Welcome to part two of this blog series where we show you ways to make the most of your Microsoft 365 tools as a people manager.  In part one, we covered tips for managing calendars, meetings and files.  Today’s blog is all about task management and automation – how to proactively manage your own and keep a pulse on your team’s work.

With so many of us working from home, it can feel overwhelming to keep our team on track without resorting to micromanaging.  Anyone who has had a micromanaging boss knows how demotivating it is, and anyone who’s used this approach has seen their workday burned up before they got to their own to do list.

Are your employees using Microsoft Teams or another chat and collaboration tool as a primary method of communication with others in your organization?  Are they also forced to change their focus from their machines to a traditional desk phone in order to reach clients or partners?  Do you still have budget dedicated to the maintenance, rental or licensing costs from a Private Branch Exchange (PBX) or Voice over IP (VOIP) Solution while users lose productivity switching between their Teams client and their desk phone to place calls?

With the Microsoft Teams and Phone System in Office 365 you can keep the calling features your organization needs, increase the productivity of your workers and in most cases, reduce the cost of equipment, licensing and the notoriously exorbitant UC support contracts.  Sounds pretty good huh?!

Keep reading to get answers to some commonly asked questions that plague organizations when making the decision to use Microsoft Teams as a calling platform.

Even if you love being a people manager, it has its challenges.  Staying on top of your own to-do list, coaching and guiding your team and reporting up all while trying to preserve time to think and strategize can feel impossible some days.  For many, the sudden move to everyone working from home is exacerbating those challenges.

As someone who has long embraced the consultant, work from anywhere lifestyle, I have learned a lot on what works and what doesn’t.  Consulting has a global workforce baked in; one of my most favorite architects ever packed up his family and moved to Mexico.  He’s successful because he understands the importance of communication, transparency, trust and technology.