Tech Ideas & Best Practices

Microsoft 365 brings together two powerful platforms for teamwork SharePoint Online and Microsoft Teams. SharePoint provides a secure place to store, organize, and manage content, while Teams enables real-time communication and collaboration. By integrating a new SharePoint site with Teams, organizations can provide employees with a unified hub where conversations, files, and resources live together.

In this blog, we’ll walk through the steps to integrate a new SharePoint site with Microsoft Teams and highlight best practices for seamless collaboration.

Steps to Integrate a SharePoint Site with Microsoft Teams

Step 1: Create a New SharePoint Site

1. Check out this blog for creating a SharePoint site.

How to create SharePoint Site

                                                  (or)

2. Navigate to the SharePoint Admin Center (or directly via the SharePoint home page).

3. Click Create site.  

4. Choose the Communication site template (recommended for collaboration).  

5. Enter site name, owners.

6. Once created, your site will have its own document library, lists, and permissions.

Note: Use clear and consistent naming conventions so the site is easily recognizable in Teams.

Step 2: Connect the SharePoint Site to Microsoft Teams

You can link your existing SharePoint site to a new or existing Teams channel.

Option A: Add a SharePoint Site to Teams (opens directly within Teams)

1. In Teams, go to your desired team and channel.

2. Click + (Add a tab).

3. Select SharePoint.

4. Select Any SharePoint site and paste the SharePoint site link in the text box.

5. Click Save to add it as a new tab.

This allows members to interact with SharePoint pages (like dashboards or news pages) without leaving Teams.

Option B: Add SharePoint Site as a Website Tab (opens in a new browser tab)

If you want to link the entire SharePoint site:

1. Go to the desired team channel in Teams.

2. Click + (Add a tab).

3. Search for Website.

4. Paste your SharePoint site URL.

5. Click Save to add it as a new tab.

Step 3: Manage Permissions Effectively

Teams and SharePoint permissions are linked:

• Adding a member to Teams automatically grants them access to the connected SharePoint site.
• Removing a member from Teams revokes SharePoint access.

Conclusion

Integrating SharePoint with Microsoft Teams bridges the gap between structured content management and fluid team communication. By connecting your new SharePoint site into Teams, you create a single hub for collaboration where users can chat, share, and co-author documents all without switching between apps.

Related Blogs

How to Create a SharePoint Site: Step-by-Step Guide

Explore the Best SharePoint Intranet Examples: 16 Practical Applications

Top SharePoint Intranet Design Best Practices

Why Microsoft Teams is a Budget Game-Changer?

As Microsoft Teams experts, we can confidently say that Teams are not just a tool for seamless collaboration and communication. It's a one-stop solution for companies looking to minimize operational costs. In this detailed guide, we'll explore how Microsoft Teams can be a budget-saver for your organization.

Key Takeaways

• Reduce travel expenses
• Streamline communication and project management
• Enhance cybersecurity at a lower cost

1. Eliminate Travel Costs with Virtual Meetings

• Why Travel Costs Add Up
  Business travel isn't cheap. Flights, hotel stays, meals, and even conference rooms can take a big chunk out of your budget.

• Virtual Meetings: A Cost-Effective Alternative
  With Microsoft Teams, you can hold HD video conferences, webinars, and virtual meetings, cutting out all those travel expenses.

• Real-World Savings
  Company X reported a 30% reduction in annual travel costs.

• Sustainable Benefits of Modern Workplace Collaboration

1. Reduces Office Footprint: Remote work capabilities mean less need for physical office space, saving energy and resources.
2. Less Commuting: With virtual meetings, there's a significant reduction in travel, cutting down on emissions.
3. Digital Collaboration: Sharing documents and ideas electronically cuts down on paper waste.
4. Energy Efficiency: Modern team platforms often run on cloud infrastructure, optimized for energy efficiency.
5. Extended Tech Lifecycles: With software-focused collaboration, there's less pressure to constantly update hardware, reducing electronic waste.

2. Unify Communication Channels and Save Big

• Traditional Communication Costs
  ‍Managing separate bills for emails, SMS, video conferencing, and enterprise chat applications can be daunting and expensive. ‍

• The All-in-One Solution
  Microsoft Teams offers an integrated platform where chat, email, and video calls come under a single license. This is where Microsoft Teams consulting can help you make the most of your investment, by customizing your setup to align with your specific needs.‍

• Cost-Benefit Analysis
  A study showed that companies saved up to 20% on communication software after switching to Teams.

3. Streamlined Project Management at No Extra Cost

• The Expense of Project Management Software
  Microsoft Teams provides a budget-friendly alternative when compared to tools such as Asana, Trello, and Jira. While these other tools come with additional costs, Microsoft Teams offers similar collaboration and project management capabilities within its platform, making it a cost-effective choice for businesses looking to streamline communication and project coordination.  ‍

• Built-In Project Management Features
  ‍Microsoft Teams offers built-in task assignments, file storage, and collaboration spaces, making external project management tools redundant.

