Month: January 2021

How Can I Save Time in Microsoft Teams?

Are you struggling to meet deadlines, or have you found that small tasks are taking up too much of your time? Many professionals find themselves lacking enough hours in the day to get everything they need to do completed. While there will never be more than 24 hours in a day, there are ways you can save time and be more efficient when using Microsoft Teams.

As Teams becomes more widely used, members must understand how to get the most out of Teams and learn how to use it in a way that saves them time and energy. With the right skills, Teams can boost productivity while reducing wasted time. This video discusses 15 ways you can save time in Microsoft Teams, making your workday more efficient and easier.

As outlined in the video, here are 15 tips for making your time in Microsoft Teams quicker and more effective.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts can save users lots of time when navigating through Teams. Using them is faster than manually completing tasks. To find out what keyboard shortcuts are available, hit Ctrl + . to see the shortcut menu. There you will find all the different keyboard shortcut options that can save you time and energy. You can also find the menu through the command box by typing /keys. Please note that shortcuts can be different between the Teams desktop app and web app.

Quick Navigation Shortcuts

Quick navigation shortcuts can help you go through the options in your sidebar more efficiently. Below are the various quick navigation shortcuts that you can use.

• Ctrl + 1 displays activity.
• Ctrl + 2 takes you to your chat.
• Ctrl + 3 moves you to your teams.
• Ctrl + 4 shows you your calendar.
• Ctrl + 5 shows you your calls.
• Ctrl + 6 takes you to your files.

Be aware that the number associated with each shortcut is dependent on the order of your app’s interface. So if you were to make your chat the fifth tab in your sidebar, you would use Ctrl + 5 to go to it. Also, note that in the Teams web app, you must press shift in addition to the rest of the shortcut, such as Ctrl + shift + 4.

Changing Your Status

Changing your status can help your colleagues understand what your schedule is like for the day and when you will be available to work on a task or meet with them. It is also a good way to determine what the rest of your team is doing when. When changing your status, you have six different options:

• Available – able to be met with and can take on tasks, also can receive notifications.
• Busy – focused on a specific task but able to receive notifications.
• Do not disturb – focused on a specific task and not receiving notifications.
• Be right back – away temporarily but will be back soon.
• Appear away – working on something, and an immediate response cannot be expected.
• Offline – not signed into Teams or has been set manually.

You can also add a message to any status you set, giving you the option to give more details about what you are doing at the moment. Also, your status is automatically updated based on your calendar in Teams. To see another member’s status, select “more options” (three dots) next to a team’s name, and select “members and guests.” This will show you what all team members are doing at the moment.

The Command Box

The command box is similar to shortcuts in that it allows you to navigate through Teams quickly. It is always located at the top of the page, so you can use it no matter what you are working on. Using the command box allows you to give commands to the system. This allows you to perform tasks without breaking your workflow.

To open the command box, type Ctrl + E or Ctrl + /. Both will bring up the command box for you to use. From there, you will see all the commands that you have access to, with descriptions for each one. One example of a command would be /available to set your status as available.

@Mentions

Using mentions makes communication easier between you and the rest of your team. They can draw attention to specific messages, making an individual or a whole team more responsive to what you have posted.

To use mentions, type @, and all the people, channels, and teams you have to select from will pop up. After this, select the one you are looking for and post your message. When the message is posted, the person or people tagged will be contacted, and the message will show up in their activities. There will also be an indicator in the chat where the tag occurred. The tag’s chat will also be bolded and have a notification next to it on the tagged person’s sidebar.

Managing A Team

There are also ways to save time for users who are managing specific teams. For example, you can select “more options” (three dots) to edit your team, allowing you to change the team’s name description or privacy. You can also manage the team by going to “more options” as well. This allows you to change things like who is in the team, who is an owner, pending requests to join the team, the channels within the team, and the settings, analytics, and apps.

One option under the settings tab is to change the team’s picture. To do this, click “add a team picture,” then “change picture,” “upload picture,” and pick your image. Make sure to save it as well. Under settings, you can also change who uses mentions, guest permissions, member permissions, the team code, fun stuff, and tags. “Fun stuff” is the ability to use emojis, memes, GIFs, and stickers within the team. The team code allows users to join the team directly without a pending request.

