Since its launch in 2017, Microsoft teams has become the fastest growing Microsoft app with more than 330,000 companies adopting it worldwide. In fact, Microsoft Teams has become so popular that 91 of the fortune 100 companies have included Microsoft Teams as part of their internal strategy. 

With its extensive range of features that have been designed to help you work more effectively, there is no wonder that Microsoft Teams has been labelled the number one tool for driving internal communication and collaboration within the workplace. 

In this article, we have listed 8 ways to effectively use Microsoft Teams chat features with your intelligent intranet.

1) Enrich employee communication

The Microsoft Teams chat feature is probably the most notable and widely used feature on the app, and if you want to use it to communicate effectively, then you need to know more than just the basics. 

With its numerous capabilities available to you such as; one-to-one conversations, group chats, video calls, voice calls, screen share and meeting schedule – there is no wonder that it’s most employees go to feature. 

But if you’re not sure how to use all of these features effectively, Microsoft has put together a really helpful guide to help you get internal communications flowing!

Image source: Microsoft.com

 

2) Enhance collaboration with Microsoft Teams cloud recording

Can you remember the days where writing meeting minutes meant quickly scribbling down a whole conversation on a piece of paper? 

Fortunately, thanks to the development of Microsoft Teams cloud recording, you no longer have to pick your brains after a meeting to try and remember every word that your colleague said. 

Cloud recording allows you to record all conversations that you had with your team which can be stored in the cloud and accessed later. The feature also comes with automatic transcription which can help you find specific information with keywords or phrases. 

Image source: Microsoft.com

3) Keep your employees in the loop with custom connectors

Keeping your employees up to date with the latest company information has never been so simple. 

With custom connectors, you can keep your team current by delivering content and updates from the services you frequently use directly into a channel. When set up, your Microsoft Teams users can receive updates from popular channels such as Twitter, Trello, Wunderlist, Git Hub and Azure Dev Ops services in their teams chat.  

This is a really effective way of keeping your employees updated with the latest updates without having to waste time searching for the information themselves.

Image source: Microsoft.com

 

4) Improve employee collaboration with wiki tabs

If you’re not familiar with Microsoft Teams Wiki tabs, then think of this feature as a virtual notebook that doubles as a communication platform where you can draft, edit, and chat all in one place. 

Wiki tabs are a great way for employees to collaborate on group projects, share content and receive feedback from other members of their team. 

If you’re looking for a way to improve virtual collaboration within the workplace, then there is really no better way to do it.

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5) Easily communicate in different languages

Forget Google translate!

The Microsoft Teams chat feature comes with its very own language translator so that your employees can communicate with one another in their native tongue. 

 If you work for a business that operates worldwide, then this feature will probably become your new best friend. 

 

6) Connect with people outside of the business

 

Not all of your daily communications will be with people inside of the office. Most of the time, your employees will be connecting with people from different organisations.  

Guest access within Microsoft teams lets your employees effectively communicate with users from outside of the business.

It’s easy and quick to set up, and employees can invite anyone to join the conversation without them being a Microsoft Teams member. 

Image source: Microsoft.com

 

7) Filter your messages with @mentions

 

 

Just like other social platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, the Microsoft Teams chats feature allows users to mention people when having a conversation. 

The mention feature allows employees to quickly communicate specific messages with other colleagues without the need to open a separate chat window. This feature is particularly useful when collaborating on group projects or when employees are trying to find precise pieces of information.

Image source: Microsoft.com

 

8) Bookmark specific messages

 

It’s Monday morning, and we have already spent half of the day scrolling through old messages trying to find information on the report that is due in a few hours – we have all been there. 

With the bookmark feature, you can easily organise and save important messages in Microsoft Teams so that you never have to waste time searching through old messages. 

Bookmarking your messages can help you quickly find the information you need and cuts through the noise of unwanted data.

It’s time to start chatting!

Now that you know a few nifty ways to communicate within Microsoft Teams effectively it’s time to put it into practice – get chatting! 

 

 

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If you would like to learn more about Mercury intranet and how it can help improve communication within the workplace then download your free guide.  

 

 

 

Where to next? Read how to improve internal communication at work.