4. Robust Security Without Breaking the Bank

• The High Cost of Data Breaches
  Data breaches can have devastating financial implications. ‍

• How Teams Enhances Security
  Two-factor authentication, data encryption, and secure guest access make Teams a secure platform.

5. Boost Collaboration Without Additional Tools

• Additional Collaboration Tools are Expensive
  Slack, Zoom, and Dropbox subscriptions can add up.

• The Teams Advantage
  With real-time co-authoring, large file storage, and sharing capabilities, Teams eliminates the need for additional tools.

6. Scalability and Flexibility: Pay for What You Use

• The Cost of Scaling Operations
  ‍Adding more users usually means buying more licenses and bigger, costlier packages.

• Teams' Flexible Plans
  Add or remove users without committing to fixed, inflexible plans.

Don't Miss Out on Substantial Cost Savings

If you haven’t embraced Microsoft Teams yet, you're not just missing out on seamless operations you're missing out on substantial savings. Adopt Microsoft Teams to streamline processes and significantly cut costs across various facets of your organization.

When bringing two companies together through acquisitions, you are often bringing in a different culture with different technology. This can often make it difficult to efficiently collaborate. Sharing files and streamlining communication is a common problem. Two of the leading agency networks, McCann and MullenLowe, needed help to create a single platform which enabled their employees to work together through close collaboration. Microsoft Teams provided the solution they were looking for.

Welcome to the fourth industrial revolution where we're now experiencing the digital age. This revolution is transforming all industries, including shipping and logistics. Maersk, the integrated transport and logistics giant, has transformed their business using digital strategies. In the past, shipment delays were caused by hiccups in a supply chain, since those chains must move large amounts of data. Since Maersk's switch to harnessing data digitally, they've reinvented how global supply chain management is done.

Keep cameras on, set agendas and other tactics you should employ to make your meeting efficient and impactful.

With people forced to stay home for their safety but still needing to continue work, virtual meetings have become the main form of communication between leaders and their employees. Of course, even before the pandemic, most companies have been conducting virtual meetings in order to avoid being hindered by geography, especially in a growing global market. However, virtual meetings also pose problems. Lack of proper equipment such as a good internet connection can cause lags and miscommunication between parties. Staying focused is also a concern. It’s a leader’s responsibility to ensure that each team member has everything they need to ensure the effectiveness of their virtual meetings.

1. Make sure that everyone has their camera on (don’t just use audio)

Videoconferences are a lot more effective than audio conferences. A recent study by Gigaom found that “87 percent of remote workers feel more connected through the use of videoconferencing.” This ensures that every person in your virtual meeting is focused and engaged. Without videos, participants might multitask or zone out of the meeting. Because they are “on camera,” people tend to stay alert and focused. You’ll get more productivity when you can all monitor each other. Make having their camera on mandatory.

2. Connect with your people with empathy, EQ and genuine concern

Virtual meetings can often appear cold and detached. To avoid this, you need to show empathy for your people. It’s OK to show genuine concern for them. In this way, you can connect with them. Acknowledge everyone in the virtual room, not just during a roll-call at the beginning of the meeting but also during the meeting itself. Let everyone talk so that they can share their ideas as well (we’ll talk more about this later). When you allow them to share their ideas, it shows that you value their input.

Also, make sure that disrespect is not tolerated during your meeting. If it appears someone is being disrespected, step in and mediate; emphasize the need for respect. Also, if you’re meeting with other people from different time zones, consider their time zones as well. Set a meeting time that is convenient for everyone. For instance, if they’re only needed for a specific topic, allow them to stay only for that part of the meeting. This way, you show your people that you care for their well being as well.

3. Ask if there’s anything they need

Make sure to ask your people about any problems they might be encountering. While it might seem surprising, not everyone has everything they need to have an effective virtual meeting. For instance, if they don’t have a desktop or laptop setup, they’ll be forced to use their phones, which create more background noise. Background noise is distracting. If there’s a way that your company can provide such items for your employees, with the proviso that the equipment would only be used for work when they are at home, consider doing so. Most likely, they only need one or two items to complete their setups, like the camera or a dedicated microphone and headset. If that’s not possible and your employees have the ability to purchase their own, consider giving them recommendations on what equipment to get.

4. Give people an opportunity to share their thoughts

Despite the need to stay on topic, make sure that you let others share their thoughts. As the leader, it’s your job to facilitate the meeting so that everybody stays on topic, but give each individual two to three minutes to ask questions, raise concerns, provide updates, etc. As a facilitator, you coordinate the meetings, so when more extroverted individuals begin to dominate the meeting, step in and direct inquiries towards the quieter individuals. This way, you can get input from everyone. It also allows you to ensure that everyone is really participating and engaging.

