Microsoft Teams is now the gold standard for business collaboration. While there are some popular alternatives for certain collaboration functions, like Zoom or Slack, only Teams brings together the best of chat, video conferencing, and file collaboration in one simple and easy to use platform. What’s more, Microsoft Teams benefits are included in a Microsoft 365 subscription, meaning there is no extra cost if you are already using Microsoft for cloud-based email and calendaring.
Driving broad-based utilization of Teams is a big priority for Protek Support. The pace of innovation is quite breathtaking and many clients struggle to just keep up with all the new functionality and benefits in the ever-expanding platforms like Microsoft Teams.
The Microsoft Teams Benefits Include:
1. Businesses have outgrown email
Let’s face it, email is the foundation of business communications, but it is also broken in many regards. Spam email is an obvious problem. However, an equally large problem is the volume of legitimate email from colleagues. We are all drowning in email. Over inclusion of people on conversations increases the volume of communication, but not effectiveness. Moreover, many issues are time sensitive and need an urgent response and too often, email is the wrong medium.
Chat is the answer. Real-time chat communications facilitate one on one or small group conversations, which deliver rapid feedback and dialog, in a way that email can’t. Quick questions and small clarifications are quickly shared. Links, emojis, and files shares can all be inserted in real time, answering questions, clarifying problems, and delivering on ultimate efficiency.
In a fast paced office environment, chat in Microsoft Teams is the perfect approach to delivering real-time communication, while cutting down on needless email. With Teams, you can initiate private one-on-one or group chats. Whether your colleague is across the hall or across the country, chat allows you to keep in touch, solve problems, and collaborate like never before. And chat is fast and efficient, helping colleagues deliver great service, solve business problems, and collaborate in real time.
2. Effective, small team meetings
Long before the COVID-19 pandemic, video conferencing was growing slowly and steadily as the preferred means of small, group collaboration. The pandemic and associated work from home realities have only turbo-charged the mega-trend towards video conferencing.
Meetings are more effective over video, because non-verbal communication signals are key for effective collaboration. Reading people’s body language and facial expressions gives us all the opportunity to be more attentive and engaged with our colleagues, subordinates, or leadership. Video conferencing also improves the level of engagement for most people, eliminating the “out of sight and out of mind” problem which often plagued most audio conference calls.
Microsoft Teams makes small group meetings a snap to organize. Teams is tightly integrated with the Outlook calendar, making it extremely simple to make any meeting a Teams meeting. With high quality video and integrated screen sharing, meeting organizers and participants can stay focused on what counts in the meeting. Teams is available across all of your devices, including laptops, desktops, tablets, smartphones, or via video conferencing equipment in huddle spaces or conference rooms.
3. Be there with clients
Never underestimate the value of a smiling face. Microsoft Teams brings humanity to everyday communications with clients. Whether a doctor is consulting with a patient or a lawyer is meeting with a client for the first time, one on one video conferencing helps improve the effectiveness of every day meetings.
Microsoft Teams is now a vital tool for organizations that service and support clients over broad geographies. If you can’t be there in person, it is best to turn on video and get to know the human face on the other side of conversation. Microsoft Teams makes it easy for organizations to leverage video conferencing with external parties. With Teams, the external party doesn’t need to install additional software, since they can join the call from the web as well. Teams doesn’t even require a Microsoft account. External parties can join as a guest. Microsoft Teams is the right way for organizations to bridge geographical divides and to leverage technology to be there with clients online.
4. Sell more
Selling is also personal and can be vastly improved with the use of video conferencing. We are accustomed to face to face interactions at the stores we visit. Yet now, much of our daily commerce is now trending towards e-commerce and anonymous, faceless transactions. Many teams, however, are still seeing the benefit and value of personalizing the selling process. No matter what you or your team sell, it can only help your results by humanizing and personalizing your selling approach.
With Microsoft Teams benefits, sellers can turn on their video cameras and make sales calls or demos personal and friendly. With video, nearly everyone reciprocates. That is, if you start selling with your camera on, most prospects will turn theirs on as well. As a seller, seeing the non-verbal signals from your prospect can be extremely valuable. Beyond the power of video, Microsoft Teams makes it easy to share your screen, slides, or demo your product or service. The result is better sales calls, engaged prospects, and more new business.
5. Distributed success
Now more than ever, work is accomplished by distributed teams and organizations. Whether large corporations or small business, technology is enabling teams to work together across town or across the globe. Technology enables companies to hire the best and brightest, without worrying about geography. In turn, talented employees are living and working where they have the best quality of life, even if that means working from home frequently or exclusively. Moreover, outsourcing and contracting continues to grow, helping companies focus on their core competencies, while leveraging business partners for other business functions.
Microsoft Teams levels the playing field and gives companies, both big and small, the ability to successfully collaborate and succeed without regard to geography. Teams is agile and facilitates meetings with internal and external participants. Teams is the glue, which keeps collaboration flowing across broad geographies and organizational boundaries.
6. Streamlined teamwork
Last but not least, Microsoft Teams enables file collaboration and teamwork. It is simple to set up new teams on the fly or to leverage existing Office 365 groups. Once a team is created, all the key communications and files the team is working are grouped in a logical fashion on Teams. The team channel captures important chat communications and notifications. And most importantly, all the files the team is working on are logically grouped in familiar files and folders in the team space. Microsoft Teams streamlines group collaboration and teamwork by bringing all the key communications, files, folders, and work into a well organized online space.
Protek encourages new and existing clients to standardize on Microsoft Teams to take your collaboration to another level. Watch our how-to videos to check out how to use some of the most popular features of teams. You can also reach out to Michelle Lawson today for a Microsoft Teams consultation.