We couldn’t think of a better way to illustrate how Microsoft 365 and the Teams app can change the way that you communicate and collaborate, than to tell you how it’s changed the way we work here at XPERTECHS. As technology professionals, we’re pretty good at creating processes to make business operations efficient, but when our Sales team started using the Teams app, we discovered that we could take our productivity up to a whole new level. Here’s what happened: 

How Microsoft 365 Has Changed the Way We Work 

Our Sales team here at XPERTECHS isn’t big, but we work very closely together. As we’re refining proposals and contracts, we like to get input from different people to make sure that what we present is consistent with the discussions that we’ve had with the prospect, and that we’re including all of the options that relate to their needs. 

Before we started working with the Teams app and SharePoint, our collaboration was rather disjointed and took a lot of extra time. For example, only one person could work on a document at a time, and anyone else wanting to access the file at the same time would get a Read-Only version. You would think that having this amount of control on who could access a document would be a good thing, but it sometimes turned into delays.  

Taking turns to add everyone’s input was inconvenient, especially when we had a pressing deadline to meet. Additionally, some people tracked changes when they were working on a document while some didn’t, so it took extra steps to find out what a coworker had changed in a document. 

The communications associated with specific projects was often inconsistent and scattered. It took time to search our email inboxes for a specific message that pertained to the project. Sometimes it was just faster to walk down the hall to have an in-person talk. 

Seamless Remote Work Transition

We transitioned our Sales team to the Teams app in Microsoft 365 several months ago. Whether working remotely or in the office, we’ve found that Teams has helped our workflows and productivity.  

Little did we know that we were also setting ourselves up for a seamless transition to remote working when the COVID-19 public health crisis exploded.  

Time Saving Benefits of Microsoft 365:

1. Work on Documents at the Same Time

Our files are located on SharePoint, but we can open them in Word, Excel or PowerPoint within Teams and everyone can work on them at the same time. Not only do we now have real-time collaboration, but it’s easy to see who changed what and that saves a lot of time. 

2. Communications Are Organized

Because we’ve shifted our internal communications from email to chat within Teams, we don’t have to go searching for a specific email string to find a piece of information. If we do need an email, we can forward into Teams, again saving time. 

3. Meet and Talk Together Online 

Even when we’re spread out while we’re working from home, we still like to meet together. We can call anyone directly from Teams, either individually or in a group. We can also spontaneously turn a phone call or chat into an online meeting which we like because it helps us to maintain our person to person relationships. No scheduling is needed ahead of time, so that helps to get work done faster too.

4. Schedule and Hold Online Meetings with Prospects and Clients

We don’t need a separate meeting app outside of Teams to have meetings with prospects and clients. We can invite external participants as guests and can share information in all the ways that you would expect.

We know that the information that we share in our online meetings is secure and no one will be eavesdropping on our conversations. Synching our calendars in Teams makes it easy to check availability and it just takes a click to start or join a meeting. 

5. Integrated Apps Improve Workflow

Microsoft certainly gives us a lot of tools to work with inside of Teams but we can also integrate other applications. The Adobe Sign app lets us track our proposal process and set up automations to do things like send out reminders. This has really improved our workflow and makes signing documents a hassle-free experience for our clients. 

You’ll Wonder How You Ever Managed Without It

If you’ve been using Word, Excel and PowerPoint in Microsoft 365 for a while, your experience with these applications inside of Teams isn’t going to be that different. As with any new software, there will be a bit of a learning curve when you begin using Teams, but once you get started, you’ll wonder how you ever managed without it. That has certainly been the experience of our Sales team here at XPERTECHS. 

Ready to Improve the Way You Work?

Contact Us and we’ll get you going with a Teams test drive.