Business Process
When you opt for Microsoft Teams, the average user sends chat messages, makes calls, and attends meetings.
Some more advanced users may dabble in document creation and even set up certain rules for messages that appear in channels.
But the vast majority of your Teams users are barely scratching the surface when it comes to the art of the possible in Teams.
In this blog post, we highlight 10 manual processes you can digitize with Microsoft Teams without spending any money on custom integrations or expensive add-ons.
As the post progresses, we get more and more complex. So, let’s start with the basics.
1. Document collaboration
From an all-company perspective, Teams enables collaboration between any user in any department. Be it a Word document, PowerPoint presentation, or Excel spreadsheet, these can start life directly from Teams without any user needing to fire up a standalone app (or the online version).
Once created, the back end SharePoint site takes care of version control and users can co-author documents, share feedback directly in the document, and remove the need for constant version control.
Inside every team/channel, you get a directory with all files and folders specific to that department or function. All files with relevant access live here for users to collaborate on.
This removes the need to hunt for files, removes the risk of working on the wrong version stored on someone’s desktop, and removes the potential for only one person working on a specific document at any time.
2. Companywide announcements
It’s become common practice over the last few decades for all-staff emails to become the dumping ground for what a lot of users and teams may deem “pointless information”.
Sure, some all-staff emails are intended for all staff. But the vast majority probably belong in department-specific channels.
The advent of company intranets helped this a little. But Teams creates two key areas that reduce unwanted emails and organize relevant company announcements into the right vehicles.
#general
Every Teams instance gets a default #general team and every team gets a #general channel by default.
If an announcement is genuinely companywide, a Teams admin, power user, or C-level exec will usually post this in the #general team. They do this knowing every user has access to this team.
Using the @ mention functionality ensures every user gets notified—reducing the chance of the announcement getting missed.
Note: Use @ mentions sparingly. If overused, users start to ignore these and may even mute the channel notifications.
Town halls in Microsoft Teams
Have you ever received an all-staff email but didn’t really understand what was being asked?
It’s the opposite of “this meeting should have been an email”.
Calling town halls in Teams, using the appropriate functionality, means all staff (or all concerned staff) can join a one-way broadcast from the CEO, CFO, etc. then have the ability to participate in polls and Q&As during and after the meeting.
For users in countries outside the native speakers, turn on translated captions to help the flow of the broadcast.
3. Purchase order approval
Here’s where we start to get a little more functional. If your current purchase order flow relies on emailing specific members of staff or waiting for them to log into Salesforce and check what they have to approve, Teams can help.
By integrating Teams with tools like Power Automate, Approvals, and adaptive cards, you can create a seamless, automated PO approval workflow that lives right inside Teams.
Here’s how it works:
Trigger the workflow
When a new purchase order is created—whether in Salesforce, SharePoint, or another system—a Power Automate flow can be triggered automatically.
Send approval request in Teams
Instead of sending an email or relying on someone to check a dashboard, the flow sends an approval request directly to the relevant approver in Teams. This can appear as a chat message, a notification, or even an adaptive card with all the PO details and action buttons (Approve/Reject).
Track and manage approvals
Approvers can respond instantly within Teams, and their decisions are logged back into the source system. You can also set up reminders or escalation paths if approvals are delayed.
Audit and reporting
Every approval is tracked, creating a clear audit trail. You can even build dashboards in Power BI to monitor approval times, bottlenecks, and overall efficiency.
This approach not only reduces delays and manual follow-ups but also keeps your team focused by centralizing tasks within the platform they already use daily.
4. Project management stage gates
Managing stage gates in a project lifecycle involves juggling spreadsheets, emails, and status meetings. What if we said you can digitize and centralize this process, making it easier to track progress, assign tasks, and ensure accountability across teams?
Here’s how Teams can help streamline stage gate management:
Planner integration for task management
Create a dedicated Planner board for each project or stage gate. Use buckets to represent different phases (e.g., initiation, planning, execution, closure) and assign tasks to team members with due dates and priority levels. As Planner is integrated with Teams, everyone can view and update tasks directly within the channel.
Custom templates for consistency
Standardize your stage gate process by creating custom templates in Planner or SharePoint. These templates can include predefined tasks, documents, and checklists for each gate, ensuring every project follows the same structure and nothing gets missed.
Automated workflows with Power Automate
Use Power Automate to trigger actions based on task completion or status changes.
For example: When all tasks in a gate are marked complete, automatically notify stakeholders in Teams. If a task is overdue, send a reminder or escalate to a project lead. You can then generate approval requests for gate reviews and send them directly to decision-makers in Teams.
Centralized communication and visibility
Keep all project discussions, documents, and updates in one place: your Teams channel. You can pin the Planner tab, link to dashboards, and use @ mentions to prompt action, reducing the need for email chains and status meetings.
By digitizing stage gate management with Teams, you create a more transparent, efficient, and collaborative project environment.
5. HR workflows
HR processes are often bogged down by manual forms, email approvals, and disconnected systems. So how about we simplify common HR workflows like leave requests, expense reports, and employee updates?
