One of the things that is unique to Teams is Channels.  Part of the Teams app is being a part of Teams. I'm learning as I work with many organizations, that so many people are not sure how many Teams to create and what channels to use.  The tricky part - there is no RIGHT answer but let me give you a couple of tips.

Let's start by looking at the definition of a channel. 

Teams are made up of channels.  Channels are built around topics. Channels are where you hold meetings, have conversations, and collaborate around files together. For example, if your team represents a department, then a channel could be a project within that department or it could be an initiative for that department.  You don't want too many channels but you also don't want too few channels.  Keep in mind you can hide channels and create private channels. 

1. Pin Channels.
   If your are members of a lot of Teams and those teams have a lot of channels, pinning is a really great and easy way to keep your eyes on active
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Teams is SO EASY - Why Do I STILL Need Training?

So this week continues the conversation around Microsoft Teams adoption and what I'm seeing with so many of clients . Most of the clients that hire me to do a discovery phase + Training have been using Teams for more than a year. They all use Teams and feel pretty good about their skill sets, but say " I bet there are some things I don't know". If this sounds like you....read on.  When I ask a few key questions that help me assess their level of adoption - they say - "ahhh, I guess maybe we DO need some training."

Here are a few of the key questions? If you answer yes or are curious about these - maybe we should talk.

1. Have you seen a significant decrease in internal emails? Like more than 50%?
   
   
2. Are you utilizing the co-authoring features for the O365 apps like Word Excel and PowerPoint?
   
   
3. Have you mapped your Teams channels to your Windows Explorer so you can easily find your files?
   
   
4. Have you migrated files from you on-prem server to
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Using Teams vs. Adopting Teams

Do you consider yourself a USER of Teams or have you fully ADOPTED it?

I have been working with SO MANY organizations that are using Teams but want to fully ADOPT teams. The difference is - have you changed the way you work? Have you transitioned your communication from email to chats and posts?  Most of the companies I'm working with them have had Teams setup and installed for more than a year but they are really only USING the most basic features. They have yet to fully implement and integrate it.  The missing link is TRAINING.

Using Teams

If you are only using Teams - you probably use the following features.

• Use Teams for meetings
• Send occasional Teams meeting invites
• Send occasional chats

Adopting Teams

If you've fully adopted Teams, you probably do most of the following:

• Utilize Teams for most internal meetings and externally hosted meetings 
• Utilize Teams for 90% of internal communication (chats and posts)
• Have reduced internal e
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Finding Teams Files Anywhere

As you fully integrate Teams and move and store more of your files in Teams, it's important to be able to find those files easily. This is a really simple process but for most users, is a huge time saver as well as a way to more fully integrate Teams. 

One of the best ways to find files stored in Teams is to use the SYNC feature in the channel of a team. This features let's you perform a one-time sync which allows you to always have access to the files you share in Teams from File Explorer. When you have your Team's channels synced to File Explorer, it's easier to save files when you're in an O365 app like Word or Excel.

You only need to sync one time and it will remain synchronized in File Explorer indefinitely.

1. Go to the Files tab inside the channel of the Team you want to sync.
   
   
   
2. Once the files are synchronized (depending on how many files there are, it may take a few minutes). You will see the file show up in your File Explorer. There will be a sep
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Training in Teams

If you use the Teams app to deliver training, there are a few great features and best practices that are really helpful. 

Best Practices

1. Use the Attendance List.
   This allows you to keep track of who attended. It's a virtual "sign in list". This is especially helpful if the training is required or linked to objectives or goals.
   
   
2. Use 2 Screens.
   Having one screen to share and present and another screen to view the meeting is optimal. It lets you keep track of questions or activity in the meeting chat as well as if someone raises their hand.
   
   Share the Screen with the Camera.
   This might seem obvious or simple. But if you have multiple screens, be sure to have your "shared" screen be the one that has your camera on it. It's much easier as an attendee to watch the shared screen and the video of the presenter looking at you rather than the other screen.
   
