This was originally posted in March 2020 on LinkedIn
Microsoft officials said it is recommending all employees in their Puget Sound area offices, near Seattle, and in California’s Bay Area, who are able to work from home, do so until March 25th.
With COVID-19 continuing to impact people and countries around the world, teams everywhere are moving to remote work. Over the years, Skype has evolved into Microsoft Teams to be a tool that can bring people together digitally and collaborate. While the tool is quicky adapting to user feedback and there are alternatives available like Slack, Zoom or Hangouts, I found that Teams enabled me and my co-workers to chat, meet, call, and collaborate better anywhere. Especially now, as we learn to “Work From Home” (WFH) this month.
Who is this guide for?
This guide will be most helpful for those who currently use Teams. BUT — if you are an individual, business or educational institution who does not use Teams and would like to leverage a free Teams subscription to collaborate with others remotely and put these tips to the test, please get started here.
My growing WFH Microsoft Teams Guide
#1 Add blur or background photos in video calls
A scattering of toys. A snoozing cat. A well-deserved mug of coffee. These are the signs of life that make a home — but they can also be a source of stress if you’ve got a video call.
Building upon Teams’ existing intelligent background blur technology, the new feature will allow you to select a custom background, such as a company logo or office environment, taking the pressure off those important calls, while minimizing distractions. More details here.
#2 Add a digital whiteboard during calls
There is a Whiteboard integration into Teams meetings and two intelligent inking features. Whether you choose to participate from the meeting room or remotely, Microsoft Whiteboard in Teams Meetings empowers meeting attendees from the same tenant to participate in the conversation. For quick and easy collaboration, the board is automatically shared with all meeting attendees. When joined in Teams > Click the Share icon in the share tray of that meeting > In the Whiteboard section, select Microsoft Whiteboard. More details here.
#3 Add closed captions during calls
Live captions can make your meeting more inclusive to participants who are deaf or hearing impaired, people with different levels of language proficiency, and participants in loud places by giving them another way to follow along. More details here.
#4 Take collaborative meeting notes during calls
Once you’re in the meeting, go to More options > Show meeting notes in your meeting controls. If you have not taken any notes yet, select Start taking meeting notes.
Otherwise, start typing your notes. Use the controls at the top of the panel to format and layout the text. To add a new note, select Add a new section here. Use @mentions to draw someone’s attention to a specific note or assign an action item. More details here.
#5 Record meetings and playback later
Record your meetings in Teams to capture audio, video, and screen sharing activity. The recording happens in the cloud, and is saved to Microsoft Stream, so you can share it securely across your organization. To start recording, go to the meeting controls and select More options More options button > Start recording. More details here.
Escaping “Cabin Fever” with Teams
- Create Daily Topic Threads: With your team or org create daily threads to spark conversation throughout the day on specific topics. For example, last week our org had a lively thread sharing photos of our dogs and cats.
- Schedule Working Sessions with Co-Workers: If you love being in the presence of others, schedule daily work sessions with co-workers where you can allocate time every day to join a Teams call, turn on the video camera, and get to work.
- Schedule Weekly Coffee Chats or Lunches: With the time saved from commuting or running in between meetings, take the time to schedule weekly coffee chats with team members, stakeholders, and partners. Make it fun by both brewing a hot cup of coffee and preparing a snack (see #VirtualPancakeLunch above).
Do you have any additional WFH Microsoft Teams tips & tricks you’d like to share? I’d love to hear from you in the comments or DM.
