1. REMOVE THE DISTRACTIONS.

Distractions, distractions and more distractions, within a working day you can sometimes be so busy but actually feel you’ve achieved nothing because so many tasks have popped up out of nowhere. So, technically you’re now behind with your workload! When it’s time to get your head down and plough through that to-do list make your life easier by removing all distractions. On Microsoft Teams you can do this by selecting your profile picture in the top right corner and selecting Manage Account and click Notifications you can then change the type and frequency of your alerts.

2. MICROSOFT TEAMS HAS KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS

Many of us know the usual keyboard shortcuts associated with IT such as Ctrl+C is copy, Ctrl+V is paste, etc. but there are keyboard shortcuts integrated into the Microsoft Teams programme making the experience simpler, quicker and easier for the user. These essential keyboard shortcuts will speed up day-to-day tasks:

Go to search = Ctrl+E

Mute yourself = Ctrl+Shift+M

Turn your camera off = Ctrl+Shift+O

Blur your background = Ctrl+Shirt+P

Go to your files = Ctrl+6

3. SCROLL NO MORE

The more conversations you have within Microsoft Teams, the harder it will become to scroll back to previous comments, mentions and files. The chat search feature means you’ll never have to scroll again. Simply type the phrase or the information you can remember into the search bar and Microsoft Teams will display all the messages that include this phrase, allowing you to select the one you’re looking for and review the conversation.

4. BLUR YOUR MICROSOFT TEAMS BACKGROUND

One obstacle many face with the new hybrid work model is their virtual background. When you’re working from home, It’s not always easy to get the perfect home office setting. So, Microsoft Teams offers you the option to blur your background or use a stock image as a virtual background for all your meetings.

Just start your team’s meeting and click on the ellipsis (…). Then select show background effects. A sidebar will appear with options to blur your background or choose a customised virtual background for your meeting.

5. MAKE IT URGENT

The Urgent chat notification is the digital version of tapping someone on the shoulder or hoovering by their desk until they notice you.

With this feature, you can categorise your messages as either standard, important or URGENT! Just click the ! icon under your message box and choose which category your message falls into.

The recipient of the message will then be able to see the category of the message allowing them to prioritise the tasks and messages that may be time-sensitive.

6. NO MORE MEETING MINUTES

Meeting minutes and notes are a great tool to ensure everyone is aware of their participation in the meeting and future expectations.

But, when meeting minutes are taken during the meeting, certain elements can get lost due to distractions.

With Microsoft Teams you can record all your team’s meetings giving you the opportunity to look back and review the content discussed. You can also enable live transcriptions during your meeting that are available to download and store for the future.

Just start your meeting and click on the ellipsis (…) you will then see the option to both Start Recording and Start Transcription.

The transcripts will appear on the right-hand side of the meeting live as you are speaking and will be available to download after the meeting has finished.

7. FORWARD YOUR EMAILS TO A SPECIFIC MICROSOFT TEAMS CHANNEL

With the ease of Microsoft Teams emailing has become just a formality within many organisations but Microsoft has to accept that it does still exist and is still used daily.

With that in mind, Microsoft Teams allows you to easily forward an email to any channel you like. So, if you’re communicating in multiple channels instead of adding everyone into an email chain you’ll get a specific email address that will reach everyone in the channel and reference back to the channel so everyone is on track with each conversation.

To do this look for the ellipsis (…) next to the channel name and click Get email address, this will create an email address for the channel.

8. REACH YOUR WHOLE ORGANISATION WITH MICROSOFT TEAMS

Microsoft Teams makes it really easy to speak to everyone in your organisation through just one message. Also, you don’t have to add everyone individually. You can do it in one go!

Firstly visit your Teams list and click Join or create a team (in the bottom left corner). Click on Create a team and then click Build a team from scratch. You’ll then have to click on Org-wide. This will add everyone in your organisation at once. Type the team name and click Create.

9. OPPS, WRONG CHAT!

Ever sent a message to the wrong person or in the wrong chat? Or even worse pressed enter too quickly and sent something that’s completely WRONG?

Embarrassing…

Well, with Microsoft Teams you can edit or delete a message after it’s been sent. Just hover over the message and click on the ellipsis (…) then you will have the option to edit or delete the message and start again.

10. ARE YOU SAVING THAT FOR LATER?

It’s impossible to do everything at once, no matter what anyone tells you!

Sometimes you need to return to tasks later when you are more available and focused. With Microsoft Teams, you can do exactly that. If you get a task or message you’re not quite ready for, simply save it for later.

Just hover over the message and click the ellipsis (…). Then select the option save this message.

You can then recover all your saved messages by typing saved in the search box.

So, there you have it! Ten tips for Microsoft Teams to ensure you’re using the platform at its full capacity and making your life as easy and simple as possible. To find out more about Microsoft Teams and how it can affect your team and your business, get in touch today.