Keeping your team connected and productive can be challenging when some employees work in the office, others work from home, and many switch between both. You need a collaboration hub that keeps everyone on the same page without juggling multiple apps or wasting time switching between tools.
That’s where Microsoft Teams shines. As part of the Microsoft 365 suite, Teams brings together chat, calls, meetings, file sharing, and project collaboration in one secure platform. While most organizations are familiar with its core features, such as video meetings and chat, there are lesser-known Microsoft Teams productivity tools that can take your hybrid collaboration to the next level.
In this article, we’ll uncover five hidden Microsoft Teams features that can streamline workflows, reduce distractions, and help your organization work smarter with the right productivity solutions.
1.Excel Live and PowerPoint Live
Keeping all your data up to date and collaborating on spreadsheets is easier than ever in this type of shared virtual workspace. No need to toggle between apps or have someone looking over your shoulder to review and work on Excel docs. Instead, your staff can view and edit in Excel while in a Teams meeting together, all with full access to the document to make changes more easily and in real-time. Find this feature when you click the Share button in your meeting.
PowerPoint Live also gives you better control in Microsoft Teams, but with your presentations. (You can also find this feature in the same place!) You can access useful features like presenter controls, access to chat, reactions, and hand raises all on the same screen. Show your audience only the slides they need to see, when you want them to see them, while you have full control and access to your presenter view. With this, no matter what your budget is, your presentations will feel professional and well-organized with many ways to engage everyone attending.
2. Integrated AI with Copilot
With Copilot built into Microsoft Teams, you’ll efficiently access key information, valuable insights, and a shared view that keeps everyone on the same page and frees up time for your more important, mission-critical work.
Your staff can also get quick help to complete various tasks that your organization handles regularly:
- Use Copilot in Chat to rewrite your messages for clarity, grammar, or tone or to summarize conversations. That improved communication with rewriting will help your team members interact more easily, even if they face barriers like language skills or differences in communication style.
- Apply the tool in meetings to highlight discussion points and action items, as well as provide real-time summaries.
3. Applying Background Effects in Teams Meetings and Video Calls
When it comes to virtual meetings, background distractions can be frustrating to manage. This can be especially true if employees join meetings at home or even in their car while on the go, where it’s not uncommon to see everything from pets, family members, passing traffic, or the hustle and bustle of a busy coffee shop. Luckily in Microsoft Teams, participants can access background tools and effects to subtly conceal their background in video calls or change it completely. Only the person will be visible, nothing else!
Don’t know how to do this? To blur or change the background, click Effects and avatars beneath your video preview when you open a meeting. From there, you can explore background blur options, as well as many simulated, pre-designed backgrounds. Simply choose the one you want and join your meeting! You can also adjust your camera settings while in a meeting using the drop-down menu by the camera icon.
In the Devices tab of your settings menu, there are other options to adjust your video and audio settings to maintain a clean, professional look:
- Control any background noise in your audio when you’re speaking by turning on Noise Suppression
- Smooth your appearance with a soft-focus filter on your camera.
- Access a video preview in the setting menu so you can see how changing the settings will look in a meeting or call.
4. Teams Digital Whiteboards
When you’re working together in-person, your team likely uses a whiteboard to jot down ideas, brainstorm, or visually lay out information. You can still do that virtually with Microsoft Teams! Meeting Whiteboards are a useful feature that lets participants collaborate visually in real time. (Open the Whiteboard app by clicking on Share in your meeting and selecting it from the list.)
Here, meeting participants can sketch, write, and brainstorm new ideas onto a shared digital canvas, much like they would in the boardroom. This visual approach helps teams communicate complex ideas more clearly and sparks creativity in real time. Use existing templates, sticky notes, and more to make your online collaboration even more interactive and personal. After a meeting finishes, participants can still access these notes in a tab labeled “Whiteboard” to revisit the content, schedule follow-up tasks, or add more ideas — ensuring that no insights are lost after the discussion ends.
You can also prepare Whiteboards in advance to make the most out of your meeting time. Just go to the chat associated with the existing meeting invite and click on the Whiteboard tab to add or create your desired whiteboard for the conversation. During your meeting, the whiteboard you prepared will be available in the Share menu.
5. Multiple Languages, Built-in Translators, and Accessibility Features
In diverse teams where clear communication is key, your organization needs simple tools that facilitate inclusive collaboration. With built-in translator support for meetings, chat, and captions, Microsoft Teams helps people work together more effectively and communicate in the language that feels most natural to them.
This handy feature can add live translated captions during meetings in more than 40 languages and can translate messages, captions, and subtitles in over 100 languages. You can also transcribe a meeting recording and provide this to team members who need a recap of any meeting discussion.
Wondering how to get started? Users can:
- Access the translate function via the ellipses next to a message.
- Adjust translation settings under General in your settings menu.
- Use the same settings menu to view your accessibility options. Here, you can also adjust your audio settings such as turning on teletypewriter mode, captions, and single pointer controls.
Level Up Your Organization’s Productivity with designDATA
For many, Microsoft Teams has become the go-to productivity tool for remote or hybrid work collaboration. You have access to a wide array of built-in apps and even more “hidden gem” options that you can add, depending on your needs.
But, like all tools, it works best when you know how to use it. A bit of learning and expert support can go a long way to getting the most out of its features.
When you partner with designDATA, we’re here to help you achieve meaningful results and improve your organization’s efficiency. Whether that’s improving your relationship with Teams or managing your entire Microsoft 365 ecosystem, our designDATA experts offer a range of services to help your organization run at maximum efficiency. After all, you have better things to focus on than your IT services.
Contact us to discuss where you’re heading and how we can help you get there.
