{"id":6136,"date":"2021-01-21T10:29:06","date_gmt":"2021-01-21T18:29:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/insidetrack\/blog\/?p=6136"},"modified":"2023-06-20T15:33:40","modified_gmt":"2023-06-20T22:33:40","slug":"taking-command-how-microsoft-employees-are-doing-more-with-microsoft-teams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/insidetrack\/blog\/taking-command-how-microsoft-employees-are-doing-more-with-microsoft-teams\/","title":{"rendered":"Taking command: How Microsoft employees are doing more with Microsoft Teams"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This content has been archived, and while it was correct at time of publication, it may no longer be accurate or reflect the current situation at Microsoft.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Collaboration is the name of the game in the age of remote work, and Microsoft Teams makes this possible at every level internally at Microsoft.<\/p>\n

This resonates with Gayle Townsend, a senior customer success manager in Microsoft Midwest Region Sales, a role where she helps customers bring their vision for a modern workplace to life with Microsoft products and services.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I first used Microsoft Teams, I saw the potential for productivity to skyrocket,\u201d Townsend says. \u201cNow, we know how to get more out of the tool.\u201d<\/p>\n

She knows more than most because she helped build a new internal consulting service designed to help teams across Microsoft get more out of using Microsoft Teams.<\/p>\n

Townsend drew inspiration from her role as a customer success manager, where she saw how sales teams could use Microsoft Teams channels to communicate and collaborate more effectively.<\/p>\n

As she dove in, she quickly recognized something was missing\u2014the experience customers had when going from one Microsoft Teams account channel to another wasn\u2019t standardized. This meant that customers who worked on multiple accounts had to learn how a new channel worked every time they switched channels. Additionally, when a Microsoft customer account executive created a team for their territory and a channel inside that team for each customer, they couldn\u2019t port over content from old channels.<\/p>\n

In Townsend\u2019s part of the sales organization, employees would create separate Microsoft Teams channels for each account executive and client they were working with. The challenge was that they were naming these channels based on the account executives who oversaw these customer accounts. However, when account executives moved to new solution areas or roles, it was impossible to move these teams. Often, the knowledge collected by the team was siloed, making it hard for account executives and customer success managers to find what they needed.<\/p>\n

Townsend wanted to create patterns so the sales reps that she managed would have a consistent experience in Microsoft Teams, regardless of who was leading the account. That way, account team members could demonstrate the power of Microsoft Teams as a collaboration tool when talking to customers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted a standard channel structure that account team members could rely on,\u201d she says. \u201cThat way, there\u2019s continuity and standardization when new account team members were assigned to a Teams channel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her persistence in solving this challenge ultimately inspired the creation of Teams Command Center, a tool that Microsoft Productivity Studio and certified partner Avanade are building to empower teams across Microsoft to collaborate at scale using Microsoft Teams.<\/p>\n

Microsoft Teams has become a central place for day-to-day collaboration, and we\u2019re here to help employees get the most out of it. When we moved past individual interactions and started thinking about entire teams, we felt like we could drive adoption at an organization level.<\/p>\n

– Mykhailo Sydorchuk, a senior program manager in Productivity Studio at Microsoft<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Enabling employees to manage Microsoft Teams channels, tabs, members, and apps<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Sydorchuk
Mykhailo Sydorchuk, a senior program manager, has supported the development efforts on Teams Command Center. (Photo by Mykhailo Sydorchuk)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mykhailo Sydorchuk, a senior program manager, and his team on Microsoft Productivity Studio were also on a mission to empower Microsoft employees. As an organization in Microsoft Digital, the engineering organization at Microsoft that builds and manages the products, processes, and services that Microsoft runs on, the team was uniquely positioned to see challenges as an opportunity and help employees get the most out of Microsoft technology at scale.<\/p>\n

When looking for a way to help teams manage their Microsoft Teams channels, tabs, and membership, the Microsoft Productivity Studio drew inspiration from Townsend.<\/p>\n

\u201cMicrosoft Teams has become a central place for day-to-day collaboration, and we\u2019re here to help employees get the most out of it,\u201d Sydorchuk says. \u201cWhen we moved past individual interactions and started thinking about entire teams, we felt like we could drive adoption at an organization level.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jangir
Naveen Kumar Jangir, the lead Microsoft 365 architect from Microsoft partner Avanade, helped build Teams Command Center. (Photo by Naveen Kumar Jangir)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This led Naveen Kumar Jangir, the lead Microsoft 365 architect from Avanade, and his team in Microsoft Productivity Studio to build Teams Command Center, an internal consulting service and tool that enables employees to manage Microsoft Teams channels, tabs, members, and integrated applications at scale using the power of Microsoft 365. With this tool, employees can set up teams with a consistent structure and updated in aggregate.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want Microsoft Teams to support the next phase of seamless collaboration,\u201d Sydorchuk says. \u201cTeams Command Center supports that second stage of Microsoft Teams adoption where users are much more familiar with the available templates and it\u2019s easier for them to manage their channels.\u201d<\/p>\n

Currently, Teams Command Center supports:<\/p>\n