Microsoft Teams is a collaboration platform that allows teams, whether remote or on-site, to share information and assign tasks on a singular space. The software is designed to boost productivity and minimize miscommunications.
The tech giant is really banking on Teams to challenge the market dominance of Slack. So much so that it disbanded Skype for Business because it wants to allocate its resources to improve the product. The company also teamed up with third-party Microsoft Teams Services that help organizations maximize the tools and features to help grow their businesses.
To its credit, Microsoft managed to leverage its greatest currency–the Office 365–to slowly inch up to its rival. As of two years ago, Teams already gained a foothold in the market.
If you are new to Teams, you would probably be happy with the basic chat and sharing features embedded in the app. After all, communication is the essence of the software solution. However, you are seriously wasting its potential by only utilizing a small portion of its features.
Here are some of the features you are probably not aware of regarding Microsoft Teams:
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Bots — The software is equipped with AI that can help boost your productivity. For example, Polly bot enables you to quickly create and run an internal survey to generate feedback from the teams. Statsbot, meanwhile, can integrate data from Salesforce or Power BI, so you have a clearer idea of the business landscape. Finally, if you are still confused about Teams, the T-bot can answer all your questions.
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Share a YouTube video — While you can share emojis, photos, and achievement badges, users can actually search and share a YouTube video without leaving the chat group. The feature makes it easier to prove a point, share informational clips related to the task, or provide a distraction on a particularly stressful day.
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Immersive Reader — The Immersive Reader is a program that is often overlooked in Microsoft’s bag of tools. Once it is activated, you can hover to a message and have the bot read the text to you using either a male or female voice. It could be helpful for non-native English speakers.
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Bookmark content — Oftentimes, the chat group can become too crowded. It is difficult to sift through all the messages, especially if you are trying to multi-task and finish a project. The bookmark feature allows you to pin the crucial content or instruction, so you do not need to scroll up to find the specific message.
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Slash commands — The slash commands are shortcuts that allow you to perform an activity or tool without needing to use the mouse. For example, when you input /Files, the program will immediately pull out all the recent files that are shared with you. When you write /call, you will access the avatar of the team members, which allows you to choose the specific person you want to contact. You do not need to memorize all the commands. Teams have a menu of options by simply typing / into the board.
You can learn these features and other tools on your own, although the learning curve won’t be the same across the board. However, you can accelerate the process through Microsoft Teams Services that include on-site and online training to help employees maximize the potential of the software.