After the pandemic, remote working became a part of our daily lives. This calls for the need to have a seamless flow of communication to ensure smooth workflow. This is where the significance of online meeting and conferencing tools comes into the picture. These are essential so that you can coordinate work appropriately and assign task responsibilities properly. Also you need scrum alliance to manage your business and employees properly!
However, there are several online meeting and conferencing tools famous in the market.
Microsoft Teams is one of the widely used online meeting and conferencing tools today. However, there should be basic know-how on the best way to handle the tool interface to use this tool effectively. This is where the need for Microsoft Teams training becomes essential. You can use a few basic tips/ tricks to make sure to use the tool with ease. In addition to Microsoft Teams, several other online meeting tools are popular in the market. A few of them are listed in the below table.
| Sl. No. | Tool | Type |
| 1 | Zoom | Video Conferencing |
| 2 | Google Meet | |
| 3 | GotoMeeting | |
| 4 | Cisco Webex | |
| 5 | Skype |
What makes Microsoft Teams stand out among all these tools is that it provides:
- Video Conferencing tool
- Stand-alone chat
- Screen sharing tool
- Planner
- Shared Calendar
- White Board
It is quite challenging to find one tool that provides all these options. This is where Microsoft Teams garbs our attention. So let us look into a few tips that can enhance our user experience while using Microsoft Teams. Most of these tips will come in handy while working on teams. So it is part of almost all Microsoft Teams training programs.
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- Managing multiple channels: There will be a set of different departments working on a project. Each of these departments will have a unique task list assigned to address. Hence it is beneficial to keep them separated during meetings to avoid wasting time. Microsoft Teams has an option to create separate channels wherein you can select employees selectively to be included. Each department can be listed as a separate channel and can be pulled into meeting only when required.
- Online Chats: This is an option that you can use to communicate with each other. The team members working on a project can directly send messages to each other through Microsoft Teams. This eliminates the need for sending lengthy emails and waiting for replies.
- Team and One to One meeting: Microsoft Teams provides an option to host team meetings with all members and one-to-one meetings. This weeds out the need for having lengthy meetings with all the team members in case it is unnecessary. The concerned team member can be individually called in for a meeting for discussion. This option, if used properly, can save a lot of time for the entire team.
- Recording of the meeting: This option will be useful when there is a need to revisit the discussion. Microsoft Teams provide an option to record the meeting sessions and refer back to them. If there are any doubts or clarifications regarding the meeting, you can use these recording sessions to clarify them.
- SharePoint for file sharing: SharePoint can be used whenever a team member has to share a PPT or file with the teammates. SharePoint is a file management tool that can be used to share files among team members.
- Screen Sharing: This option provides a screen-sharing facility among the team members. The advantage of this option is that you can use it to communicate ideas easily across people. This avoids the need for verbalizing the activity and conveying it. A fast and easy workflow will be possible using this option.
- Time Tracking: Microsoft Teams provide an option to add a time tracking application. This will help the team members to stick to the deadlines and pace the work accordingly.
- Adding the Status: This option provides a chance to mention the availability of an employee. The team member can set the status based on his availability, and the teammates will be notified about the same. Proper use of this option will help the team know each other’s availability.
Providing the team with proper Microsoft Teams Training will help to improve productivity and enable a smooth and easy workflow.