You can also hide certain teams if you are not very involved in them or they are not a high priority to you at the moment. Hiding a team will make it leave your sidebar without leaving the team. The owner of the team will not be aware that you did this. To find the team again, click “hidden teams” at the bottom of your sidebar and select “show.” The team will reappear in your sidebar. Similarly, you can change the order of your teams in the sidebar based upon those you are most involved in.

Searching In Teams

To make navigating through Teams easier, you can search for specific topics or people in a chat from the command bar at the top of the page. You also have the option to make finding things easier through the filter option. To use the filter, either click the funnel or use Ctrl + shift + F.

Editing A Message

To fix any errors or add more information to a message, you can edit it after being sent. To do this, hover over the message, hit “more options” (three dots), and select “edit.” This will allow you to change the message in any way you see fit. You can only change your own messages, but there is no limit to how many times you can do this.

Private Channels

Private channels can and should be used when dealing with confidential information, such as finances or other things that should not be public. They can be used to store both chats and files. They should not be used often but can be helpful in the right situations.

To make a private channel, you do not need a separate team, but members must be part of the larger, already existing team. You click “more options” (three dots), “add channel,” and then change the setting to “private.” The channel will then have a lock icon next to it and will not be visible to other members. Please note that members can be owners of the private channel without being owners of the team.

Turning A File Into A Tab

It would be best if you considered turning files that you frequently use into tabs in your sidebar. This will make it easier to find, saving you valuable time. To do this, go to the channel your file is in, locate the file you are looking for, select “more options” (three dots) and click “make this a tab.” This will not move or change the document. It will only give you more ways to visit the specific document. If you decide to remove the tab in the future, use the drop-down arrow to select “remove.” This will only remove the tab, not the file.

Adding A Poll

Adding a poll can help you and your team makes decisions without having to read lengthy email chains. To make a poll, start a new conversation, select “more options” (three dots), click “forms,” fill in the necessary information, make any edits you need, and then send. The results of the poll will be shown below.

Switching To Dark Mode

Using Teams in dark mode can be easier on the eyes. This is important if you are spending extended amounts of time on Teams and do not wish to get eye strain. Some people also prefer dark mode aesthetically. To change your interface to dark mode, click on your profile picture, go to “settings,” and choose “dark mode” under “theme.”

Saving Messages

Saving messages can be a good way to track vital information that you or others have sent in chat. To save a message, hover over it, click “more information” (three dots) and select “save this message.” The author of the message will not know that you have done this. To view your saved messages, click your profile picture, and go to “saved.” You can also use /saved in the command box to see them. To unsave a message, click the red bookmark next to the message. Your list of saved messages will appear in chronological order and cannot be changed.

Pinning Conversations

Pinning a conversation makes it easier to access certain chats and channels within Teams. To pin a conversation, go to the chat, select “more options” (three dots), and click “pin.” Repeat the process to unpin. You can also pin channels with the same steps. Your pinned conversations will be at the top of your chats, and the order can be changed manually. You can have up to fifteen pinned conversations at a time.

Formatting & Fun

You can use the various formatting options available in Teams to make your conversations just a little more fun. These options can be found by clicking “format options,” which will open the compose box. From there, you can change the font of the text in a similar way to Microsoft Word. You can also make announcements to draw attention to certain messages. Furthermore, you can add emojis, GIFs, stickers, or praise to any message you send. While these can make fun additions to the conversation, they should be used sparingly in the workplace.

With the right techniques, Teams can save you lots of time and hassle during your workday. These 15 tips will boost your productivity in no time. Have more questions about using Microsoft Teams? Feel free to reach out to us with any concerns you have.

Improve Your Construction Firm’s Efficiency With These 5 Steps

Your efficiency is the baseline of your firm’s success. Don’t let delays and wasted resources affect your bottom line – follow these 5 steps to boost your efficiency.

The efficiency of your construction firm’s processes is perhaps its most important quality. The more you and your crew can accomplish, in the best timeline, and with the least possible wasted resources, the better your profit margins will be.

Failing to prioritize efficiency can have disastrous results – remember Boston’s “Big Dig” highway project that took nine years longer than expected, at ten times the estimated budget?

You can’t afford to make the same mistakes – follow these five steps to make your next project more efficient:

Invest In The Right Technology

Despite being so crucial to a firm’s efficiency, one challenge that is often overlooked is IT. Specifically, the ongoing maintenance of software lifecycles.

