For avid Microsoft followers, Ignite is the event of the year. It’s when we often get the biggest Microsoft announcements, an insight into the year ahead and usually some cool new stuff to play with. But, for non-technical folk who still rely on Microsoft in their day-to-day roles it can be overwhelming.
So to help, I’ve summed up some of the key Microsoft 365 announcements from this year’s Ignite. Not just what they are – but why they’re important and how they can make a difference in your every day work life.
Viva Insights
Meeting Effectiveness Surveys
What is it?
Meeting Effectiveness Surveys will be displayed at the end of select Teams meetings with five or more attendees, making it easy for participants to give feedback.
Meeting organisers will be able to see results in the Viva Insights app within Teams, along with research-backed recommendations to promote and improve effective meeting habits.
Why is it important?
Virtual and hybrid meetings have become a sticking point, with many still feeling that online meetings are lacking in comparison to face-to-face discussions.
Meeting Effectiveness Surveys will allow you to make improvements to your Teams meetings based on genuine employee feedback and data, rather than gut feeling or recommendations from a LinkedIn post.
How can I use it in practice?
The data from Meeting Effectiveness Surveys can help form the basis of your organisational guidelines for virtual and hybrid meetings. Use the feedback from employees and recommendations generated in Viva Insights to create a set of guidelines that are bespoke to your organisation, and make them easily accessible in SharePoint alongside other key policies and documents.
Viva Learning
Learning Paths
What is it?
Admins and knowledge managers will be able to create sequenced groups of training and learning resources, and make them available to employees as part of a Learning Path that can be accessed, recommended and shared within Viva Learning.
Why is it important?
Young professionals cite career development as one of the most important aspects of their work life. So much so that lack of career development is the number one reason why people are leaving their jobs.
Despite this, training is often disjoined and sporadic with no clear goal or end point. Learning Paths will give structure and focus to training, allowing employees to clearly work towards career goals or development plans.
How can I use it in practice?
Onboarding is a great Learning Path to start with. Create a pathway that takes all new starters through their essential training, whether it’s health and safety, training on your products and services or understanding brand guidelines.
Once you’ve nailed that, branch out into departmental and then individual Learning Paths.
Learning collections
What is it?
Learning collections will allow employees to create personal collections of learning content aligned to their interests or learning goals.
Why is it important?
Whilst Learning Paths allow employees to train via set pathways that may have been assigned or recommended to them, learning collections give employees autonomy to curate their own learning content and explore areas of interest that may lie outside of their day-to-day role.
Giving employees the chance to learn outside of their job spec could help with overall understanding of your business, and give employees the skills to move into other areas of your business.
How can I use it in practice?
Block out an hour a week for your employees to complete training from their own learning collection that isn’t part of a pre-assigned pathway – it can provide a useful brain break from daily tasks. You could also provide a platform for employees to showcase new skills they have learned.
Microsoft Places App
What is it?
Microsoft Places is a new workplace app designed to optimise spaces for hybrid working. The app will include things like:
- A dashboard view of which days people will be in the office
- A presence to indicate whether people are in office, remote or mobile
- The ability to see which workspaces people have booked, so others can book one nearby
- Insights and guidance on things like commuting, sentiment towards hybrid policies and space usage
Why is it important?
As hybrid working evolves, technology will be needed to bridge the gap between in-person and remote work. Most technology to-date has been designed for in-person or remote work – but Microsoft Places will be optimised for both.
How can I use it in practice?
As a brand new app, there’s lots still to learn about how Microsoft Places will work in the ‘real world’. But, as a starting point I would suggest taking the opportunity to condense other apps that are performing the same functions.
Lots of companies have introduced new tools or work-arounds to show who’s in the office, and whether people are working in-person or remotely. Now that this function will be available in Microsoft Places, it’s a chance to get rid of some redundant tools to minimise crossover.
Teams Premium
What is it?
Teams Premium is an add-on to the traditional Teams app. With meeting guides, branded meeting experiences, intelligent meeting recaps, AI generated tasks and tons more, Teams Premium will make meetings more personalised, intelligent and secure.
Why is it important?
Teams is used by millions of people across the world, and at the moment there’s a relatively ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to meetings. With Teams Premium, larger organisations who want more from meetings can get more – whilst smaller businesses who are happy with their current Teams set-up won’t be exposed to any unwanted changes.
How can I use it in practice?
Until Teams Premium is available in preview in December, we don’t want to make too many suggestions on how you use it. Creating your branded meeting experience sounds like it could be a great starting point, with the opportunity to add custom backgrounds and logos to make every meeting feel like your company’s meeting – rather than a Microsoft meeting.
Teams Channels
What is it?
Microsoft is improving the design of the Teams channels experience to be more intuitive and engaging. A quick round up of some of the changes includes:
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- The compose box will move to the top of the page so conversations will be easier to find
- Pinned posts will let everyone know what’s important in that channel
- Employees will be able to pop out channel conversation, exactly like in chat conversations
- A streamlined info pane will help every channel member stay up to speed
- Channels will be customisable, with headers matching the organisation’s brand
- New post types including announcements and video clips
Why is it important?
If you’re part of a large organisation with lots of employees, lots of channels and lots of messages, we all know how easy it is to get lost in the sea of updates and how hard it can be to find the things that are important.
These updates should make channels easier to navigate, easier to find what you need, and easier to stay focused.
How can I use it in practice?
As this is an update to existing functionality rather than something brand new, there shouldn’t be too much difference to how you’re currently using your Teams Channels. It’ll just make for a more intuitive, more engaging experience.
Microsoft Loop App
What is it?
The Microsoft Loop app is designed to help teams think, plan and create together. At its core, the Loop app helps colleagues work on projects collaboratively, with workspaces, pages and components that sync across Microsoft 365. It’s in private preview now, so you’ll be able to play with it soon.
Why is it important?
Another of Microsoft’s tools geared towards hybrid working, Loop helps teams work together even when they’re apart. It adds a layer of collaboration beyond just sending a file or a Teams message.
The Loop app will give a home to project-based collaboration – like planning an event, developing a product or brainstorming a sales campaign.
How can I use it in practice?
Brainstorming and ideation is a good first use case for testing out Loop. Rather than blasting ideas as a string of Teams messages that can easily be lost, using Loop to brainstorm your next project will bring structure and allow colleagues to contribute to the ideation process on-the-go, wherever they’re working from at the time.
Loop Components
What is it?
Two new Loop Components are being introduced – Polls and Q&As – and Components will soon be available in more places across Microsoft 365, in Word for the web, Whiteboard and Outlook.
Why is it important?
Collaboration looks different for every team, and so Microsoft is expanding the capabilities within Loop to help every team collaborate in the way that suits them.
How can I use it in practice?
The Q&A component will be a great way to reduce back and forth Teams messages or emails to answer simple questions. Perhaps you have some FAQs about an upcoming product launch – with Q&A in Loop you’ll be able to add questions as you go, see people responding in real time, and keep track of who’s said what. Without the pain of an endless back and forth email chain.
Loop Security
What is it?
Loop Security will allow users to assign a level of security for their Loop components to ensure that sensitive information isn’t mishandled.
Why is it important?
Loop is great for collaboration – but not everything is meant to be collaborated on with everyone. Loop Security means you can restrict access when needed, but still retain the collaborative element of components.
How can I use it in practice?
If you’re using Loop to handle sensitive data or work on top-secret projects, you’ll have the option to change the label from ‘General’ to ‘Confidential’.
