Companies should be leveraging Microsoft Teams (Teams) for effective collaboration and communication. Microsoft’s collaboration platform combines the functionalities of video conferencing and written communication to create an inclusive platform that your business can adopt immediately.
But to improve the user experience within Teams, there are several practices that you ought to know. From knowing how to record a Microsoft Teams meeting to the additions of applications, this blog post will provide you with all the information your organization needs to make the most of Teams.
1. Record your meetings
Meetings are the cornerstones of businesses, allowing team members to meet, organize company operations, and inspire new ideas. The stats show that staff attend 62 meetings every month—there is a lot of vital information that meeting organizers and attendees ought to store for further use.
How to record Microsoft Teams meeting:
- Join or start a meeting.
- Look to the top-right of the meeting’s window for “More actions.” It should be close to the “Leave” button.
- Choose “More actions”.
- Choose “Start recording” from the menu.
If you want to stop a recording, go to “More actions” and choose “Stop recording”. If you select “Stop transcription”, the recording will continue, but the transcription will not.
Teams’ meeting recordings provide companies with a catalog that employees can use to keep track of information and communications within the workspace. With a catalog documenting your exchanges with co-workers and clients, you will be able to identify pain points and improve the customer experience more efficiently.
You should be able to find recordings within SharePoint or OneDrive once they are finished.
2. Use app integration
As Microsoft Teams is a cloud-based platform, it readily integrates with other applications to provide you with a customizable platform whose functions reflect your organization’s needs. There are two types of apps that Teams can work with: Microsoft Office 365’s productivity solutions (e.g., SharePoint and Outlook) and third-party programs approved by Microsoft.
Apps can be added from within Teams or with the assistance of Microsoft Teams consulting services. When businesses integrate Teams with other apps, they can create a more cohesive working environment for their employees, improving the user experience with tools that will make the platform more relevant to peoples’ work.
Apart from enhancing collaboration and communication, this can also save you time and money, as your team will be able to focus on their work rather than stressing over ineffective tools.
3. Organize your correspondences between chats and channels
Teams’ user interface design is intuitive and is meant to consolidate all your communication channels into a single space. And to improve the user experience, you and your team should take full advantage of the differences between chats and channels.
Simply put, the chat feature ought to be used for quick, informal conversations, such as checking in with colleagues or sharing a file with another team member. Channels can be used for more formal communications that require various personnel and teams. Channels are also great for distributing tasks, coordinating work, instigating channel meetings, and storing/organizing documents for specific purposes.
Multiple conversations and meetings in Teams can feel overwhelming if you do not have a system for differentiating individual spaces. By creating separate groups and message channels (based on departments, projects, etc.), you and your employees will have an easier time collaborating on tasks while mitigating the chances of sharing information with the wrong party.
4. Use the co-authoring function
When sharing documents and files with Teams, businesses gain access to the co-authoring function. A feature that helps improve communication and collaboration for a better user experience, co-authoring allows multiple team members to work on a single project in real time. Any changes are automatically synchronized within authorized devices across the board, ensuring that documents are never outdated.
According to Queens University of Charlotte, roughly “three of four employers” consider collaboration and teamwork “very important.” Both traits are enhanced with co-authoring. When teams use co-authoring, they can more easily share information, ideas, and resources.
This avoids the need for staff to go through multiple channels to get their message across. It also helps them move through projects quicker to generate results faster.
5. Use Microsoft Teams consulting
Microsoft Teams consulting is a comprehensive service that allows businesses to use the Teams platform effectively and securely. With a Teams consultant, you will be able to tap into the platform’s true potential and use it to streamline your collaboration and communication efforts.
A Teams consultant can help you with various tasks, including:
- Setting up the Teams platform.
- Training you and your employees on how to use Teams, its features (including meeting controls), and apps.
- Integrating additional apps.
- Developing and maintaining security regulations.
- Usability testing to make sure that the platform is in line with your company's requirements.
- Monitoring to keep an eye on your company's Teams usage.
- Implementing updates.
Microsoft Teams consulting is a way to offload the stress of Teams maintenance onto a group of Microsoft 365 and Teams experts. When you work with a consultant, you can be sure that your Teams platform will be configured and managed in a way that enhances the user experience for a more productive workplace.
Improve your company’s collaboration and communication with Microsoft Teams consulting
Teams provides you with all the tools you and your staff need to become more productive and efficient. However, if you are not using the platform to its full potential, your operations may slow down.
The Microsoft Teams consultants at Everconnect can deploy and maintain Teams within your network for greater usability and project management. Talk to the Everconnect team today and innovate your organization with the power of Microsoft technology.