The modern workplace is everywhere. In the office. Out of the office. On the road. An increasing number of employees in the UK work remotely at least some of the time. Plus, today’s teams are made up of diverse groups of employees and suppliers. Flexible work options pay big benefits for small- and medium-size businesses… those that embrace remote work cut full-time remote employee expenses and increase productivity.
To deliver on the promise of mobility and flexibility, your business needs a digital workplace that works anywhere, whether you have 3 employees or 300. Microsoft Teams is the hub for teamwork in Microsoft 365 that allows you to easily extend secure collaboration tools to remote workers and outside suppliers.
Microsoft Teams can make small- and medium-sized business teams more productive, no matter where they work:
- Chat, meetings, notes, documents and apps are available to team members anywhere
- Easily add remote employees, contractors and vendors to teams
- Team members can access collaboration tools from any location and any device
- Customise your workspace to access apps from Microsoft and third-party partner services anywhere
The pandemic left Bristol-based Clifton Coffee Roasters worried about the business’ survival. Clifton Coffee provides coffee beans to specialty coffee shops in addition to servicing brewing equipment, hosting specialized barista training courses, and offering tasting sessions for customers. Josh Clarke, Director of Coffee, maintained that virtual tastings wouldn’t have the same experience as in-person sessions, but the pandemic forced the company to think about new approaches. After onboarding to Teams, initial employee hesitation to virtual tastings subsided when the company ran its first virtual tasting via a Teams meeting.
Aside from the improved virtual tasting experience, Clifton Coffee expanded operations by introducing 67 new coffee products in one year using Teams (the company had introduced 51 the prior year). According to Clifton Coffee, moving to Teams enabled the company to reach 20 to 30 times more customers than in person ushering in a new chapter for the business.
Small and medium businesses can get creative with technology to thrive rather than just survive amid these unprecedented times. As a Microsoft Gold Partner, at Simplex Services, we can help you manage Microsoft Teams, design best practices, and customise your Microsoft Teams environment to help you switch on the power of teamwork in your organization. If you’re ready to learn how the modern workplace can make your business more mobile, please get in touch with us at info@simplex-services.com.
Photo by Nick Fewings