‘Teams’ Work Makes the Dream Work

WRITTEN BY

Faaiza Ramji

Marketing Advisor

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QUICK SUMMARY

Our Marketing Advisor Faaiza Ramji shares how pairing proper process with the right technology and tools helped convert her from a detractor to an advocate of the Microsoft 365 ecosystem of applications.

Let me preface this by saying I am pro-organization and efficiency. I love systems—particularly organizational systems. And I don’t discriminate between digital and analog. I have dozens of notebooks, each with their own battle-tested note-taking and organizational system; I try out every productivity app; I even sign up for project management software to manage my own solo work.  

Before remote work was the norm in our world, I joined a volunteer board back in 2019. During my onboarding, we were told that we were going to use Slack for all communication and file sharing. The intent was to never use email. Our onboarding included establishing our communication norms so that we could be as productive as possible while respecting the time that everyone was freely giving to this organization.  

The norms were: 

  • Promote transparency: use Slack channels for as much communication as possible; only use DMs if there is sensitive information or if a private channel doesn’t exist.
  • Stay engaged: When you are tagged or there is an all-channel announcement, acknowledge the message with an emoji reaction. No emoji = we assume you haven’t read the note. 😍
  • Be mindful with notifications: Don’t tag anyone or the entire channel unless there is time-sensitive information or a direct action required—and make the right decisions when thinking about who/when to tag.

It felt simple and straightforward—and it was. I found that I loved working this way! Even though we didn’t have many meetings, we were constantly connected; we didn’t need to have any “round table update” meetings or emails because we were always in the loop; and it was easier to ask each other for help or brainstorm ideas. I thought, “I could get used to working like this!” 

Fast-forward almost two years later and the world had shifted. I was spending all of my time in meetings—only virtual instead of in-person. But it was fine. I loved Zoom.  

I could touch up my appearance to make it look like I was wearing makeup when I wasn’t; it finally became acceptable to work in comfortable clothing; and I substituted my driving commute time for walks around the neighborhood.  

But as a fractional team member in a few different organizations, the real issue became being integrated into different companies’ digital work environments.  

I was juggling multiple email addresses, calendars, and file sharing spaces. I was suddenly forced into all of these Microsoft Teams environments and being sent Microsoft SharePoint links all over the place. Horrible memories came floating back to me from a time when SharePoint was a bunch of network drives that I could never navigate easily, we had to “check out” a file to work on it, and then “check in” the file when we were done with it—it was truly a terrible user experience back then! 

So I was definitely not excited to get back into the Microsoft Office environment again—I would rather drive downtown every day! It’s no secret that I was Microsoft-hater for sure. One of those people who would groan when someone said Teams or SharePoint, and a big advocate for more trendy tools like Asana, Slack, or others. 

But as I started getting into my work, and being in three different environments simultaneously, I found myself starting to love Microsoft Teams. And it wouldn’t have happened had I not had these three experiences: 

Workplace #1: Too siloed, too offline 

The first organization I worked in was a well-established manufacturing company that has been in business for almost 100 years. The company prides itself on creating exceptional products for safety and functionality in harsh environments.  

We used Microsoft Office but were not yet implementing the entire Microsoft 365 platform. Our work lived in emails—with revised drafts being sent back and forth with comments and edits. Our teams were well integrated organizationally, but our digital workplace was almost non-existent. We had network drives with multiple versions of files and no real way to sort through them. And our 7 offices across North America had no meaningful way to chat or collaborate without email or by teleconference. And yes, I mean teleconference, not a video call. 

This type of set up rendered us extremely vulnerable when the COVID-19 pandemic forced remote work into existence. We could not work well remotely—we lacked access to files, we had to make a lot of phone calls, which made problem-solving and collaboration difficult, and it really impacted the culture of the organization. 

Workplace #2: One foot in, one foot out 

The second organization is also a legacy company—just shy of 60 years in business—and manufactures products for use in industrial and commercial buildings. There are also multiple offices across Canada, and the team has worked together mostly in person. 

In early 2020, the team was just starting to implement Microsoft 365. We were using Microsoft Teams to chat and to host virtual meetings, but files were still being shared on network drives. The organization seemed to be very open and adaptable to using new technology. We were using Smartsheets to organize projects and plans, we worked on files collaboratively, and we were very comfortable using chat and virtual meeting tools. 

The challenge at this organization was there were too many different tools and no single ecosystem to work within. People didn’t know where to look for information or how to leverage a single suite of tools. The digital workplace was starting to match the way we worked, but it wasn’t streamlined or cohesive and, therefore, made it difficult to properly adopt. 

Workplace #3: Digital to the max  

The third organization is a technology consulting firm specializing in custom digital products and tailored software solutions. That’s right—it’s Punchcard!

When I started working with the team at Punchcard, the digital workplace environment felt really dialed in. We used Microsoft Teams not only to chat with people, but we created different Teams for different parts of the business, and each Team had a set of channels within it to host conversations and collaborate about specific topics. For example, in our Marketing Team, we have some channels that are evergreen (Strategy, General, Marketing Campaigns), and some that are specific to projects or programs we are currently working on (Growth Catalyst).  

At Punchcard, we also use Microsoft Teams as our control centre—think of it like the home screen on your mobile device. When I open up Microsoft Teams, I have access to the apps I need to perform different tasks and functions, but I also have important files and applications pinned to the top of specific channels for easy reference.

But more than this, it’s interesting to see how digital workplace isn’t a separate focus or an afterthought—it’s just how we work. Collaboration happens intentionally, instead of at the water cooler. Conversations on Microsoft Teams happen in the open and lead to more knowledge transfer and more opportunities to pull people into projects informally. 

Lessons Learned 

When I look at these different digital workplaces, including the volunteer organization I started off sharing, I realize that there is no perfect solution but also the tools don’t actually matter. What matters most is finding the right processes to match our interpersonal systems that already exist, regardless of whether we’re working remotely or together in person. 

When I look at the best parts of all of these digital workplaces, the elements for successful adoption are: 

  • Tools that are easy to use that everyone has access to 
  • A set of norms for how we will use the tools to replace our current ways of working 
  • Tools that are interconnected and don’t require multiple sign-ons 

And when I look at the suite of products we used across all of these different organizations, Microsoft 365 stands out as the front-runner. Their ecosystem of core programs and add-on applications makes it possible to use a single piece of software as your control panel at work, and mapping out norms according to your organization’s culture and processes makes Microsoft 365 a better experience for the team. 

So if you’re a Microsoft-hater like I was, maybe the problem isn’t the software—it’s the system. I urge you to chat with someone at Punchcard to help you explore how your work environment could be positively transformed using Microsoft 365. 

Learn more about Microsoft 365 and our solution offerings here.

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