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Powering Remote Collaboration with Microsoft Teams + Webinar Replay
By Amisha Shah |
Wednesday, March 18th, 2020
As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to unfold with government guidelines encouraging self-isolation in many countries, the global workforce has no choice but to shift to remote working.
Amidst the uncertainty, we cannot gauge how long the period of social distancing will last and when we might be able to head back in the office environment. Therefore, organisations must adapt to ensure business continuity as we enter the second quarter of 2020.
More positively, firms today operate in a world of modern technology which is fully equipped to support remote working, as discussed by Eze technology enthusiasts in yesterday’s tech talk on Powering Remote Collaboration with Microsoft Teams (you can access the full replay here). Today’s blog article will highlight key features of the platform and share tips to help organisations and their employees keep up productivity levels.
• Communication
• Knowledge sharing
This is where Microsoft Teams comes in. Microsoft Teams is a unified communication and collaboration platform combining workplace chat, video meetings, file storage, and application integration all in one place.
This feature enables chatting between individuals and groups, with capabilities to share documents and files via the chats. All chats will remain within this tab (unless hidden), so employees can return to them at any time to continue to conversations.
Creating project specific teams and channels is helpful in keeping momentum flowing. Firms already using Microsoft Office 365 can easily replicate department setups here to create a workspace for the different organisational teams to collaborate. Additionally, at the top of each channel and chat, there is an option to tab collaborative shared document(s) for ease of access. Channels can also be turned into an email group to maintain a continuous flow of communication between members both within and outside of Microsoft Teams.
Microsoft Teams syncs with other Office 365 applications and therefore maintains an up-to-date calendar for individuals in one place. Teams meetings are easily created, and joined through the click of a button without having to manually dial in. Staff with Microsoft Teams on their phones can dial into calls from anywhere and are not bound to their laptops/desktops.
The application supports both audio and video calls for effective knowledge sharing and communication. Firms can use Microsoft Teams to keep weekly catch-up meetings going, utilising video conferencing to liken what would usually be an in-person meeting between team members. Capabilities within this feature also enable users to take turns to share screens during calls to share important updates with another - thus making calls interactive.
Keeping all remote working essentials in one place, Microsoft Teams syncs the personal one-drive of individuals to the ‘Files’ tab, where recently accessed files will appear for ease of access without staff having to open numerous tabs to access folders and files.
Overall, Microsoft Teams is an easy to use application to leverage to maintain a virtual work environment of productivity, collaboration and transparency amongst employees.
• Product feature guide
• Training and tutorials can be accessed from the bottom right corner of Teams, via the 'Help' feature.
Watch the full 26-minute webinar replay to catch Microsoft Teams hints and shortcuts shared by Eze experts in the full discussion.
Amidst the uncertainty, we cannot gauge how long the period of social distancing will last and when we might be able to head back in the office environment. Therefore, organisations must adapt to ensure business continuity as we enter the second quarter of 2020.
More positively, firms today operate in a world of modern technology which is fully equipped to support remote working, as discussed by Eze technology enthusiasts in yesterday’s tech talk on Powering Remote Collaboration with Microsoft Teams (you can access the full replay here). Today’s blog article will highlight key features of the platform and share tips to help organisations and their employees keep up productivity levels.
Success Factors
Whether encouraging or mandating remote working, firms must resonate with employees to keep the following two factors for successful remote collaboration continuous:• Communication
• Knowledge sharing
This is where Microsoft Teams comes in. Microsoft Teams is a unified communication and collaboration platform combining workplace chat, video meetings, file storage, and application integration all in one place.
Microsoft Teams: Leveraging the Features
Alerts
Never miss an update. Any missed calls, mentions and documents shared with employees personally or as part of a team, will be flagged as notifications to individuals in this tab. Working remote increases communications via instant messengers and over email significantly, which can sometimes be overwhelming (especially for those who are doing this for the first time). This feature makes it easier for employees to keep on top of things with clear oversight of tasks and actions specific to them.
Chat
This feature enables chatting between individuals and groups, with capabilities to share documents and files via the chats. All chats will remain within this tab (unless hidden), so employees can return to them at any time to continue to conversations.
Teams
Creating project specific teams and channels is helpful in keeping momentum flowing. Firms already using Microsoft Office 365 can easily replicate department setups here to create a workspace for the different organisational teams to collaborate. Additionally, at the top of each channel and chat, there is an option to tab collaborative shared document(s) for ease of access. Channels can also be turned into an email group to maintain a continuous flow of communication between members both within and outside of Microsoft Teams.
Calendar
Microsoft Teams syncs with other Office 365 applications and therefore maintains an up-to-date calendar for individuals in one place. Teams meetings are easily created, and joined through the click of a button without having to manually dial in. Staff with Microsoft Teams on their phones can dial into calls from anywhere and are not bound to their laptops/desktops.
Calls
The application supports both audio and video calls for effective knowledge sharing and communication. Firms can use Microsoft Teams to keep weekly catch-up meetings going, utilising video conferencing to liken what would usually be an in-person meeting between team members. Capabilities within this feature also enable users to take turns to share screens during calls to share important updates with another - thus making calls interactive.
File Sharing
Keeping all remote working essentials in one place, Microsoft Teams syncs the personal one-drive of individuals to the ‘Files’ tab, where recently accessed files will appear for ease of access without staff having to open numerous tabs to access folders and files. Overall, Microsoft Teams is an easy to use application to leverage to maintain a virtual work environment of productivity, collaboration and transparency amongst employees.
Making the most out of Microsoft Teams:
• Product feature guide• Training and tutorials can be accessed from the bottom right corner of Teams, via the 'Help' feature.
Watch the full 26-minute webinar replay to catch Microsoft Teams hints and shortcuts shared by Eze experts in the full discussion.
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