MS Teams 101: How to Use Microsoft Teams

According to one Gallup survey, 53% of employees expect to work in a hybrid workplace for the foreseeable future. Another 24% of employees expect to work remotely. The growing popularity of hybrid and remote work has led to an urgent need for technology that makes collaboration easy. Microsoft Teams helps companies achieve precisely that and so much more.

Identify Whether You Have Microsoft Teams

You can check if your company has a subscription by opening the app and trying to use your MS Teams login. Check to see if you have Teams in your list of apps. If not, your company may need to get a subscription.

You might wonder: is MS Teams free? The good news is that it can be. The free version of MS teams provides basic features, such as video chat, audio chat, and instant messaging.

Upgrade to a business or enterprise plan if you want conferencing capabilities and ample storage space. These can range in cost from $4 to $22 per user each month. The popularity of Microsoft Teams illustrates that its users see the benefits as worth the price.

Create a Microsoft Teams Account

Once you have verified that your company has a subscription, you can create an account via your desktop or the app. Here are the basic steps for creating an account via a desktop:

1. Open your web browser and go to the Microsoft Teams login page.
2. Choose Sign Up Now under the New to Teams? prompt on the web page.
3. Microsoft will ask you to enter your email address.
4. Follow the prompts from there to complete the setup.

Download the Microsoft Teams App

Even if you sign up via the desktop, the app introduces more flexibility for remote and hybrid workers. Note that there is an app version for mobile devices and another for the desktop. Ideally, you leverage both MS Teams download options to improve flexibility and agility.

Customize Your Profile

Editing your profile information is a simple way to personalize how you appear to others, including people who might never have the opportunity to meet you in person. Here are some tips for creating a custom profile:

1. Open the Microsoft Teams app and sign in with your work account.
2. Click your profile picture at the top of the left sidebar.
3. If you don’t see a profile picture, click More (the three dots).

From here, you can make several changes to your profile. You can change your photo, name, and even your displayed email address. It’s not a bad idea to fill in your About Me and My Skills sections.

You might also wonder how to change the background in MS Teams. Before a meeting, when setting up your audiovisual, choose Background Filters. You can either blur the background or add an image.

You can still make changes during a meeting by using the More Actions > Apply Background Effects option. You can preview the background before applying it during the meeting.

Create a Team

Managers often wonder how to create a team in Microsoft Teams. It’s a lot easier than one might expect. Teams are organized around specific projects or departments and include all the resources members need to complete their work. Here’s how to create a team:

1. Open Microsoft Teams and sign in with your work account.
2. Click Teams on the left sidebar, then select Join or create a team at the bottom of your Teams list. If you don’t see Join or create a team, click More next to Teams.
3. Select Join or create a team.
4. Select Create team.
5. Enter the team name and description, then click Next.
6. Select the privacy settings for your team, then click Next. You can choose between an “org-wide” team, which is open to everyone in your organization, or a “private” team, which requires an invite to join.
7. Select the channels you want to include in your team, then click Next. Channels are where team members communicate and collaborate on specific projects or topics.
8. Add team members, then click Finish.

Keep Microsoft Teams Active

It can be easy to forget about Teams if you’re not using it regularly. However, there are some simple ways to keep Microsoft Teams active so you can get the most out of your subscription. Here are a few tips:

• Check in with your team regularly.
• Set aside time each week to explore Microsoft Teams.
• Share tips and tricks with your team.
• Use Teams to plan meetings and initiate conversation as often as possible.

Capture and Archive Microsoft Teams Messages

For most channels, you can keep record archive messages to keep your conversations organized and make them easier to find later. There are also basic security and compliance features available for securing critical information within channels, though for complete security, control and compliance, consider reviewing the offerings of Microsoft Purview Compliance Center.

Teams has internal tools to facilitate archiving but LeapXpert streamlines the process of archiving your instant messages to ensure your business remains compliant. Even better, it can do this across the leading messaging platforms for all Teams channel types. Book your demo to see how it works.