Back in 2016, Microsoft Teams was introduced as part of the Office 365 package. In our experience, it didn’t immediately catch on – some of our clients are still exploring how to utilise it to the best potential for them, others are happy for the moment using Outlook alone; but what could you be missing out on if you don’t introduce Microsoft Teams to your offices?
There is no doubt that there is still a place for Outlook but the question is which tool to use and when? We’ve come up with some pointers to help explain how both Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Teams should hold a place in your communicative heart.
Keep In The Loop
In developing their communication tools, Microsoft have established three business communication loops. Focussing on the two that are relevant to this blog we have the Inner Loop – your close colleagues you work with daily; and the Open Loop – your contact list of clients, suppliers, partners, etc. outside of your organisation.
Whilst Outlook is still an essential tool to communicate professionally with your Open Loop, Microsoft Teams lends itself best to communicate with your Inner Loop. With the features of an instant messaging tool, with Microsoft Teams you can ask questions, pass on information or share updates instantly and receive responses just as efficiently.
Keep Track
Ever missed an important email due to the sheer volume of your inbox? A chain of emails containing ongoing chat between a group of internal colleagues can push older unread emails out of sight or even fill your inbox causing your mail to bounce back to the sender.
Keeping the divide of high-profile messages to Outlook and internal work chat to Microsoft Teams will help improve your productivity and efficiency.
More Than Chat
For the type of chat we recommend Microsoft Teams for, there is the argument that you could just pick up the phone and call your colleague – “are we on track for the deadline?” – “yes” – “great” – hang up. But Teams offers so much more to aid collaborative working than just instant chat:
Audio/video conference calling – a great tool with great functionality that can be used on a desktop or mobile phone.
The ability to integrate additional apps – project management apps, analytic apps, training apps… there are hundreds of additional apps that can be brought in and shared with your colleagues to improve your team’s performance as a whole.
Live file editing – forget trying to keep track of the latest file version and finding it in a sea of emails. With Microsoft Teams you can share, store and edit all file types from a central point accessible to as many colleagues as you like.
Work/Home Life Balance
You can install the Microsoft Teams app on your mobile too. The beauty of this is you can choose to still receive messages from your ‘inner loop’ colleagues when out of the office without having to give everyone your personal mobile number. So if you don’t want your family-time to be interrupted by official business, you can choose to put on your Out Of Office and turn off your Outlook notifications whilst having the peace-of-mind that should anything urgent occur, your colleagues can drop you a message on Teams to keep you in the picture.
The Verdict
So, all-in-all, we think that Microsoft have hit the nail on the head with Microsoft Teams – it fills a gap that was truly present in collaborative working and whilst Outlook is still an essential professional communication tool, Teams brings new abilities and efficiencies to internal communications that were previously hindered by the way we were using Outlook.
More Than IT Support – It’s IT Consultancy
Remember, at Jupiter IT, we’re about more than just resolving your IT issues and installing new hardware; we’re here to guide, advise and train our clients to make sure you’re getting the most from your tech.
If you’re running Office 365, make sure you’re using it to its full potential; drop us a line and we’ll be happy to show you the ropes.