5. Set an agenda with an outline, and appoint someone as the timekeeper

In order to stay focused and on point, it’s important that you set an agenda so you can keep track of the meeting. Preparation is the key. Before you set up the meeting, make sure that you already have an outline of what will be discussed and how long it might take your team to discuss it. Set a time limit for each topic of discussion. Furthermore, if you think you won’t be able to keep track, appoint someone else to act as a timekeeper so you can focus on facilitating the meeting.

While face-to-face meetings may still be better, virtual meetings exist to allow you to reach your people across the globe. These five tips will help you ensure high productivity and efficiency during your virtual meetings.

Organizations don't make the jump to digital collaborations overnight. It takes months or even years, depending on their size of careful planning and strategy to come up with a transition plan that doesn't compromise operations while everybody gets onboarded. It's our job, then, to guide our clients and partners as to the best way they can make their digital plans happen. Of course, this isn't always easy. Some organizations have highly rigid and complex structures that can take a while to adapt and integrate new technologies, while others may have multiple stakeholders who need to be consulted during each stage of the process. Either way, a clear and well-established roadmap goes a long way toward ensuring the process goes as smoothly as possible. That's why we've created this infographic to provide you with 7 time-tested steps that can make your customers' Microsoft Teams adoption as seamless as possible. Use it as a handy cheat sheet for yourself or your sales teams, or bring it along to executive meetings for a visually impactful way of presenting a solid implementation strategy that's recommended by Microsoft.

Digital collaboration is one of the staples of today’s workplace, but many organizations are still unsure about the best way to transition into a modern, chat-based environment.

In this infographic, we'll provide you with a time-tested method for successfully implementing Microsoft Teams within your business.

1. Setting up your stakeholder community

Identify all the stakeholders which need to be involved during the deployment of Microsoft Teams.

2. Define use cases

Begin setting the scope and approach of the engagement to ensure you have the right use cases in mind when
generating user activities.

3. Establish success criteria and KPIs

Establish clear business scenarios where you can determine success and obtain relevant metrics.

4. Create teams and channels

Begin creating your custom teams and channels. Be sure to tailor both to meet each of your teams’ requirements.

5. Develop a champions community

Champions are crucial to nurturing adoption and driving engagement throughout the organization.

6. Create a communications and training plan to help launch Teams

Work with your Project Leads to establish a pilot team, as well as create the necessary communications and training plans.

7. Review and iterate success metrics and KPIs

Always check that your Teams rollout is achieving the desired results by gathering feedback and evaluating progress on previously established KPIs.

Team messengers like Flock, Slack and Microsoft Teams have changed the way employees communicate with each other at work. Decision making, brainstorming, and quick discussions can be completed, and time-sensitive issues can be resolved within minutes. Because of its efficiency and speed, team messengers have become an indispensable tool for communication and collaboration in real time. Nonetheless, professionals must be mindful of basic etiquette rules when using a team messenger in the office.

Listed below are a few points that should always be remembered, when using team messengers to avoid awkward situations with colleagues.

Don’t Bring up Irrelevant Topics

‍One of the pros of a team messenger is the accessibility of all team members. Hence, focusing on the topic of discussion and avoiding irrelevant topics are a must for every user. Don’t let irrelevant conversations escalate to major discussions, or wander into conversations irrelevant to the primary agenda.

Don’t Stay Silent

‍You are part of a channel/group for a reason, and the ongoing activities and discussions are a part of the job at hand. Therefore, one must avoid being a spectator and a mute listener. Be active, make your presence felt and contribute to the discussion.

Avoid Messaging at Unearthly Hours

Know when to ping your colleagues and the difference between urgent and important. Though a team messenger gives you the luxury of contacting a teammate at all times, knowing when to ask for help makes you thoughtful. Hence, try not to message at odd hours unless it’s extremely important and remember team messengers are for work and not for social interactions.

Be Wise with Your Correct Choice of Words

‍Conversation can be misleading if they happen in an informal environment and can lead one to use words which are not accepted in a working environment. Therefore, as an active participant in a team messenger, always be mindful of the words you choose to express happiness, disagreement, urgency and every other emotion.

Don’t Get Personal

‍Instant messages can get really lengthy as team messengers offer such an easy way to communicate. Also, conversations have a tendency to get intimate very quickly, because instant messaging can almost be like talking to a friend. Hence, avoid getting personal with your colleagues and be professional when expressing views and emotions to your teammates.

You've just arrived at the office, booted up your computer or laptop, and filled your first cup of coffee. You sit back down, take a sip, and what do you see? Chances are it's a login screen. Hastily, you type in your username and password and get on with a productive day.

