
Teams are collections of people, content, and tools surrounding different projects and jobs within an organization. Team members can share conversations, files, notes, and more.

Channels are team conversations which have been grouped by subject matter or topic. Create a channel for topics and workflows relevant to your team.

• Tips to make the most of teams and channels:
  • It is better to have fewer teams with more members and more channels.
  • Add guests from outside with secure guest access to the files and content you wish to share.
  • Post topics and themes that lead to active discussions with input from a variety of people.
  • Upload relevant files and documents to each channel for easy access to important content.
  • Pin a SharePoint site or OneNote notebook to a channel for more ways to share important information.

Meet in teams
Chat privately one-on-one or have instant group conversations. Join meetings with HD audio and video. All in one place instead of multiple apps. Learn how by clicking here.

Add fun to your chat
Let your team’s sense of the humor and personality shine. Share emojis, memes, and stickers. Here’s how:

• Select Teams, and then select a channel.
• Select the smiley face in your compose message box /text editor.
• Select a sticker, enter a fun caption and select Done.
• @mention co-workers before you send the message, and then press Enter.

Get everyone onboard

• If your team is working remotely and things aren’t taking off the way you want, use @team and @channel to get everybody’s attention, and kick off your next team communication within Teams (like planning a Teams training event).
• Encourage members to turn on channel notifications so that they are notified when a new message is posted to a channel (right click on a channel name and choose “Channel notifications”).
• Be personally active in channels.
• Forward emails to a channel to continue discussions in Teams.

Make collaborating on files a breeze
Files that you share in a channel are stored in your team’s SharePoint folder. Files that you share in a private or group conversation are stored in your OneDrive for Business folder and are shared with the people in that conversation. Get started with files here.

Work on Office documents in Teams
Office 365 apps like Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Planner, Stream, PowerBI and more are built in, so you can manage all your content across these apps without having to leave Teams.

Connect your Team to the world
Did you know you can set up a Twitter feed for your Team? And many other services, too, including Trello, GitHub, Bing News, and more. With Office 365 Connectors, it’s easy to connect many of your favorite apps and services. Learn how to connect here.

Keep up to date on your mobile device
The Activity Log on the mobile app makes staying up-to-date simple. Notifications keep you informed of recent changes to conversations you’re involved in such as @mentions, replies, and likes.

If your team is working remotely and you have questions or feedback about Microsoft Teams, we’re here to help you! Give us a call or email and we’ll be happy to talk about how your business can take advantage of all the benefits that Microsoft Teams has to offer.

Looking for an all-in-one telephone solution? Try Microsoft 365 Business Voice
Microsoft 365 Business Voice makes it easy to turn Microsoft Teams into a powerful and flexible telephone system. It’s a replacement for traditional telephony providers and in-house phone systems. You can set up both toll and toll-free numbers, call menus to help callers get to the right department, audio conferencing so you can host meetings with anyone, and more. You can even give people their own phone numbers so they can get calls directly. Business Voice does all of this by wrapping Microsoft 365 Phone System features into an easy-to-manage bundle. You don’t need to worry about choosing the right plan or feature; they’re all there and set up for you. Because Phone System is a part of Teams, you can turn any PC, Mac, or mobile device into a phone that can use your Business Voice phone number. It’s also a great resource for teams that are working remotely!