Collaboration in Microsoft Teams: how to use it in the enterprise?

Collaboration among the staff of a company, whether it is an SME or a large multinational corporation, is the key to optimal management of work processes and growth of the company. When this process moves into digital environments, it is referred to as collaboration (or "virtual collaboration"), an approach that frees itself from the constraints of space and time and fosters collaboration and communication. Supporting collaboration are more and more digital tools, starting with intranet architectures and ending with software of different kinds that complement and integrate with them. Of these, perhaps the most prominent is Microsoft Teams.

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Summary

Microsoft Teams: what it is

Before delving into how to manage collaboration in Microsoft Teams, let’s take a step back for a moment and try to frame the core of the topic.

If we surveyed a diverse, even large sample of people, surely when asked “What is Microsoft Teams?” most respondents would answer that it is a program used to do video conferencing.

And this is not a totally wrong answer, but a largely incomplete one, flawed by the pandemic years when Teams’ name bounced around (along with other videoconferencing software such as Zoom and Meet) among newspapers, news outlets, and news sites. At the time, emphasis was placed on these programs in relation to distance education and office operations, but at the time the generalist mainstream news media only talked about the most obvious of its aspects (and, especially in that particular context, on the most important from a human point of view as well): video conferencing. Which is then, as a practical matter, the only feature of the free version included, to date, in the Windows 11 package, and thus the one available to most users.

What much of our sample probably would not be able to answer is that Microsoft Teams in its paid version is much more than a video conferencing program.

First, it should be clarified that it is not really a program but a platform, that is, an environment in which software can be used that is available to the user even remotely.

Having to give Microsoft Teams a label, we can define it as a collaboration and communication platform, or HUB, integrated into the Microsoft 365 suite of SAAS (Software As A Service). That of videoconferencing, then, is only one of the functions that Teams makes available to its users. Let’s see in detail what this is all about.

Microsoft Teams: how it works

The concept behind Microsoft Teams is, as the name also suggests, the creation of working groups. All the features of the paid version (included in Microsoft 365) move in this direction, starting with the one that allows the administrator to divide the user into different work teams.

To support and complement this, then, we find the following features:

  • A communication channel that allows the sending (to individual users or the whole group) of emails, text messages, images, gifs, reactions (emoji and other similar elements used to comment on a message or image), and memes;
  • A voice-only calling service VoIP (Voice over IP, a designation for voice calls that do not go through a telephone line but rely on a data network);
  • A (well-known) video conferencing service that also allows you to schedule meetings, which will be displayed on a calendar, and to invite users outside the group and Microsoft Teams itself to meetings.

In addition to these features, Microsoft Teams can also interact and integrate with other software in the Microsoft 365 suite, providing a quick way for members of each group to exchange files and work on documents remotely, even simultaneously.

How do you create a work team in Microsoft Teams?

Creating a work team on Microsoft Teams is an easy task that requires only a few steps. Clicking on the appropriate “Create Team” button starts the procedure, which requires you to name the group (along with an optional brief description), set its privacy level, and add members.

Once this brief process is completed, the team will be up and running; new members can be added (or removed), as well as linking the group to communication channels or enabling it to use specific apps.

Collaboration in Microsoft Teams starts here.

Microsoft Teams: the benefits in the enterprise

The potential of Microsoft Teams, its integrations with other software in the Microsoft 365 package, and-not least-the possibility of using it to enhance the corporate intranet are already good reasons to consider its use.

Communication

The previous statement may come across as a bit too generically enthusiastic; therefore, it is good to consider some specific advantages, first and foremost the role of the chat aggregator. The latter becomes the core of the entire corporate communication flow, hosting text and video exchanges, sending documents, and allowing, with just a few clicks, initiating video calls, scheduling meetings, or accessing text editing areas.

The Microsoft Teams chat, then, in addition to being a communication tool, can be considered at the same time as a kind of central HUB for the whole Teams package and as a binder within which to retrieve what is needed. It is therefore easy to imagine how this is able to streamline some aspects of working life, from communication to operations.

Creation

Not only does Microsoft Teams allow you to share documents, but it allows you to create them directly. Or rather, almost directly, thanks to the various integrated software.

Connection

To top it off, Microsoft Teams takes corporate communication and collaboration beyond all limits by flanking the desktop version of its app with a web version and a mobile version. Both allow access to every feature of the desktop version, documents linked to your account and reference groups, and of course allow you to participate in calls and video calls wherever you are.

Delving even deeper into the functionality of Microsoft Teams, let us now examine the specific tools that constitute it and that can enhance business communication and operations.

Collaboration in Microsoft Teams: tools to use.

The chat

Among the most used features we can mention chat as the first tool, as already anticipated in the overview of benefits.

Through chat it is possible to converse within a team and channel. At the practical level, once you select “Teams” and log in to the channel, you can start a new conversation by typing text in the space provided and then proceed to send it to one or more recipients.

In addition to starting new conversations, it is possible, of course, to respond to and intervene in exchanges already in progress. Conversation findability is also very simple: they are organized by date and can be found under the post that started the conversation. As with most common chats, Microsoft Teams chat provides a wide selection of stickers, emoji and GIFs to make content more creative and engaging.

The creation of channels

A very interesting function of Microsoft Teams is the one about creating a channel. It is easy to imagine how the presence of channels allows conversations to be organized by topic, making life easier for users who can thus quickly locate a topic, a project, a specific section.

Once the channel has been created with the appropriate “Add Channel” command, it is also possible to set the privacy level of the channel: it can be standard or private. In the latter case, of course, the channel will be accessible only to certain currently entered users, who will be able to view it normally in the list of channels to which they have access. Within the private channel, meetings can be held with only authorized users.

