Do you and your team use Teams?

Microsoft Teams is coming out with a new feature, if you keep up with the updates you might have noticed the walkie talkie feature in preview. If you have an android device you may have already noticed it and used it. It seemed like a fun gimmick. Now Microsoft has rolled it out to iOS devices as well, meaning it can be used by every member of your team.

We believe it has the potential to become a powerful communication tool if you and your team utilize it. Let’s look at what it is before we explore how you’d use it. If you were alive back in the 1980s, you’ll remember real walkie talkies. They were the coolest way to talk to your friends on the move long before we had mobile phones, of course. If you’re too young to remember the 80s, then go watch a few episodes of Stranger Things and you’ll get the idea.

How it works

With a walkie talkie, you press a button to talk, and everyone who has a device on the same frequency as yours can hear you speak. They can only reply when you let go of the button. And only one person can speak at a time. What that gives you is ordered real time voice conversation between a group of people.

This new Teams feature works in exactly the same way.

There’s no need to call anyone. Like a real walkie talkie, you just push a button on your phone to speak, and everyone in your team channel can hear you. It works on both Android and iOS devices, so long as they’re connected to the internet. It even works if your phone is locked.

Walkie talkie was originally created with front-line workers in mind.

The idea is that when you’re away from your workplace you can quickly and securely communicate without additional devices or being slowed down by the hassle of a phone call (which can mean going through a voice-automated system, or waiting for a mobile to be answered).

We can see this being useful for remote workers in many different industries. Doesn’t matter whether your team are in the office or working from home. They can use the new Microsoft Teams feature to have a voice conversation in real time.

Do you think this could fit into your business needs? Before you can use walkie talkie in Teams, you’ll need to make sure it’s enabled. Your administrator will need to do this in the Teams admin center.

If you’d like us to help you set up walkie talkie for your business, just give us a call.

Published with permission from Your Tech Updates.