If your legacy software is working so poorly that it stops you and your crew from working, then it’s time to replace it. The downtime caused by old technology isn’t worth the money you’re saving by hanging on to it.

The right construction management software can equip you and your crew with a range of convenient capabilities, allowing you to automate billing, invoicing and other tedious time-consuming tasks. You can also integrate your software with a cloud platform to gain even more benefits and reduce capital expenditures in your IT budget.

Collect And Make Use of Staff Feedback

Your crew members that are in the field all day can deliver an extensive amount of valuable data if you’re actually willing to listen to them. Make sure to consult your staff on how sites can be better organized, and how processes can be optimized or modified to make them more successful in practice.

Invest In Your Staff

The people working in your firm are your most valuable resource – are you investing in them?

Arranging for leadership and project management training for your managers will only help to make them better at their jobs. That’s an investment that goes right back into your business and helps to improve your efficiency.

Enhance Your Communication Capabilities

Mobile devices have made it easier and easier to get work done while on the go. Laptops, tablets, and smartphones are a simple way to share and review data, stay in touch with employees, and more while on the road. As you well know, a lot of your firm’s work is on the road and at job sites, after all.

You don’t even necessarily need to invest in new hardware – implement Mobile Device Management and Bring Your Own Device policies that allow employees to use their own devices in combination with the organization’s – be sure to equally prioritize the convenience of access with security.

Track And Improve Performance

Incentivize your crew by tracking their performance and rewarding improvement under any crucial key performance indicators (KPIs). No matter how much you invest in new tools and technology, it won’t amount to much if your staff has started coasting – give them a reason to continue improving their performance.

Every firm encounters challenges with its efficiency. The reality is that the battle is never really won – you can always do better. The important thing is to make sure you’re always improving.

Do You Know The True Cost Of A Change Order?

As frustrating as change orders are, they are inevitable in the construction world. However, that doesn’t mean that you should accept them as the “cost of doing business”.

As difficult as it can be to accommodate change orders, they’re simply a constant in the construction industry. At one point or another, you’re going to have to deal with one, for one of two key reasons:

• Owner-initiated changes: Mostly unavoidable
• Design errors and omissions: Often manageable with better oversight, tools, and processes

However, even though change orders are inevitable, that doesn’t mean you can’t apply a range of best practices to help avoid them where possible, and mitigate their negative effective otherwise…

What Causes Change Orders?

By paying attention to why change orders occur, you can identify patterns and troubleshoot issues. For instance, the possible causes of change orders in the construction of large buildings include:

1. Change of planes by owner
2. Owner financial difficulties
3. Owner change of schedule
4. Ill-defined project objective
5. Substitution of material or procedures
6. Conflict between contract and document
7. Change in design
8. The scope of work for the contractor is ill-defined
9. Error and omissions in design
10. Lack of coordination
11. Value engineering
12. Technology change
13. Differing site conditions
14. Contractor desire to improve his financial conditions
15. Contractor financial difficulties
16. Unavailability of skills
17. Unavailability of equipment
18. Defective workmanship
19. Safety consideration
20. Weather condition
21. New government regulations

What’s The True Price Tag Of A Change Order?

It can be difficult to get an accurate idea of what a given change order is actually costing you. On average, change orders result in a 30% loss of productivity. Really understanding the specific and layered cost of a change order will help you minimize the negative effects.

• Direct Costs: Typical direct costs include materials, labor, equipment, and other expenses relating to the change. These costs also include some less obvious expenses like the cost to redesign the structure, cost of communication with crew and engineers, cost of extra set up and clean up, etc.
• Indirect Costs: Indirect costs (including overhead) can be a fixed or variable part of the construction project, depending on a business’ accounting practices. In cases when the indirect costs are a percentage of the overall job, the more expensive the job becomes, the higher the indirect costs are as well.
• Consequential: Consequential costs are costs that are incurred because of the timing of the change order. By diluting labor power, reassigning supervision and causing interference from seasonal weather, change orders can slow down efficiency and cost companies in ways that are very difficult to measure.

How Should You Optimize This Process?

The bottom line is that you need to gather, track and analyze all the available data. The more you know about the change orders you deal with, the more you can do to limit their effects.

