Microsoft Teams can be used for more than just video conferencing, check out some of its best uses!
Did you know? Teams, Microsoft's collaborative communication application, has many strings to its bow. Indeed, contrary to popular belief,Microsoft Teams is not limited to video conferencing.
Instead, this solution offers a wide range of features, designed to facilitate not only internal communication, but also internal collaboration and even knowledge management .
Want to get the most out of Teams? Mozzaik presents some of the main uses of Microsoft Teams to expand your horizons. Read the following carefully.
Teams, the successful collaboration platform from Microsoft
Launched by Microsoft in 2016, the collaborative communication application Teams has since become a real success story. In January 2022, the platform designed to facilitate hybrid work even exceeded 270 million monthly active users.
Microsoft Teams is particularly popular with companies. The software allows you to create a seamless, tailor-made digital working environment by integrating numerous features.
Teams can be used for meetings, webinars, asynchronous conversations, file sharing, hybrid workrooms, phone calls and access to business applications.
But let's look at how Teams can be used "in real life".
Example of use 1: Managing projects in Teams
To complete a project successfully, employees must be able to interact smoothly, share information easily and organize themselves quickly. This is difficult to achieve when project team members are not in the same office or when there are multiple stakeholders.
What's the solution to manage your most complex projects simply? Create a team or a dedicated channel in Teams to bring together all the people involved. You can then communicate asynchronously via the discussion thread, organize video conferences directly in Teams and even keep track of your exchanges thanks to shared meeting notes.
But that's not all. This virtual space will also allow you to share and edit documents using SharePoint 365. In fact, if you are a Mozzaik365 Digital Workplace user, you can easily create a knowledge base in SharePoint using the electronic document management (EDM) feature. The goal? To build a real collective encyclopedia by facilitating contribution on the one hand and access to knowledge on the other.
As an added bonus, you can coordinate the actions of your team members by planning their tasks via Tasks and setting up a communal calendar.
Does all this seem a bit abstract to you?
Imagine, for example, an international exhibition project, involving individuals based all over the world. With Teams, project managers, curators, scenographers and artists will be able to visualise the event's reverse scheduling. They will also be able to access, in real time, an updated list of works and general instructions concerning the conservation of works and the safety of the public. Channels can also be created for discussion in small groups on specific subjects (insurance, transporting works of art, the installation site, organizing the opening, etc.). Thus, no artistic vagueness!
Example of use 2: Communicating internally with Teams
Internal communication is an essential lever for employee engagement and team cohesion. However, according to an INside-OpinionWay survey, one employee in two feels that their management does not communicate sufficiently with them, one employee in three says that they are not properly informed, and 20% of those surveyed say that they do not even have the information they need to carry out their missions.
Teams provides a relevant response to the difficulties encountered by large companies in terms of internal communication. The Communication Department or the Human Resources Department can create a dedicated channel for internal communication on the platform. News and important documents will thus be centralized and highlighted. Better still, employees will have the opportunity to react by posting comments. This will strengthen their commitment.
More concretely, consider using Teams to share the progress of your organization's major projects with your staff. Also use it to explain major administrative changes in your company. Employees will understand much better the benefits of their health insurance, the company's new holiday policy, telecommuting announcements or the rules for the allocation of luncheon vouchers if this information is provided to them by the relevant departments.
Again, the Mozzaik365 Digital Workplace adds real value to the Microsoft environment. By integrating Teams with your intranet, your users will be able to easily find all the conversations held in their different Teams workspaces. A real plus for the employee experience and a significant time saver.
Are you worried about tiring your teammates by posting too many messages on your internal communication channel? Prioritize content and create a quick access tab to your intranet directly in Teams. With Microsoft's Viva Connection, you can then integrate your intranet into Teams and centralize your communication. In this way, you can provide additional information to interested employees, without the risk of boring other employees.
Example of use 3: Onboarding new employees via Teams
Onboarding is a strategic step. It contributes to the retaining talent and influences the future level of engagement of new employees.
According to a study by Go2nextlevels and OfficeVibe, employers who implement anOnboarding process retain twice as many employees as those who do not. Furthermore, 58% of new recruits who have gone through an onboarding process are still working in the organization three years after joining. To retain your talent, it is therefore important to take care of their onboarding.
With Teams, you can prepare for the arrival of your new employees, systematize your onboarding process, and make theonboarding of talents who join your company more fluid.
With Teams' advanced search bar, new employees can search for an internal expert with just a few clicks. But this is not the only advantage of Teams in terms of Onboarding.
In practice, to facilitate the integration of newcomers, be sure to announce their arrival to everyone in the organization by posting a message on your main Teams channel.
In addition, don't forget to create an onboarding path directly in Teams by gathering information, documents, tutorial videos, and other training in a single Teams channel for incoming employees. To do this, create a Teams team by department and use wikis or OneNote documents to gather key data about the activities of the relevant department. Simple and effective.
Finally, beyond Teams, think about braodcasting the values of your organization on your intranet. This way, new recruits can familiarize themselves with your company's culture. This is ideal for strengthening their commitment.
🤔 Also to be discovered on the theme of corporate culture, our article on the 6 key steps to create a strong corporate culture!
Example of use 4: Organizing an event in Teams
Large gatherings (seminars, product launches, conferences, etc.) are valuable opportunities to increase employee commitment and implement transparent internal communication. However, organizing events is not always easy, especially in a hybrid working environment or when teams are based in different countries.
So what's the solution? Organize live video events on Microsoft Teams! The platform allows you to plan a Live Event as easily as a Teams meeting. The opportunity to interact with an internal or external audience of up to 10,000 people.
Some organizations use Team events to announce major changes to their employees. Top management can speak live to all employees and answer their questions via chat. Of course, Team events can also be used in other contexts such as training.
💡 Find out how to optimize your Teams video events with Microsoft Whiteboard by reading our blog post.
Example of use 5: Making communication materials available via Teams
The accessibility of information is a prerequisite for employee productivity. This is especially true for sales teams and communicators. To sign a contract or manage a bad buzz, these two categories of employees must be able to access the appropriate communication media without delay.
Fortunately, with Teams, your employees have quick access to their files, even when they are on the road. Your sales force can, for example, find their product catalogue, the calendar of upcoming events or their customer presentations in one click. This is a great way to be efficient, especially at trade fairs and exhibitions where time is of the essence.
For its part, your communication department can use Teams to quickly access all the materials it needs to perform its tasks: corporate identity and style guide, logo, PowerPoint presentation templates , letterhead, standard email signature, publication template for social networks or a guide to posting on LinkedIn.
🚨 Also read our blog post to learn all the secrets of scheduling your tasks in Teams!
The final word
As you can see, with its many features, Microsoft Teams is the application that takes internal communication, internal collaboration and knowledge management to the next level.
Finally, for an optimal user experience, the Mozzaik365 Digital Workplace can be integrated into Teams using Viva Connection. A must.
