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Have you ever had a basement? Even if not, you know that after some time we have no control over its content, more precisely over its content.
We just throw in unnecessary junk there with the thought that one day they will be useful to us. After some time, we do not remember what is there, something for sure, and most legitimately something that will come in handy “someday” in the undefined future. So we collect, until it is necessary to make a general order to enjoy the space anew, which we will fill using exactly the same mechanism of “gathering”.
Why am I writing about this? Because the above mechanism is often translated into Microsoft Teams and the poor application begins to fall more and more, because it cannot manage digital content by itself. So, today I have three tips to make your life (and Teams life) easier:
# 1 MS Teams is not a chat and video conferencing app
That is, but not only that, and even mostly not that.
The application has been designed as an application hub, a digital centre from which we will perform various operations, such as: managing the calendar, digital content (documents, letters, tasks) and applications (Office 365, Power Apps and other).
The sooner we realize this, the better for us. Someone will say: “but I don’t use anything other than chat and calls.” Are you sure? And do you send files by chatting or during a call? Did you know SharePoint (maybe OneDrive) is sitting underneath?
Do you call group videocall? Did you know you can use teams then? Did you know that a chat is different from a conversation? Exactly. I will not write about all the features of MS Teams here, I just give you some hints – check what you use when you use Teams.
# 2 Teams – start smart
The basic tool for arranging logic in MS Teams are… teams (and the channels inside them). They have their powers (they can be organization wide, public or private), thus organizing the content and access to it. Plan them well, not creating them ad hoc, because from here is just a step away from creating a nice cluttered basement. I will show you how we, at Developico, create teams:
- functional, for teams in the organization (e.g. HR, Marketing, Sales, Finance – you understand)
- design, for internal work, e.g. conferences, web site, internal projects
- for our clients (projects for specific client is a channel inside the team)
- communities (as an alternative to Yammer, here can meet, for example, lovers of cycling or memorials)
# 3 Establish a policy on using Teams across the organization
Seriously, because if everyone adopts their logic, you will have a basement network at best. Then, while looking for your way to the file with the sales statement for Q4, you will end up in the drying room. A few simple rules (even the ones above) and you may find that you sit down to the Teams with a smile, not a stomachache.
Dear Reader, you may find it too simple and you will frown, but trust me – each of the three companies that I have had the opportunity to co-create works very efficiently using Microsoft Teams. My co-workers even not knowing where a given file is are able to find it following only the logic with which teams and channels are created in Developico MS Teams environment.