Communication in society is constantly shifting and changing. The tools and mediums we use to speak, and share information is different depending on your age, region, culture or experience.
Think about texting versus talking on a smart phone. Your grandparents might never text, but your children may never call. If you’re in a more traditional line-of-work, you might call your clients/prospects or perhaps most of your communication is done via email or text.
THESE RECOMMENDATIONS WILL PROBABLY CHANGE AGAIN
As a side-note, as we lay out some recommendations for when you should be using Microsoft Teams and when you should use email, these will probably change eventually and might be different for your specific work culture or context.
USE MICROSOFT TEAMS FOR INTERNAL COMMUNICATION
Microsoft Teams is a collaboration and communication tool at its core. Users of Teams are inside the platform continuously throughout the day doing work and checking it frequently. (Some of us at SWICKtech dedicate a monitor specifically to Teams – some of us dedicate two!) That’s why we recommend using Microsoft Teams messages and posts for your inner circle at work.
HERE ARE FOUR TIPS FOR JUMP-STARTING INTERNAL COMMUNICATION IN MICROSOFT TEAMS
- Respond to messages right away.
If you’re starting out in Teams and come from an email-exclusive culture, get your team used to Teams by responding right away to any messages that come your way. Once people understand that communication in Microsoft Teams receives an instant response, they’ll ditch email for internal use in a heartbeat - Share documents as you create them
Making the mental shift to Teams can be difficult for an entire organization but showing them that collaboration in documents is easy is a great way to force the shift. With SharePoint as the backend, you can add files directly to a Team to share it with an entire group of people at once. - Keep it lighthearted and fun
Because Microsoft Teams is for internal use, you can have a little bit more fun. Microsoft makes this super easy by allowing users to share GIFs and stickers. It will also be so much more engaging for your co-workers than email. - Use a Team/Channel to share information.
By building Teams and Channels around groups or departments, it makes it easy to communicate to a specific group of people on a specific topic. Be sure to communicate shared information this way so that you know everyone received it.
BUT STILL USE EMAIL FOR EXTERNAL USE
Email still has a vastly important role to play in office culture (for now) and can be used to supplement the internal communication you are having in Teams.
The recommendation we have is that if communication must go outside the company or has the potential to go outside the company, use email.
Depending on your company culture or the person you’re communicating with, you might also use email for formal communications to leadership at your company or if you’re sharing a proposal or another communication that you’re not expecting an immediate answer to.
MICROSOFT TEAMS IS ONLY AS POWERFUL AS YOU MAKE IT.
At SWICKtech we’ve seen companies where productivity skyrockets after launching Microsoft Teams, but we’ve also seen places where Microsoft Teams never has teeth to stick. We feel strongly that customization and training are the keys to a successful launch and implementation.
Our team of Microsoft Teams Implementation Experts can help deploy the IT infrastructure and training needed among employees for success. Contact us today for a 15 minute no-strings-attached Microsoft Teams consultation to learn more.