Your best practices for change order optimization include:

• Detail and substantiate all material and equipment.
• Develop company standard change order forms that are consistent, easy to read, and clear.
• Use nationally recognized and accepted material and equipment pricing services.
• Use industry-recognized labor units from NECA Manual of Labor Units when appropriate.
• Submit a sample/template change order before any work commences to establish credibility, and familiarize GCs and owners with your standard format.
• Remember that Overhead % ÷ direct cost % = markup %
• Leverage guiding principles to educate your clients, peers, and community at large on the benefits of change order standards.

Have You Optimized Your IT Yet?

The fact is that IT can play a big role in improving the efficiency of your construction firm, despite the effects of change orders. The top two best practices to consider are:

1. Automation & Project Tracking: Implement or improved automation in project tracking systems. Having the right software/CRM in place will drastically improve your change order process.
2. Working With An IT Company: Larger companies can afford to hire IT managers that bring having experience with the software you use. The management of your construction CRM could be time-consuming, so having a second person on the IT staff to handle hardware support while your IT manager is responsible for your CRM is one option.  For smaller crews, this can be financially restrictive. They should instead outsource to a managed IT service provider like Data Magic that has experience in the construction industry and can help co-manage your network systems.

IT Compliance: What does it mean to your business?

You’ve heard these compliance acronyms bantered around, right? NIST, CMMC, HIPAA, PCI, SOC, SOX, among others. You may even wonder: “Is my company non-compliant and I’m not even aware?” Your IT professional is an expert resource in IT compliance and is available to consult on the steps to take to become compliant in specific cases.

In fact, the IT industry’s compliance offerings have grown exponentially as it has serviced more and more businesses handling financial, human resources, medical, and other sensitive data, both government and non-government related.

IT Compliance defined

IT Compliance can be defined as the process of complying with a set of third party’s mandated standards required for digital security directed toward business operations in a particular market or sector.

A compliance audit is performed to determine if a business or organization is adhering to the regulatory guidelines required of its industry. The auditors review security policies, access controls, risk management procedures and other other features. Audits are completed by independent accounting firms or qualified security or IT professionals. A successful audit may result in a report or, in some cases, a certification.

The risk of non-compliance could lead to legal penalties, financial forfeiture and potential material loss when a business or organization fails to act in accordance with industry laws and regulations, internal policies or best practices.

While there are many types of IT compliance, here is a short list of a few common acronyms you may be aware of:

• NIST or National Institute of Standards and Technology: The NIST standards are used by a variety of industries to demonstrate the use of security operations, procedures and policies.
• CMMC or Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification: An annual certification required for contractors doing work with federal agencies and organizations.
• PCI or Payment Card Industry (short for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards or PCI DSS): Required for any businesses using credit card processing.
• HIPAA or Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act: (Specifically the HIPAA Security Rule) Required for any company, not specifically healthcare businesses, dealing with electronic private health information.

For the IT professional, compliance includes the activities that maintain and provide systematic proof of both adherence to internal policies and the external laws, guidelines, or regulations imposed upon the company or organization. These activities can be quite extensive and are never really a one-time service call, but rather an ongoing process..

General IT Compliance approaches

Whether it’s NIST, HIPAA, CMMC or some other compliance regulation, each type has its own set of objectives and procedures. The IT professional’s task is to assess, maintain and provide proof that your company has adhered to both the policies and the compliance guidelines or regulations.

The following is an idea of how compliance may be approached by an IT provider:

• Assessment: IT professionals may be needed to determine the level of practice for your business or organization; may need to perform preliminary tests/do onsite reviews of equipment/determine security capabilities, and develop a strategic compliance plan
• Implementation: IT professionals implement the compliance plan in stages as well as develop procedures and policies
• Testing: IT professionals test features of the plan
• Monitoring: IT professionals continually monitor processes
• Repeat Implementation/Testing/Monitoring: Whenever a new feature/piece of equipment/adjustment is added to the plan, these steps need to be repeated

Please note: Each type of compliance (NIST, HIPAA, PCI, CMMC, etc.) has its own specific requirements. For example, the NIST Cybersecurity Framework uses an Identify, Project, Detect, Respond, Recover compliance approach. An experienced managed IT professional will have the necessary assessment tools, and will know the best way to tackle your specific project.

