You’ve Upgraded to Teams, Why Isn’t Anyone Using It

Like many organizations, you’ve decided to upgrade to Microsoft Teams. This upgrade can help your organization collaborate across departments and branches in ways they may never have been able to before, by leveraging Unified Communications  (UC). UC allows colleagues to connect around the globe, no matter what device they’re using.

However, you may find that your organization is not actually taking advantage of Teams at all. Why is that? Maybe they’re intimidated by the training process, maybe they’re unsure of how to even get started with Teams, or maybe they are simply set in their ways.

It is up to you to figure out the reason behind your team’s hesitations and dissuade them, so you can begin to reap the full benefits and ROI of Teams. Let’s take a closer look at why your colleagues have yet to commit to Teams, and how you can make them UC pros.

Onboarding your employees properly may be easier than you think. First, make sure that training resources are fully available. You can start by selecting people to be added to your Teams group and then granting them access to Teams Files. Teams Files can be accessed from anywhere and on any device.

Next, upload training packets to Team Files so your colleagues can read them from wherever they are. This way, there will always be helpful resources right at everyone’s fingertips.

Your team can then use the packets you’ve shared to prepare for a training session or as a reference. With Teams Live Events, you are able to virtually train up to 10,000 participants. If someone cannot make it, it’s no problem at all. You can simply record your session and share it with your team after.

When it comes to getting your office to convert and commit to Teams, having proper training in place is half the battle. Once workers begin to feel comfortable, it will be easier to work Teams into everyone’s day to day.

A great aspect of Teams to emphasize to your colleagues is that Office 365 allows you to update documents that have already been shared. So, whether that is an important training document or otherwise, it can be updated as personnel and strategy evolve. This is not only useful for future reference in respect to Teams, but in general terms of collaboration.

Another way to make sure on-boarding transitions into the smooth daily use of Teams is to keep the dialogue going. Use Yammer for open and consistent communication with your team. If anyone has a question, they can simply post it to Yammer for all to see and answer. A forum such as this will be very useful as you all try to understand what works best for you.

Plus, don’t forget to notify your team about Delve. Delve allows coworkers to log on and learn more about each other through Microsoft Office 365 user profiles they’ve created for themselves. Users can also share documents with each other through Delve or create boards to work together on.

After you’ve successfully on-boarded your colleagues to Teams and they’ve become comfortable, all there is left to do is to keep it going. Remember that communication will be key as everyone figures out how they best collaborate using Teams. The last thing you want is anyone to drop off because they feel intimidated, so be sure to ask encouraging questions, too.

And, to get the most out of Teams, encourage everyone to work towards becoming a "Super User". Teams "Super Users" collaborate more easily, increase their focus, and can help the rest of their team learn how to boost their productivity, as well. As long as everyone stays on the same page, your organization will be able to enjoy all the benefits of Microsoft Teams and reap optimal returns for this investment.