When members of your team interact digitally, they very possibly do so using Microsoft Teams. This software solution weaves various workplace communication options, including persistent chat, video meetings and document collaboration, into a single platform.

Since its launch in March 2017, Teams has grown in popularity to attract over 13 million users daily and more than 19 million weekly. Big-name companies fostering effective communication through Teams include Emirates, Lexmark, FedEx, KONE and The Adecco Group.

However, Microsoft has recently started further enriching Teams’ already considerable functionality. Here are several communication tools which have recently started rolling out for Teams users.

Improve Communication Of Time-Sensitive Information

If you need a particular message noticed by a specific employee especially quickly, you can now send them a priority notification. Every two minutes, the recipient will, on their mobile and desktop, be pinged until they respond.

Meanwhile, when someone has read a message you have sent them in chat, a read receipt – in the form of an icon – will be displayed indicating so.

Easily Reach Out To Various Team Members Quickly

If there’s important news – like that of a new project, team member or results – you want to quickly communicate widely within and across a particular team, announcements now enable you to do that. Two other, similar features are also on the way…

With cross channel posting, you will be able to post one message across multiple channels simultaneously. Channel moderation will give moderators control over what posts a channel accepts and whether replies can be made to that post.

New Types Of Communication For Firstline Workers

The Teams Shifts module has been given a new time clock feature enabling workers to use the Teams mobile app for clocking in and out of work shifts and coffee breaks. As a manager, you can ensure your staff are clocking in or out at their designated worksites by geo-fencing these.

If you have the same news to impart to all staffers in a specific role, such as cashiers if you work in retail or nurses if you are hospital-based, you can simply @mention the role name in your message. That’s how the new targeted communication functionality works.

Firstline Workers can also benefit from Microsoft’s new partnership with retail IT solutions purveyor REPL. Now, Teams and JDL’s workforce management solution can be used closely together, letting Firstline Workers see, in the Team Shifts module, shift schedule details of almost real-time accuracy.

New Forms Of Communication For IT Administrators

If your company already has Office 365 ProPlus installed on the Monthly Channel, you can now augment that installation with the Teams client.

Keep an eye on the Teams admin centre, too. It’s in line for policy packages whereby IT admins can apply a pre-defined set of policies to Teams functions like messaging and meetings. Therefore, you will be able to apply policies that take employees’ specific, work-related needs into account.

Microsoft Has Expanded Its Range Of Teams Partners

One big reason for Teams’ popularity in workplace communication is how readily the software integrates not only with other Microsoft products but also solutions from other software vendors.

Microsoft has recently added to its list of partners for Teams. Now, the software can integrate with contact centre solutions from leading providers like Five, Genesys and NICE inContact. If industry regulation requires your company to record calls and meetings, you can now do so in Teams, thanks to Microsoft also partnering with compliance recording partners including NICE and Verint.

Even if your firm is completely new to Microsoft Teams, contact us to see how we could implement it as part of an even broader, more comprehensive solution for your business.