Work as a collaborative, unified team no matter where you are.
The modern workplace is no longer restricted to conference rooms and cubicles. With around 56% of employees working fully remote or hybrid, effective digital collaboration is critical to keep your business running.
Microsoft Teams is a streamlined collaboration solution that accommodates a more flexible, dynamic workforce, enabling your team to work better together from anywhere using a simplified technology platform backed by Microsoft.
PCG is a Microsoft Productivity Suite and Teams Collaboration specialist that can help you create a connected, engaged, efficient workforce that’s unhindered by geography.
The benefits of our customized collaboration solutions include:
- Improved teamwork and engagement – When your staff is at home or on the road, they can feel isolated from their colleagues and work environment. You can keep them connected and motivated by having face-to-face virtual meetings so everyone still works together as a team
- Unlimited productivity – Use Teams and collaboration tools to discuss ideas, share files, engage with managers and supervisors, and have meetings with clients and vendors – just like you would in the office
- Ongoing monitoring, maintenance and support – PCG will build a Teams and collaboration solution that’s tailored to your business, and keep it running smoothly for you at all times. With our expert managed collaboration services, we handle the technology so you can work from anywhere with ease
Our Microsoft specialists would love to speak with you about how we can help your business, streamline your collaboration technology, and create a more connected, productive team.
Introduction to Microsoft Teams
Teams is Microsoft’s answer to collaboration. It is their new tool, in the last year or two, to allow companies and users to chat, incorporate video functions and teams, or collaboration for files, so that they don’t have to use Outlook all the time for messaging and memos and things of that nature.
The real goal is to try and stop doing things like, “What do you want to have for lunch?”, or “yes”, “the package is at the door.” Simple communications like that Outlook is not really well suited for, so Teams fills that area.
You can chat with people. You can create one time conversations. You can store files. It connects to OneDrive. You can create teams for your different groups — so, if you have a marketing group, if you have an admin group, say you have a project that you’re working on that has a specific need, you can use it for those types of things. It’s really an all-in-one collaboration tool for companies to use.
Features of Microsoft Teams
Important Features
Key features include chat, document storage, video conferencing, the ability to tie your phone system to your video conferencing. Because you can message coworkers directly and put attachments into chat logs, it’s really an all-in-one collaboration system.
Plus when it comes to file access, the sharing of files is connected to One Drive, so everything is in the cloud seamlessly. You can attach files to chats, to teams, and to onetime communications between users.
For video, you have all of the abilities that many have become used to in terms of video chatting and conferencing. You can call people either within the organization or outside the organization. You can create meetings. A new feature in Teams has really expanded the number of camera spots that are on your screen. It used to be only four. It’s now up to nine, and they’re going to be up to larger numbers of that.
So you can also do video conferences where you send out a link to people who aren’t in Teams. You can have they can either access it via the web, or just do what is called a conference bridge and just listen to the meeting.
Other important options are of course the namesake for the app, which is teams themselves. You can create teams within the app for different users, such as a marketing or operations team. You can do it for particular projects, add specific members, and collaborate within that team, share files, do conference calls, or chat. They do not need to be in the same building, or even within your company. They can be in different companies and different parts of the world.
Teams is a really powerful way of communicating and collaborating that ties all of Microsoft 365’s cloud structure together in a way that Outlook alone doesn’t. Although Outlook is great for larger messages where there needs to be detailed communication and a large amount of content, Teams is the best choice for one-off, very quick communications.
Microsoft Teams Video & Etiquette
Teams is the go-to meeting app, especially within the Microsoft suite. The ability to call coworkers regardless of their location is paramount and with Teams you can call them instantly.
PCG uses Teams for everything we do. And it’s actually supplanted both a physical telephone and Outlook. If there is a challenging project you’re working on, it’s much easier to just do a quick video call and send a file to a coworker than to schedule a meeting.
Speaking of meetings, many company meetings are managed exclusively in Teams. PCG has a Thursday morning huddle where the entire company arrives via their own video, which allows us to keep that teamwork, collaboration, and togetherness going, without requiring everyone to come into the office. It’s really indispensable, and it’s all part of your Microsoft 365 subscription.
So Teams is really a no-brainer, but there is etiquette and rules that you want to follow in Teams meetings. It’s always a little funny to discuss these things, and we’ve all seen the memes.
- Try to dress for it. Wear what you would wear if you were standing in front of someone
- Turn your microphone off. If you are not speaking, know where the microphone mute button is, and mute yourself. It prevents background noise from within your home (children or dogs) or even outside noise (trucks, motorcycles, and cars driving by) from negatively impact the meeting. Also, make your ‘housemates’ aware you’re getting on a call especially if you’re using your camera
- Understand how to invite new people to a meeting. It’s a very good skill to use when you’re on a call with a coworker and a third colleague’s input would be useful. Just add them to the video call…super easy and useful!
