Homes For Good maintains a subscription to Microsoft 365 for email, collaboration and communication tools, file storage and sharing, and Office apps. You should already be familiar with Microsoft Word, Outlook, and Excel, but you might not be as familiar with OneDrive or Teams. All these services are tied to your HFG email account and are available to use anywhere. 

It is important that staff use Microsoft 365 services so Agency data can be backed up, retained, secured, and audited. If you are using Google Drive, Dropbox, or another file sharing service for Agency-related work, please contact IT so they can work with you and your department to transition to OneDrive or Teams. 



OneDrive

Microsoft’s OneDrive is a cloud-based file storage and sharing system. If you need to share files that are too big to email, or if you want to store your personal files and documents in the cloud (making them accessible from anywhere), then OneDrive is for you. You will sign into OneDrive using your @homesforgood.org email address and email password.

OneDrive is similar to Google Drive or Dropbox and can be used to share files with specific people or with anyone with the link. Please be careful when sharing with non-HFG staff. If you are transferring a file, provide a link then delete the file after the recipient has downloaded it.

Your OneDrive folder is private to you and you alone unless you share files with other HFG staff or third parties. Microsoft Teams is better tool for collaborating with HFG staff on documents or sharing files with groups of people. OneDrive is best suited for one-way file sharing, like providing a file to a third party that is too big to email. 


Please see the video tutorials below to get started using OneDrive. Also note the additional articles and videos on the left for each topic.

 

All videos: OneDrive video training



Teams

    Microsoft Teams is a group chat, file sharing, videoconferencing, and team collaboration tool. You can use this to video chat with your team, collaborate on files in real time, or instant message with 

individual staff or groups. You will sign into Teams using your @homesforgood.org email address and email password.

    Each division has its own Team. You will be added to your division Team and the all-staff team, “Homes For Good”, by default. Your division might have additional teams or channels for specific projects or groups of staff. You can also create teams, channels, and group chats. 

    HFG divisions and departments might choose to use Teams in different ways, like asking that staff keep their status updated throughout the day or asking staff to check in at the start of each work day. The recommendations below are a good starting point when determining how you, your team, and your department want to use Teams:

  • When collaborating on documents, upload them to Teams: one of the most powerful features of Teams is real-time document collaboration. Simply upload the file (Word doc, Excel file) to your group chat or team’s file section, then open it in Teams. You no longer need to send drafts or revisions of a document back and forth via email!
  • Check the user’s availability before sending a message: a user’s status (or presence) changes automatically based on the user’s calendar and activity. The user can also manually set their status, i.e. to “Do Not Disturb”, etc. A red dot indicates that the user is in a meeting, on a call, or is generally busy. If the user’s status is set to anything but Do Not Disturb, they will get a pop-up notification if you message them. So, consider how important or urgent your message is and if you want to interrupt the user. Consider if an email or other communication method is more appropriate. 
  • Consider creating a group chat instead of a team: HFG already has quite a few Teams that have been created. In most cases, a group chat is a better use of Teams than a team. Group chats can include multiple staff and has file sharing and collaboration features, just like a team. Consider creating teams only for long-term projects and initiatives (6+ months in duration). Also consider creating a new channel inside a department or division team for the specific topic or project you want to discuss.
  • Change notification settings for each Team, channel, or group chat: by default, you won’t receive a pop-up notification for posts to team channels unless you or the team are specifically mentioned. You can change notification settings for each team and channel. Please see the instruction links below for help.


Please see the video tutorials below to get started using Teams. Also note the additional articles and videos on the left for each topic.

 

All videos: Microsoft Teams video training