15 Great Microsoft Teams Tips and Tricks

15 Great Microsoft Teams Tips and Tricks

Microsoft Teams comes with your Office 365 subscription. This popular software lets your employees work together long distance on documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and more. While you could use an app like Slack to communicate, the integrated Teams option provides a much better option since Microsoft designed it seamlessly with its other products.

You can make this fully integrated program work even better for you by learning its features. These 15 tips will teach you some of the top ways to get the most out of using Microsoft Teams.

1. Provide employee training on how to use Microsoft Teams best. Rather than having each person self-educate, offer a unified resource that all employees must complete before beginning work. Many options cost nothing, such as those offered on EdX.org.
2. Connect Microsoft SharePoint with your Teams project, so you enhance the library management tools and make it easier to find the file you need. This feature also enables auto-sync, so every users’ change gets integrated into the server.
3. Enable the External Guest User option in Microsoft Teams. The default setting only lets you invite internal users. Still, by enabling guest access in the “Org-wide” settings within the admin center, you can allow independent contractors and your client to view and edit the same documents on which your team works. It can take a few hours after you turn this setting on for it to propagate.
4. Learn the keyboard shortcuts or at least enable them so you can see the codes to use them. Use “Ctrl + .” to see the list of available shortcuts.
5. Learn and use the slash commands in Teams, too. Commands like /keys let you see the list keyboard shortcuts, while /whats new lets you read all the latest updates in the team.
6. Automatically translate messages from any language to any language. This option proves especially useful in any multi-lingual or international firm. In the administration center, edit the messaging policies to turn on the translate option.
7. Use Microsoft Teams in your browser by clicking “cancel” when you receive an email inviting you to join a team. Clicking the team’s link would require you to install Microsoft Teams, but cancel provides the option of “Use the Web App Instead.” Having browser access lets you work from any smartphone, tablet, or computer.
8. Hide channels you do not need or use within the Teams app. This helps you organize what you need to see and ignore what you do not. Reducing clutter in this manner makes it simpler to keep apprised of what you need to know. Click on the three dots menu, also known as the ellipsis menu on the channel you want to hide. Select the “Hide” option in the menu.
9. Record your meetings in Teams for further reference. These recordings provide any video, audio, and screen shares used during the meeting. Use the “Start Recording” option in the ellipsis menu, also known as the three-dot menu. Use the same option to stop recording when the meeting ends.
10. Rather than repeat yourself constantly when onboarding new team members, use the “Share Conversations” option to let them read the existing conversations to themselves instead of trying to forward them gobs of emails or converse to bring them up to speed.
11. Create a communication strategy for using the app and stick with it. For example, use Teams in place of email, so every conversation becomes a thread that employees can easily search. This lets them see the original poster’s topic and search the thread for the appropriate answer. That saves time and increases productivity.
12. The accessibility feature, Immersive Reader Mode, works well for reading messages on the go or while driving. You can have the app read the messages to you, or you can use it to focus on a single, typed message, so it displays it in a larger font size with increased spacing. This makes it easier to read messages on your smartphone while working on the computer or working out. You also access this feature using the three dots menu.
13. Make sure the team member you need to reach sees the message by using the @ feature. Type the @ symbol in the message, followed by the person’s name. You can also use it to address the entire channel name or team.
14. Enable Zoom integration so you can video conference and remotely collaborate in Microsoft Teams. No need to switch between the two apps since you can integrate them using the More apps option in the three-dot menu. In the search box, type Zoom. Select the app from the dropdown list and click the “Add” button. You can do this to add it to your channel or team. Thereafter, you can join or begin a Zoom meeting with one-click in Microsoft Teams.
15. Send an urgent chat message in Microsoft Teams when you need the team or specific individuals to immediately see a message. Use this feature sparingly since overuse will get you in trouble. This feature sends a notification every 2 minutes for 20 minutes that they have a new message.

Many more ways exist to enhance your use of Microsoft Teams, but these 15 tips provide some of the greatest efficiencies available. Contact 4BIS for help getting started with Microsoft Teams and integrating it with the other software programs you use.