   
3. Change the Meeting Setting to Everyone for the Lobby.
   Once your training session starts, you don't want to be interrupted o
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Sharing Files in Teams and OneDrive

One of the most frequent ways I get engaged as a Collaboration Consultant is to help people better understand file sharing and how it works both internally and externally within Teams and OneDrive.

Sharing files internally in Teams is pretty easy. You click the paperclip icon in a chat, in a channel or in a meeting.

Sharing files externally can be a little more confusing.  If you have external access to people in Teams - you can sometimes use the above methods of chat, channels and meetings. However, sometimes your correspondence with external users isn't in Teams. Sometimes you want to share files with users externally but it doesn't make sense to use Teams.

Sharing files using OneDrive is SUPER easy and straight forward.

This is one of the tips I'd encourage you to watch the video. It's easier to understand and I'm able to explain it in more detail than typing it all out.

Sharing a file (files) with external users via OneDrive

1. From wit
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Tips for Teams Meeting Invites

When sending a Team's meeting invite, there are some settings you can do ahead of time. Depending on if your invite is from within the Teams app or an Outlook invitation, you will see different features in different places.

Watch the video - for specifics!

Ways to customize Teams Meeting Invites

Watch the video for the full description and how to but these are at a high level the things you can customize in a meeting invitation.

• Lobby Settings
  Attendees may sit in a virtual lobby depending on your settings. Decide who can start the meeting, who can bypass the lobby.
  
  
• Set Presentation Permissions
  Decide ahead of time, who you want to grant permission to present. This can always be changed after the meeting starts.
  
  
• Disable Meeting Chat and/or Reactions
  Disable the ability to chat with meeting participants or the ability to use the reactions like raising their hand, heart etc.
  
  
• Prevent mic and/or video for participants
  Disable participant mic or video
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7 New Teams "In Meeting" Features in 7 Minutes

These features get rolled out behind the scenes. I'm breaking them down for you and showing them to you.  I'll highlight them in a list - but the best way to see them is to watch the video above.

#1 - Change your Camera, Speakers, Mic

You already probably know how to change it before you get logged into your meeting - but what if you need to change it mid meeting.

#2 - Change the Lobby Settings

After your meeting starts, you may need to adjust how you want the lobby to be utilized. Once I start my larger meetings or training sessions, I typically change it to everyone so I don't need to let everyone in one by one or get interrupted when people come and go due to connectivity issues.

#3 - Change your Background (after meeting has started)

This is another feature you probably have set when you start a meeting but did you know you can change it mid meeting?

#4 - Standout While Sharing Content

Fun features that allows you to have a sm...

It's 3 Times Simpler! 

That might seem like a bold and even maybe a little broad but hear me out....

Anytime we can simplify (in ANY part of our life) it usually pays dividends, but in this case - this translates to not just a single way to simplify but 3 main ones.

There are so many reasons people use Microsoft Teams as we've covered in these last 4 posts that have been part of our series - Why People Use Teams. I've saved the best and easiest for last. Simplicity.

1. It's Always Simpler to have Less Apps

Most of us are using more and more apps. There's a study from a few years ago that had some interesting findings including the average number of apps used by a worker is 9.39 and67% believe it would be easier and less distracting to work in a single app. Enter Microsoft Teams. Check out the study for more interesting stats - but in a nutshell - we're more productive if we don't have to switch between lots of apps. Teams can eliminate apps like Slack, Zoom, Monday, Dropbox, Box e...

Communicating Before, During & After Meetings

Now most of us know that Teams is very often used for meetings. Whether you use the video, audio or screen-sharing features in the meeting, there are some other underutilized features built into meetings as well. Teams does an amazing job of offering a variety of ways to communicate with your meeting participants before, during and after a meeting.

Ways to Communicate

• Chat with participants
• Share files
• Take "Meeting Notes"
• Whiteboard
• Post meeting recaps
• Meeting recording

Once a meeting has been scheduled and participants have been invited, you can take advantage of the "chat with participants" feature. In this screen, you will have access to all the above ways to communicate.

If the meeting takes place in a channel, you can also find the communication and files  in the channel.

How to Chat with Participants of a Meeting

1. Go to your calendar and find the scheduled meeting.
   
   
2. Click on the meeting and see a dialog box similar t
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