Due in large part to the intersection of the COVID-19 pandemic and recently-available technology like cloud-computing, more and more employees are working remotely from the comfort of their homes. Microsoft Teams, the teamwork collaboration platform from Microsoft, is the perfect choice for an all-in-one package to streamline how you get business done in the new remote working paradigm.
Let’s take a look at the many benefits Microsoft Teams can offer for remote workers and how it can serve as a replacement – or even enhancement- for in-person collaboration!
The Benefits of Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is the perfect hub for your organization’s teamwork and collaboration for both in-person and remote workers. Here’s why:
Familiarity
If you run a small- to mid-sized business, chances are that you’re already using Microsoft’s Office 365 suite. Microsoft Teams has seamless integration with these apps, like Excel and PowerPoint, to make your team’s transition to a remote environment that much easier (especially when compared to Trello, Slack, and other online collaboration tools). Less time spent on training means better results and reduced downtime.
Ease of Sharing & Communication
Where Microsoft Teams really shines is it’s ease of use for sharing files and communicating. Whether in real-time or throughout the workweek, remote workers have the ability to access all of our team’s conversations, files, meetings, and apps in a single shared workspace.
There are also plenty of features to ease communication to keep everyone on the same page (pun intended):
- Teams: Similar to how your organization is divided into marketing, administrative, sales, and other groups/divisions, Microsoft Teams enables the same through its Teams features. your team to be brought together for work, projects, or common interests
- Channels: Channels are what makes up Teams and creates an office-like atmosphere. Channels enable your organization to segment and build around a subtopic, such as “Blogs”, “Announcements”, “Human Resources”, “Marketing”, or any project/event you may have in mind. Every channel has a “General” feed, which serves as the main thread for activity.
- Activity Feed: This feature enables everyone to see a brief overview of what’s going on at a glance, including all to-do’s, mentions, and messages – all in one place.
- Video/Audio Calling: Effortless calls from any device only require pressing the “Join” button to jump in a meeting; starting your own call in one click with the “Meet Now” button.
- Chat: For direct communication, Microsoft Teams has a flexible chat feature that enables your team to name conversations, easily create group chats, categorize communication for easy reference, and search for attached files. And for a personal touch, chat can be personalized with photos, GIFs, and more. This feature is especially important for your team’s efficiency, as you won’t have to dig through endlessly-confusing email threads.
- Whiteboard: To create a facsimile of a whiteboard at work, Microsoft Teams has the Whiteboard app built-in to seamlessly share, edit and collaborate anywhere and from any device.
Adaptability
Microsoft Teams really shines with its seamless integration for Microsoft’s line of apps, but it goes even further with an easy-to-use API. This API enables integration for a multitude of non-Microsoft apps that would have you otherwise switching between apps – not efficient for anyone’s workflow!
Personalization
Not everyone has the ideal Work From Home (WFH) workspace. Thankfully, Microsoft Teams enables personalization features for video meetings, such as customized backgrounds – pretty important for those who need to spruce up their home office, get some privacy, or create their own cubicle in a spare bedroom!
How Does Microsoft Teams Fit into a Remote Working Experience?
Think of Microsoft Teams as your virtual office space. For remote workers, Microsoft Teams bridges the “office-like” efficiency with the anywhere-anytime convenience of remote work.
The following are some instances where Microsoft Teams plays a pivotal role in creating a cohesive and comprehensive work experience for remote workers:
- Expecting mothers and those on maternity leave
- Those who are quarantining due to illness
- Workers located in other geographical locations/time-zones
- Workers that are traveling for business away from the office
- Outsourced and/or contractual workers
- And much more
Can Microsoft Teams Replace In-Person Interactions?
With all of the versatility that Microsoft Teams offers for workers, it begs the question:
Is Microsoft Teams a replacement for working in the same office building?
The truth is that Microsoft Teams can be the equivalent to working in-person – and it may be even better than in-person meetings! With virtually no commute other than making your way to your nearest device and no need for the overheads that comes from office space, Microsoft Teams is leading the way for how organizations work in the 21st century.
Expect Microsoft Teams to continually adapt and change the way remote work and WFH workers interact as part of your organization. As it stands now, it is a powerful and flexible platform that offers unlimited possibilities.
Can Microsoft Teams Be a De Facto Platform?
For most companies looking for an all-in-one solution for collaboration, Microsoft Teams can be the perfect platform to run your entire organization. It can offer the versatility of collaboration platforms like Slack, but features the integration that high-performance organizations need to optimize their efficiency metrics.
To do so requires a trusted IT partner that can help your organization harness the possibilities of Microsoft Teams. To do so, Root Port is at your service for business solutions that enable you to adapt and scale with less hassle, avoid up-front capital expenses, and get the tools you need to ultimately do what you do best.
Contact Root Port today to get started with the unparalleled power of Microsoft Teams.
