In the recent past, and especially since the start of Covid 19, organisations have been increasingly focusing on virtual collaboration. Two of the tools that dominate any discussions about virtual collaboration are Zoom and Teams.
Which one is a better tool? The answer will vary from person to person. Both the tools have some common great features, e.g., ability to make audio and video calls, screen sharing, adding someone to the call. Both the tools support agility. Also, this is not a one plus one equals two scenario; so, it makes sense if some people prefer Teams, and others prefer Zoom.
If you ask me, I prefer Teams for the following reasons / features that Zoom cannot offer:
Instant Messaging: Through Teams, it is easy to be in touch with any member in the organisation. You can ask a question or request any information or share a file throughout the day.
Instant calls: It is very easy to call a member in the organisation using both audio and video, or audio only.
Easier to send a meeting invite: It is very easy to sync Teams with Outlook. One can organise meetings from Teams. The process for creating a meeting on Teams is far easier and simpler than on Zoom. Teams gives you the visibility of the calendar of the recipient of the meeting invite inside your organisation; you can see if they are occupied or available for the meeting.
Managing multiple channels: If you have multiple recurring meetings with your multiple stakeholders, you can use the chat option to have multiple communication channels. As soon as you share a message or ask a question, everyone on the invite can see that. That sometimes can save a lot of time as you do not have to send separate emails.
Ability to record sessions: This is a great advantage for conducting training sessions. Teams enables you to record the session which participants / trainees or their teammates can watch later. However, it is very important to ask every attendee’s consent to check whether they are comfortable in getting the session recorded. Even if a single attendee says no, then you cannot record it. There may be serious legal and ethical issues.
Sharing and archiving important artefacts: Teams provides a wonderful option of storing documents, creating folders, folders within folders. Also, Teams comes with SharePoint, i.e., you can view and work on a document either in Teams view or in SharePoint view.
Cloud access: You do not necessarily have to use a work laptop to access Teams. You can access it using Office.com from any laptop.
Considering all the features above, as a Change / Project professional I have always encouraged the use of Teams. As a Change Manager, I have used both Teams and Zoom, but I find Teams is more empowering.
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