Best 5 Features of Microsoft Teams

If there were an Olympic event for amazing apps, Microsoft Teams would have taken gold. Think of Microsoft Office 365 as the brain and Microsoft Teams as the body and together, it will enable users to be more productive, agile and flexible. Teams amazing features speak for itself.  From integration of Microsoft platforms to convenient slash commands, these are the best five features of Microsoft Teams.  

Outlook and Teams Integration  

Microsoft has made it seamless for its users to work between platforms within Office 365 and this includes the use of Outlook. It is true some platforms are more affordable but the benefits outweigh the cost. With Microsoft Teams, employees can enjoy moving conversations from Outlook to Teams along with any attachments. At this time, this feature is only available on desktop.  

Reduced Emails and Option to Connect With Family and Friends 

It can be challenging to keep up with your colleagues’ communications using traditional email services. In some cases, messages can get lost and in your company, this could result in a loss of business and disrupt the flow of productivity. But Teams is streamlining this function and users can update all members simultaneously without messages getting buried in a crowded inbox of spam and personal messages.  

Also as of June 22, 2020, Microsoft Teams is bringing a better user experience through the launch of a new feature. Fans of the platform can now use Teams as a “central hub” to stay connected. The new features which are available through iOS and Android can be downloaded on mobile by signing up for a Microsoft account or created using a person’s mobile number. Teams users can communicate with family and friends using text, chat and video calling, share documents and locations using this new feature. 

Transcript for Meeting  

Companies which use Teams can see the value of having their meetings recorded along with the capability to share screens. But users can also have their meetings transcribed, stored in the cloud and saved to Microsoft Stream. This added benefit takes the pain out of going over recordings for salient points or having to connect to team members about meeting notes and upcoming projects. 

Use of The “@“ Feature 

Social media has changed our communication process and expanded our language skills. Today, the “@“ symbol is commonly used in email addresses and with names to become social media “handles”. But in business communication, it is useful for its ability to direct attention to a particular speaker or message. This feature is available in Teams and team leaders can get their members attention by placing @ before their names. Other functions which can be used include @channel, @team but this feature must be activated by team owners.  

Slash Commands in Teams  

Team owners may not be programmers but the use of slash commands can make tasks easier for colleagues. There are just under 20 different slash commands in Teams with each one giving users an added skill in operating Teams.  

Useful Commands on Teams  

 /files -show recent files 

/call-initiate call  

/dnd-Status “Do Not Disturb”  

/saved-view your saved list  

/join -join a team  

/whatsnew- see the latest in Teams  

/who- search for people by name or topic