Successfully Introducing Microsoft Teams in Five Steps

In previous blog posts, we have explained how you can achieve Teams excellence in three steps and have covered topics such as integrating 
•    setup and technology
•    knowledge and expertise
•    organization and guidelines 
into your modern workplace strategy. Customers who follow this route with COSMO CONSULT are laying the foundations for successfully introducing Microsoft Teams. Here are the most important points:

Once Teams has been introduced, the first step is to set up the system. Issues include identity management (single sign-on), two-factor authentication and data security. Modern workplace tools are highly attractive, especially during work collaboration. However, these solutions also make it relatively easy to inadvertently release sensitive internal data to the outside world. To prevent this, security mechanisms should be enabled and configured in Microsoft Office 365. 

The next step is to identify employees and people who will work with the new tools in the future and upskill them to make sure they can use the tools efficiently. This way, employees are more likely to accept the new ways. It gives team members the chance to organize themselves better and to get personal benefits from the tools. Users are then less likely to see the tools as an additional burden.

The third step is to integrate the modern workplace into the company’s processes and align it with organizational regulations. A prerequisite for this is for employees to be familiar with the tools so they can recognize the potential they offer and embed this potential in the company’s regulations.
The focus in the transformation towards the modern workplace is not only on new technologies, but also on innovative methods and new forms of organization that can be used to improve the efficiency of business processes.

Once the foundations for the new digital platform have been laid, working groups can start work on the most important functions. What distinguishes productive, agile use of these tools from the traditional waterfall methodology though? Agile quarterly targets are the first necessity. One way to get there is through Object & Key Results (OKR) and a task management flow that brings transparency to the various jobs and encourages teamwork. Our next blog article will explain how to design a digital, agile team management board and enable colleagues to actively participate.

So, your organization uses Microsoft tools company-wide and has already implemented a risk-free pilot project with digital team management for agile team control? Congratulations! You are clearly a step ahead of the competition. According to a Kienbaum study, only 10% of German companies are agile (Kienbaum, 2019). Now it is a matter of learning from experiences gained from the first pilot and gradually rolling out agile methods throughout the organization. The aim is to move away from silo-thinking and mutually competing interests—such as service vs. sales—to self-organized network structures that contribute to common corporate goals. Another advantage such agile-knowledgeable organizations have is their flexibility. They are resistant and resilient to market fluctuations, which ensures them a long, profitable life.

If you want to exploit the full potential of Microsoft Teams and lead your company to team excellence, you should pay attention to aspects such as knowledge transfer, integration into the existing company organization and the appropriate management methodology. Agile, digital forms of organization have proven to be particularly effective. Teams work quickly, transparently and efficiently when they use methods such as OKR.