Microsoft Teams is the hub for team collaboration and is included with Office 365. MS Teams is a location where people, content, and tools allow people to engage and work effectively. It brings many exciting functions and features that foster both engagement and collaboration:
- Chat (instant messaging)
- Online Meetings (video and voice)
- One-on-One calls (video and voice)
- Guest Access
- File Sharing
- Socialness
Microsoft Teams Feature: Org-Wide Teams
One feature of MS Teams that is often overlooked is the capability of Org-Wide Teams. There are certain aspects of Org-Wide Teams that may appeal to you and your organization, such as:
- All people within Active Directory are automatically included
- Membership to the team is automatically updated based on Active Directory
- (5) Org-Wide Teams are allowed
- Org-Wide Teams are only available for organizations with less than 5,000 users
- Use of moderators for posting information
Org-Wide Teams Communication
Here are suggested uses for MS Org-Wide Teams when mass communication to all employees is necessary. As a word of advice, use this communication outlet sparingly and with caution to preserve the value and importance of each message:
- Inclement Weather
- Human Resource Updates
- Security Updates
- Scheduled Network Maintenance
- Town Hall or Company-Wide Meetings
For the purpose of this blog, let’s focus solely on Inclement Weather.
Inclement Weather Notice
Mother Nature cannot be controlled, but the way you communicate to your workforce about the weather can be controlled and effective. With MS Teams, you are able to post Inclement Weather notices while employees are in or out of the office. Below are some examples of Inclement Weather where MS Teams could be used as an effective communication method:
- Evacuations due to hurricanes
- Closings due to snow/ice
- Road closures due to mudslides
- Road closures due to flooding
Mobile Access
Many of these situations may introduce circumstances where people are out of the office for an extended length of time and you need to communicate office closings and policies that apply to absences. The beauty of MS Teams is allowing your employees to access information via mobile devices. Additionally, employees are able to ask clarifying questions with each post.
Moderators
Introducing the functionality of a moderator is highly recommend when using Org-Wide Teams. Moderators are the only people who can post news to the team. All others can add comments, but cannot post news. All of the posts, updates, questions, documents, etc. are all in one location. Plus, everyone can access the information via their mobile phone.
No reason to use email, you don’t need to make phone calls, or even text, because updates are all housed in one location with MS Teams Org-Wide Team.
Org-Wide Teams Desktop and Mobile Views
MS Org-Wide Team communication is accessible via desktop and mobile. Allowing your employees access to MS Teams via their mobile phone is a huge advantage. Whether your employees are down the hall or working from home, everyone can be up to date with Org-Wide Teams.
Desktop View
Mobile Phone View
Collaborate with Microsoft Teams and C5Insight
MS Teams is an excellent way to introduce collaboration to your company. Remember to always establish a vision, a plan, and good governance before rolling out a new communication method such as Org-Wide Teams.
When deployed with purpose, MS Teams transforms organizational productivity, efficiency, engagement and even job satisfaction.
If you are interested in deploying or re-deploying MS Teams in your company, download the Microsoft Teams Quick Launch guide to get started today.
