Microsoft held their latest Inspire conference in late July 2022, and as with every year, they have announced some new and exciting new features and solutions to Teams. Here are the ones I am looking forward to most!

1. Viva Engage

Viva Engage is the newest module to Microsoft’s Viva suite, which Microsoft announced last year. Viva Engage is a social app that builds on the existing capabilities of Communities, which is an app used in Teams to connect Yammer.

 

 

Viva Engage is a way for employees to share news, culture, feedback and have conversations and is a great way to share announcements and build communities, all within Microsoft Teams.

Viva Engage will be part of most Office 365 and Microsoft 365 licensing and will be released later this year.

 

 

2. Shared Channels in Teams

Shared Channels were announced a while ago but are now in general release, so we should see them coming to our tenants soon!

The flexibility of shared channels allows you to collaborate with parties inside and outside an organization and work effectively as an extended team without switching tenants. Users can add guests and collaborators to the shared channel without needing to be added to the entire Team. They can only see information within the channel they have access to.

 

 

Shared channels allow you to:

• Engage in collaboration with members who are not members of the team.
• Providing a secure and deliberate means of sharing files, holding conversations, meeting, and reviewing documents without switching tenants.
• Maintain your work flow by using shared channels from outside your organization alongside your own channels.
• With Teams, you can collaborate with external partners in other Azure AD orgs, just as you would with colleagues within your own.

 

 

3. New chat features

There are a few new chat features that Microsoft has announced. Two of which I love, one I am not so keen on. The one I am not too fond of is the new emojis. I think they look intense and terrifying, but I’m sure I’ll get used to them!

The other two features are pretty useful:

1. Video clip – the ability to record a short video message and send it via Teams chat. I can see this being useful when trying to explain something that doesn’t need a whole call, or if someone is busy, it might be easier to leave that person a video explaining your point or question. This feature is coming out in September 2022.
2. Chat with self – this feature is already available, but I find it helpful. Chat with self is a way for you to send a short chat message to yourself. The chat is pinned at the top, so you can easily find it. I use OneNote, but sometimes I need a temporary quick number or note that doesn’t have a place in a OneNote page or section. Chat with self is one I’ll be using!

 

 

4. Collaborative Annotations

Collaborative annotations enable you and your Teams meeting participants to collaborate and annotate the screen while you share in Teams. When you turn on annotations, participants will see the Microsoft Whiteboard toolset at the top of their window with the ability to use laser pointers, pens, sticky notes and more. 

 

 

This feature comes in handy when working on design, slides, documents, etc. Collaborative annotations is available now as part of the Teams public preview.

 

For more information on Inspire announcements, check out the tech community blog: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-teams-blog/microsoft-inspire-2022-innovations-coming-to-teams/ba-p/3559351

Last week I attended a 3-day Prosci Change Practitioner course in London. The course was excellent; it opened my eyes to the importance of Change Management and provided me with the tools to implement a change management strategy. It was a jam-packed three days, with lots of helpful information and tips, but here are my top 4 learnings:

1. Change is hard

Change is hard. It\’s human nature to resist change because of perceived risk or fear. Nevertheless, change is something we also desire and strive for. Whether the change involves abandoning a bad habit, developing a new skill, or making a significant life change, we have all experienced the desire to make a change in our lives.

Managing change in a business setting is no different. Employees, managers and even business leaders resist change. Most projects that we do involve people changing how they do their job. This means that change management is highly crucial to achieving success.

2. Sponsors with the most authority are not always the best.

Managing change begins with executive sponsorship and senior leadership. By giving the change credibility, authorising funding and resources, and performing critical employee-facing tasks, they play a crucial role in the success of the change.

A sponsor is someone who will be active and visible throughout the project, help communicate the change to employees and is someone who will commit time to participate in activities such as training and workshops. You want someone influential, but not necessarily at the top of the org chart. A sponsor can make or break a change project, so choosing the right person is essential. Look at who the sponsor influences, their connections in the organisation, and their commitment and stake in the project\’s success.

3. You\’ll rely on your people managers more than you think.

In most cases, change also impacts how people managers carry out their work. How can we expect a people manager to support a change if they aren\’t on board?

People managers are going to be involved consistently throughout any change management project. They will help communicate the change, encourage their teams to go to training, help manage resistance, and provide feedback to the project team.

Don\’t overlook people managers; get them on board, and you\’ll have a much more successful change project.

4. Change Management should be part of any change project – not just technology change.

One of the biggest takeaways from the course was that change management should be part of any change, not just technology change. As someone in IT, most projects are about tech and getting people to use technology. In the course, there were people from all roles and backgrounds. Their projects included new systems but also projects like moving office locations, remote working, and a change in mindset or change in the process.

Change should be planned and managed in any project that requires some change to ensure the project\’s success.

Summary

The Prosci change management course was excellent, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking to embark on a change project. You get a considerable amount of resources and interactive lessons and can share the experience with people from different backgrounds and industries.