At least that was the idea, until you remember you forgot to send Karen from HR your vacation request form. You try to reach her by email but to no avail, so you boot up the informal messenger that everyone in the office uses because the legacy messenger set up years ago crashes when you send so much as an emoji. But of course, you once again need to type in your login info, only to see that Janice is not online. So ultimately you end up making two trips to HR (on the first trip, you forgot to staple your vacation balance because the document is stored in a separate internal SharePoint) to finally get your vacation approved. Ready to throw your computer out a window yet? We don't blame you.

This scenario may seem comical, but it's a reality that thousands of employees must endure thanks to the lack of a single, unified digital workspace. Preferably one that can be implemented across your entire organization and serve as a hub for all documents and teams to collaborate, within and across projects.

After reading this infographic, you'll learn how each department within your business can utilize Microsoft Teams to become more efficient, store documents securely, and collaborate seamlessly with any peer or colleague.

Microsoft Teams helps businesses become more efficient by enabling improved collaboration, horizontal work methods, and organized, easily accessible information. It also helps them to accelerate decision making by sharing information in the moment and with context, empowering people to quickly make well-informed choices.

Read below to learn how all your departments can use Teams to deliver organization-wide value.

Human Resources

HR departments can use Teams to effectively manage recruitment, training, and reviews across administrative areas, as well as to establish meetings with candidates and peers.

Sales

Teams is a crucial tool for sales reps to communicate when in the field or during meetings and deliver real-time reporting on customer cases from anywhere in the world.

Marketing

Teams provides a creative hub where creative ideas and strategies can evolve into revenue-generating initiatives.

Finance

Financial departments benefit greatly from Teams’ security and integration features, which helps their information remain safe and easily accessible whenever they need it.

Engineering

Teams can allow engineering departments to move quickly between ideation, development and deployment phases, as well as easily integrate developer tools.

Project Management

PMs can effectively use Teams to manage stakeholders, tools, budgets, project reviews, and feedback.

Information Technology

Teams increases the efficiency of IT departments and allows them to focus on their organization’s digital transformation and technological innovation.

Ready to streamline your business processes and foster a collaborative workspace that is efficient, secure, and user-friendly? It's time to revolutionize the way your teams work together.

Reach out to a Microsoft Teams Expert today to start leveraging the unmatched capabilities of integrated, intelligent collaboration tools in your business landscape.

Using Microsoft Teams helps you save time by having all solutions in one place for improved collaboration and information sharing. Foster a collaborative environment and embrace the upside of teamwork - frictionless sharing that makes good ideas exceptional.

Innovate by cultivating a collaborative culture, Microsoft Teams lets you fully embrace the upside of teamwork—frictionless sharing that makes good idea exceptional

‍

The central location for all solutions                        Information Worker :

and the more efficient meetings                                5min/day

saved 1.1 to 8.0 hours per user per week.

Microsoft plans to roll out an updated meeting experience, which will enable users to have conversations and calls in separate Windows during Teams meetings. In a Microsoft 365 Roadmap document, Microsoft confirmed that the feature is now timed for roll out beginning in June:

Multi-window experiences are coming to Teams meetings and calling. Users will have the ability to pop out meetings and calling into separate windows to help them optimize their workflow. These experiences can be turned on directly within Teams for PC and Mac clients.

In addition, Microsoft says that the upcoming Teams update will allow you to pin meeting controls such as mute, video, chat, leave, and others to the top of your screen. With this change, the Redmond giant aims to ensure that the meeting and call controls never block the underlying content.

1.Click on Avatar on top right of Teams and click Settings.

2.Check the Turn on new calling and meetings experiences check box and then restart the Teams client.

While the existing current meeting experience will be retired later this year, Microsoft has provided a timeline as to  when we should expect the new experiences to be enabled:

• June – New experiences are available and users can enable through settings.
• July – Experiences are enabled by default and users can disable through settings.
• August – Experiences are enabled by default and user controls are no longer available.

This infographic lists the many ways you can use Microsoft Teams to drive workplace collaboration. It also provides statistics on the success and popularity of Microsoft Teams.

Drive workplace collaboration through one digital hub where teams can meet, call, and chat. Use Microsoft Teams to have instant conversations with members of your staff or guests outside your organization.
You can also make phone calls, host meetings, and share files.

• 20M+ daily active users
• 5,00,000+ organizations use teams
• 91 Fortune 100 companies use teams
• Teams is in 181 markets with support for 53 languages(and growing)
• 200+ organizations have 10,000+ active Teams users

Before we transitioned to remote working, we had approximately 30 Teams meetings a day. Now it’s up to 500 a day. We’re all working better together to continue to provide amazing customer support and simplify health services for our members in a challenging time.     

Dennis Armstrong, Enterprise Messaging Engineer                                                                                
Premera Blue Cross