Ways IT Compliance Can Benefit Your Business

Once you’ve had a qualified IT professional perform an audit for your business and your business is in compliance, there are ways to leverage this information for your company’s benefit. The following are examples:

• Putting a statement on your website or in marketing materials, stating your business is compliant, audited and verified in a specific standard is a positive reflection on your brand.
• Announcing the award of a certification on social media with a link to a landing page on your company website.
• Making reports or certifications available for review is viewed as being transparent by potential clients. Note: While the actual audit reports can not be posted on your website, you can add a note that a specific report or certificate is available for review upon request. (Make sure you confirm that sharing is permissible with the audit firm on a case-by-case basis.)

Your next step to IT Compliance

Many businesses wait until they are facing an actual compliance audit and then frantically begin to get their policies and processes in order. This approach is not only stressful but can also add extra expense and may lead to errors.

Additionally, the recent pandemic is creating more complex employment challenges for many businesses, with many moving employees to remote work. As security for these remote workers’ emails, phones, calendars, and other data is considered, many businesses find they are no longer in IT compliance.

Do you think your company may have an IT Compliance issue? Not sure if your certification is up-to-date? Simply curious about our Data Magic Computer Services approach?

Reach out to Data Magic Computer Services and schedule your initial Compliance Consultation today. As experienced managed IT and cybersecurity professionals, our team is eager to learn more about your business and ready to answer your questions about industry compliance concerns you may have.

How Does SharePoint Improve Collaboration?

SharePoint is an application hosted by the Microsoft Office 365 platform. It brings an array of benefits to both small and large businesses, with many enterprises using Microsoft Office finding unique success using it. Whether you’re already using SharePoint or are considering its value to your company, there are many ways to leverage this app and improve collaboration.

What About SharePoint Makes It a Collaboration Tool?

SharePoint is much more than what it’s initially known for: an enterprise-level content and project management tool. Thanks to its secure remote access capabilities as well as its real-time change tracking notification system, it’s one of the most advanced collaboration tools available. When an update is made to a project, a simultaneous notification is sent to the appropriate team members, easily allowing the most sophisticated form of real-time collaboration to take place.

Here’s a look at the top five ways SharePoint can be used to initiate and maintain refined collaboration and communication.

1. Secure Team Communications

Exclusivity is at the heart of SharePoint. You gain full control over every instance made in the application, easily allowing you to decide who is assigned a task, who can participate in conversations and activities, and how long all of the created SharePoint instances exist. Your team communications are protected with the latest encryption and security, meaning it’s easier to uphold confidentiality standards.

2. Centralized Access

With SharePoint, you and your team members gain a centralized dashboard and communications center. With a single point of access to all pertinent collaboration tools and communications, it becomes more efficient for team members to complete tasks and meet deadlines. Every time a SharePoint instance is created, it becomes the central location for accompanying calendars, documents, chat conversations, to-do lists, and more.

3. Real-Time Updates

As mentioned before, SharePoint enhances collaboration capabilities largely due to its real-time notification system. When a team member responds to a chat conversation, the message is instantaneously sent along with a notification to the viewing and responding parties who have permission to be in the chat. The same applies to instances in which updates are made to documents. With this type of real-time system, it becomes possible to perform simultaneous editing, which is at the core of the most advanced forms of collaboration.

4. Clear Team Expectations

It’s also with SharePoint that it becomes possible to create clear team expectations among all team members. You can create a specific goal for a project, choose your team members, assign team members specific tasks, monitor task progress, and more. Beyond individual task assignments, it’s also possible to allow all team members to see and monitor the progress of other members; this is very effective for upholding accountability throughout all projects.

5. Simple Task Management

Knowing which tasks are assigned to each team member goes a long way in successful project completion, but it’s equally as important to have access to calendars, appointment times, content publishing schedules, and more. With SharePoint, you can pioneer your way to better collaboration and project management thanks to its simple task management system. Shared calendars and appointment books are crucial to time management and avoiding double bookings. Ultimately, SharePoint provides a bird’s-eye view of the entire team’s time schedule.

Want to learn more about the benefits of SharePoint and partnering with a company that provides IT services and IT support for large and small companies in Dallas/Fort Worth? Contact Data Magic Inc today.