10 Tips for Employees Using Microsoft Teams While Working Remotely

In response to the COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) outbreak, organizations around the world are asking their employees to work from home and to use collaboration and meeting platforms like Microsoft Teams to stay connected for online meetings and chats.

If your organization has already rolled out Microsoft teams for calls, meetings, online chats, and collaboration, that’s good news. You may have already been using it throughout your workday at your office.

However, if you are new to working at home, you may discover that you need to find new ways to communicate and collaborate with your teams and co-workers in ways that you didn’t from the office. Based on our own experience and working with our clients, we’ve put together a list of recommendations for ways to use Microsoft Teams as you adjust to your remote work style.

Consider Microsoft Teams as your virtual office that has the tools you need all in one place and that you can take anywhere you go.

But first, this may a great time to refresh yourself with the Microsoft Teams platform and features. Check out this quick interactive demo to learn the basics »

10 Tips for Using Microsoft Teams while Working Remotely

Here are ten tips to help stay you stay connected, engaged, and productive using Microsoft Teams.

Communicate with Online Chats
While you may not be able to talk in the office, you can still chat directly with your coworkers or check in with team members either with individual or group chats. Learn how »
Stay Connected with Video
You can still meet face-to-face with your coworkers – even if you aren’t in the same location – with video conferencing. It’s a great way to still feel like you are connected to your team as well as to avoid feeling isolated.
Embrace Online Meetings
Make sure all meetings include a virtual “join” option so that team members can join from wherever they are working. Turn video on so your team can interact face to face, feel more connected, and avoid confusion that can occur when there are no visual cues to help you interpret conversations.
Don’t Forget the Background Blur Tools
Make sure you are the main focus when using video for meetings and chats. Use the Background Blur so you will appear nice and clear while everything behind you is subtly concealed to avoid embarrassing distractions. Learn how »
Record Your Meetings
When you start a meeting, hit “record.” Team members who aren’t able to join can watch later or search the automatically generated transcript for important information. That way, people can easily review anything they missed or need to be repeated. Learn how »
Share Your Screen
Share your screen for easier collaboration and faster decision making. It can help your team feel connected to projects that you’re working on together. Learn how »
Set Your Status Message
You can set up a status message in Teams so your team and coworkers know what you are up to and when they can reach you. FYI: If you have a status message set in Teams, it will not show your automatic out-of-office reply that you’ve set in Microsoft Outlook. Learn how »
Stay Organized with Planner
Use Planner as part of your team structure – add it as a tab in Team’s General section. Planner makes it easy for your team to stay organized, assign tasks, and keep track of your progress. Learn how »
Use the New Target Tags
Avoid typing in everyone’s name in a post with new target tags. Use target tags to message everyone assigned to a specific tag at the same time – simply @mention the tag name in a post. Learn how »
Be Social
Think about chat messages as your virtual watercooler and set yourself a reminder to check in with people regularly. Use emojis, Gifs, and stickers to help keep the chatter fun and light. Try ice breakers in team chats like what’s everyone’s favorite Netflix show right now.

We understand that every individual and team works differently. But hope the tips from our team helps you stay productive and connected as you adjust to a new way of working.

Additional Resources:
We’ve also rounded up some additional resources to help you get the most out of Microsoft Teams:

Microsoft Teams Video Training

Microsoft’s End User Training for Microsoft Teams

Staying Productive While Working Remotely with Microsoft Teams