Why would you use Office 365 and Microsoft Teams for organizations; specifically, for Non-Profit Organizations and/or a Board of Directors?
- Non-Profit Organizations may be applicable for non-profit pricing; which is a fraction of the cost of regular licenses for the same Microsoft products.
- Office 365 and Microsoft Teams can be your central place to bring together: People, Communication and Collaboration.
- Microsoft Teams is an all-in-one solution for your organization.
Modern, Central and Secure Collaboration
- A place for Board Members to store organizational documents, records, financials, meeting minutes, etc. that all members can access anywhere, anytime.
- A place for Board Members to discuss/chat/vote on topics missed or topics that needed follow-up after a Board Meeting.
- A place for Board Committees to collaborate privately for committee work.
- A place for Board Administrators to access templates and prepare documents for Board Meetings. As well as a place for notes to be taken during meetings.
- A place for Board Members to join a meeting virtually or to hold an entire virtual meeting, such as Monthly Board Meetings, or an AGM.
Store organization and board of directors content
Microsoft 365 and Teams will be your central place to store and organize your board of directors’ files and records; as well as quickly find current and past board documents.
Microsoft Teams allows people to work together and share information via a common space. There are capabilities such as document collaboration and a hub to be able to work natively in Teams without having to toggle between applications such as Word and Excel.
Using OneDrive and SharePoint on the back-end of the Teams platform, enables document storage for all members of the Board. There are no more documents stored on personal computers that leave when the board members leaves the organization. This means ‘no more re-inventing the wheel’ every time a new member joins the board. It also helps new board members to easily transition into their position.
It allows for transparent communication by all Board Members. Past conversations and decisions can be recorded and documented for the current year; as well as discussions and decisions for prior years’.
It can be a place of storage for your Constitution, policies, agendas, meeting minutes and financial documents. All boards have a requirement for finalized board documents to be made into a record. Meeting minutes and document revisions (Constitutions and Policies) can be made official ‘records’ for compliance. Microsoft Flow can help with any automated processes if records need to be approved.
Documents are available anywhere you have an internet connection and the appropriate permission to be viewed anytime you need them.
Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams supports the digital transformation most organizations are moving towards and the progressive technology to support a modern workplace.
Collaborate with board members regarding board topics
Microsoft Teams will be your central place to bring together people, communication and collaboration. It allows people to discuss and share information with each other. There are capabilities such one-on-one chat and team chats.
There are many ways to organize your ‘Teams’. Microsoft Teams by default, has a General ‘Team’ or “Channel”. A channel is a group of people that share and collaborate on an organizational topic. These topics could be projects, committees, meetings, etc. The General Channel is to be used for common announcements for the Board. You could create a Board Meeting Channel to hold all the information related to Board Meetings. This allows visibility into prior Board Meetings year-over-year for decisions and discussions.
You could create a Microsoft Form or form using PowerApps if there was a vote on a board topic. Everyone would be able to vote remotely and the vote would be recorded automatically.
Rather than using a messaging app on your phone with your
personal messages or clog up your email, you can use Microsoft Teams to discuss
ideas and collaborate.
Private channels for committees
A private channel can be created to include a subset of Board Members. These channels can reduce the amount of communication on the other channels that everyone is a part.
Channels can be created and access given to individuals on the board, such as a committee or a sub-committee. These channels would be used to discuss, chat, collaborate on documents based on that committee.
In turn, you may create a channel that holds all the final documents from these private committee channels, so they are accessible by everyone on the board.
Templates and board meeting preparation
Document sets – or document templates – can be created for Meeting Agendas and Meeting Minutes.
For each Board Meeting, a new document ‘set’ i.e. Meeting Agenda and Meeting Minutes will be created, using the same template every time. These documents will then be filled in and saved for everyone to view either before the meeting to prepare or after the meeting for any tasks they might be assigned.
Microsoft OneNote and Microsoft Planner can be used to record meeting minutes and tasks assigned to board members.
Hold a virtual meeting
Meetings in Teams include audio, video, whiteboard and screen sharing. They are one of the key ways to collaborate. You don’t need to be a member of an organization; or even have a Microsoft Teams account to join a Teams meeting.
If you are on the road during a Board Meeting, you can video into a computer or mobile device of someone who is at the meeting and be there remotely. Maybe you are away and don’t have access to the internet for a Board Meeting; you can audio conference into it.
You can use Microsoft Live Events for larger audiences, such as, for an AGM; (Microsoft Live Events requires a specific license). Microsoft Teams Live Event can broadcast video and meeting content. This type of meeting is meant for a one-to-many communication where there is a host and presenters. The attendees can interact with the presenters during the event with a Q & A or if a vote is needed using Microsoft Forms to allow the attendees to use the form to cast their votes.
Desktop sharing is available by anyone in the meeting. Application sharing is available during a meeting. Maybe you don’t want everyone reading your email when you share your desktop.
There are many ways Office 365 and Microsoft Teams will help your organization keep moving forward during these times of change. There is no need to stop the progress of your business.
ASK SENTEC help you move to Office 365 and implement Microsoft Teams for your Non-Profit Organization and/or Board of Directors today!
