Microsoft 365 is one of the hottest applications in the business software marketplace, and the tech giant is hardly resting on its laurels. As Microsoft recently annouced to their membership, “your subscription keeps getting better!” Here is a rundown of the latest updates, new features and capabilities to those who already have Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams subscriptions.
Approvals: Microsoft Teams now allows everyone – from frontline employees to corporate personnel – to effortlessly create, manage, and share approvals directly from the teamwork hub. Approvals in Teams is automatically installed as it rolls out, and works as follows. Team members can easily begin an approval flow in Microsoft Teams from a chat or a channel conversation, or in the Approvals app. The Approval includes who is required to approve it, additional information needed, and add an attachment. Users can also create custom responses. Once an approval is given, approvers are notified and may review the details and any files included in the approval. If the request was entered via a chat or a channel, an approvals card will be provided, including all possible action options. Individuals can see, track and manage all your approvals from one location.
Viva Connections: Microsoft Viva is a recently announced employee platform created to help employees connect, learn and thrive in the workplace. Viva was designed in response to the necessary evolution of businesses throughout the pandemic, empowering customers and clients to make decisions and act more rapidly in a remote environment. While the workflow had to change rapidly, it is now necessary to crate a more sustainable, longterm solution.
Executives understand that engagement and communication between employees is critical, but isolation has caused some problems. An engaging, supportive employee experience was needed. Viva is Microsoft’s answer, providing a gateway to a contemporary employee experience. Viva Connections provides people a company-branded experience that marries relevant news, conversations, and other resources. Connections gives leaders the opportunity to curate their culture and invite employees into the process.
Live Reactions: Teams has always provided the option of raising your hand during a meeting, but Microsoft has now added additional real-time reactions to make meetings more interactive and fun. Those participating in meetings can hover over the “Show Reaction” icon, which now offers ‘Like’, ‘Love’, ‘Applause’ and ‘Laugh’ to the ‘Raise Hand’ option. Note: Live reactions do not appear in Together mode or large gallery view.
To share a live reaction, hover over the icon and choose the desired reaction, which will appear for a few seconds in the live video feed or on your profile picture. If someone is sharing content during the meeting, reactions will float up from the bottom of the screen.
Administrators can enable or disable live reactions in participant settings.
Customize Your Theme: Admins have the ability to create multiple themes for employees in the organization, and choose which themes are associated with various members of the organization. They can also add a default theme that applies to everyone within the organization, as well as up to four additional group themes that can be assigned to multiple Microsoft 365 groups.
Simply go to the Settings > Org Settings page, click on the Organization profile tab, and then choose Organization Theme.
If you are a small to medium sized business in flux, you may be struggling with determining the best strategies to keep your employees engaged and inspired. The team at Alliance IT is educated and well-versed in all of the Microsoft 365 and Teams features. If we can help your business, call us today.