Software

As mentioned above, some software that is essential for daily life at work is directly integrated into Microsoft Teams.

Is there a need to prepare a report? Word is available within Microsoft Teams.

Should it be accompanied by a presentation? There is also PowerPoint.

Need a spreadsheet for a wide variety of tasks? Excel is also available and accessible directly from Microsoft Teams.

Once created (or imported), text documents, slideshows and spreadsheets can become the starting point on which to collaborate at the same time, even during a meeting, making possible at the same time a moment of real-time discussion on the documents under consideration and the necessary editing actions.

File sharing

In addition to the sharing of words and images, enterprise collaboration is also fueled by the exchange of files in the form of attachments, which can be placed:

  • In the list of recently opened documents;
  • Within the same teams and channels;
  • On OneDrive;
  • In the computer.

File sharing is supported by the integration of OneDrive-as just mentioned-and SharePoint. This feature of Microsoft Teams enables and facilitates working synchronously on different projects.

The mention

Staying with messaging, another feature of Microsoft Teams is the mention, a notification addressed to a specific recipient. In addition to the personal mention, a channel or an entire team can also be mentioned. Those who receive the mention are notified by a notification within their activity feed. Mention notifications allow you not only to be notified when someone types your name preceded by the “@,” but also to be notified when a user reacts to one of your messages. Again, all actions can be tracked in the activity feed.

The research

Search is a key feature of Microsoft Teams for content retrieval. Alongside a standard search, which uses the appropriate form, it is possible to delve into a search with a greater level of detail, using the search sections “Messages,” “People,” and “Files.” The enterprise version of Microsoft Teams enables easy retrieval of content through the internal organization and archiving tool.

The meetings

We have seen how calls and video calls are the functions for which Teams has experienced rapid and extensive deployment in recent years.

Business collaboration, through Microsoft Teams, also benefits from the ability to make high-quality video calls with other users, using all the necessary collaboration tools, such as sharing the screen and from the PC audio, splitting into work groups, and the ability to communicate with all users, or privately, in chat.

Meetings are indicated in the calendar, and the users involved are sent an invitation. One feature of Microsoft Teams that particularly benefits enterprise collaboration, then, concerns post-meeting, where it is possible:

  • Review the documents shared in the during;
  • Review the meeting if it was recorded;
  • Continue to share activities with other participants.

The calendar

Microsoft Teams for Business also has a “calendar” function for planning and organizing activities. Thus, meetings can be arranged, appointments, project notes, and task deadlines can be marked. This tool also allows notifications to be sent to remind of scheduled appointments.

Security

Microsoft Teams features a particularly effective internal security system that allows you to set permissions and controls so that only authorized users have access to conversations, as well as sensitive data.

All Teams features can also be enjoyed from a mobile device by setting up the Office app on the phone, either for Android or iOS devices, so that projects, tasks and meetings can be accessed at any time.

One only has to quickly scroll through the list of tools to understand how the version of Microsoft Teams for Business has a wide range of tools aimed at creating an agile, efficient, collaboration-based work environment.

Teams and Intranets: collaboration in the enterprise to a higher stage

While the range of Microsoft Teams features already seems very extensive, this tool can offer even more-in terms of business collaboration-when integrated with those of a corporate intranet.

Not surprisingly, the Microsoft 365 suite (which includes Microsoft Teams) is often the ideal supplemental choice for any company that decides to implement its own intranet, and the same is true for any seasoned industry professional offering intranet design and development services.

Some of the features that improve the lives of intranet users are:

  • Manage documentation from a single point, i.e., from Microsoft Teams: through the combination of working groups on Teams for each Department site and Project site;
  • Through Microsoft Teams you can view in the “Action” area. – marked with a small bell in the upper left corner – notifications of approval workflows implemented across SharePoin sitest; SharePoint, in fact, enables the implementation of a whole series of workflows (workflows) that, in turn, enable interaction with collection documents and list items. One of the most widely used workflows is the “Request for Approval” of one or more files. One can approve-or deny-the request directly from Teams. Following this, the requesting user will receive a push notification with the outcome.

The history of requests sent and received can be viewed in a dashboard by both the requester and the approver.

  • The Microsoft Teams homepage can be integrated into the Intranet homepage; thanks to a specific feature, in fact, it is possible to navigate the Intranet without having to open it with a normal browser, but by accessing it directly from Teams.
  • All Microsoft applications can be centralized on Teams;

In general, integrated resource access allows users to access intranet data directly from Teams, avoiding the need to move from one platform to another for retrieval of documents, news, and resources.

Microsoft Teams and the corporate intranet thus present themselves as two complementary tools in implementing increasingly effective internal collaboration. While Teams provides numerous sophisticated tools for team activities, the intranet provides a platform for sharing content. The intranet thus serves as a platform for storing documents, reports, articles, and business information that can be conveyed and shared with users through Teams.

The combination of Microsoft Teams and intranet can maximize the benefits of the capabilities of both, amplifying the tools and opportunities for collaboration, organization, and communication.

Frog Learning's proposal

We at Frog Learning have come up with an ad hoc solution for small and medium-sized enterprises: our new service
Intranet Starter Pack
, which provides users with an Intranet integrated with the most effective Microsoft Teams features.

SharePoint technology, software already included in the Microsoft 365 package, offers SMEs a new and efficient intranet portal, quickly and easily, without the need for specific technical expertise.

You can choose between Basic and Pro plans, which provide installation and ready use at no additional cost.

Are you interested in learning more? Contact us!

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