Here’s how Teams can help:
Leave requests made simple
Instead of emailing HR or filling out paper forms, have your staff submit leave requests directly through Teams using Power Automate and adaptive cards. These requests can be routed to managers for approval, with notifications and reminders sent automatically. Approved leave can be logged in systems like SharePoint or Outlook calendars without manual entry.
Frontline workers use the Shifts app
If you’re using the F license (for frontline workers), you may be using this niche functionality already. Using the Shifts app, you can tap Time off to request leave, bypassing all manual processes along the way.
Note: This app is likely overkill for non-frontline workers as it has custom functionality designed for non-desk-based workers.
Expense reports with automated tracking
Employees can upload receipts and submit expense claims via Teams. A Power Automate flow can validate the submission, route it for approval, and update a central expense tracker. You can even integrate with Excel or third-party finance tools to generate reports and monitor budgets.
If you use an external app, like Expensya or TeamPay, you can integrate this with Teams to manage all your expenses within Teams—removing the constant app switching.
Check the Microsoft app directory for your expenses solution.
Onboarding and employee updates
Use Teams channels and Planner to manage onboarding checklists, assign tasks to departments (IT, HR, Facilities), and track progress. Custom templates ensure consistency across new hires, while automated flows can send welcome messages, schedule orientation sessions, and collect necessary documents.
Centralized HR hub
Create a dedicated HR team or channel in Teams where employees can access policies, submit requests, and get support. Pin important tabs like FAQs, forms, and contact info, and use chatbots or Power Virtual Agents to answer common questions instantly.
By digitizing HR workflows in Teams, you reduce administrative overhead, improve employee experience, and ensure that key processes are completed accurately and on time.
6. Streamline data and reporting
If your team spends hours manually compiling reports, manipulating spreadsheets, or chasing down metrics, imagine how much time you could reclaim by digitizing manual processes with Microsoft Teams.
By integrating with tools like Power BI and third-party analytics apps, you can automate reporting and surface insights where your team already works.
Real-time dashboards with Power BI
Embed Power BI dashboards directly into Teams channels to give stakeholders instant access to live data.
Whether you’re tracking sales performance, project progress, or customer feedback, these dashboards update automatically.
Analytics on team activity
One of the biggest challenges for Teams admins today is working out whether you’re getting a genuine ROI with Microsoft Teams and if people are using it to its fullest extent.
You can use built-in analytics or third-party apps to monitor how your team collaborates. Track meeting frequency, task completion rates, or channel engagement to identify bottlenecks and improve productivity. These insights can be visualized in Teams or exported for deeper analysis.
7. Customer service workflows
Customer service teams often rely on multiple systems to manage inquiries, track tickets, and resolve issues.
This can lead to delays, missed updates, and duplicated effort. With Teams, you can centralize communication and automate key workflows to improve response times and customer satisfaction.
Customer inquiry handling in Teams
Use Teams channels or chatbots to triage customer inquiries. Bots built with Power Virtual Agents can collect initial information, route requests to the right team, and even provide instant answers to common questions—reducing the load on human agents.
Queues and escalation paths
Use the Queues app to set up and monitor automated queues for incoming service requests.
Power Automate can assign tickets based on availability, expertise, or priority. Escalations can be routed to senior staff or specialized teams, with alerts sent via Teams to ensure timely follow-up.
Dynamics and third-party contact center integration
Teams integrates with Dynamics 365 Customer Service and other contact center platforms like Genesys, NICE, and Five9.
These integrations allow agents to handle calls, chats, and emails from within Teams, while syncing data back to the CRM. This reduces manual data entry and improves case resolution speed.
Time saved through automation and integration
By connecting Teams with your service tools, you eliminate the need to manually copy data between systems, chase updates via email, or hold status meetings. This saves hours of human effort and ensures that customer issues are resolved faster and more efficiently.
8. Onboarding and training
Onboarding and training are critical to employee success, but they’re often slowed down by manual coordination, scattered resources, and inconsistent processes.
Teams helps you digitize and streamline these workflows, making it easier to deliver a structured, engaging experience for new hires and ongoing learning.
Structured onboarding with templates
Create onboarding templates using Planner or SharePoint that include all required tasks, documents, and milestones.
These can be reused for each new hire, ensuring consistency and reducing setup time. Assign tasks to HR, IT, and managers directly in Teams, with automated reminders and progress tracking.
Training hubs in Teams channels
Set up dedicated Teams channels for training programs, complete with pinned resources, recorded sessions, and discussion threads.
Use Microsoft Clipchamp (formerly Stream) to host video content and link to quizzes or learning modules in Microsoft Learn or third-party platforms.
Automated workflows with Power Automate
Trigger welcome messages, schedule orientation meetings, and send reminders for training deadlines using Power Automate. You can also collect feedback automatically after each training session to improve future programs.
9. Process monitoring and automated notifications
Keeping track of ongoing processes—whether it’s approvals, task progress, or system updates—can be time-consuming and error-prone when done manually.
Teams helps you monitor workflows in real time and automate notifications, so your team stays informed and responsive without constant check-ins.
Real-time monitoring with Power Automate
Use Power Automate to track changes across systems like SharePoint, Dynamics, or third-party apps. For example, when a document is updated, a task is completed, or a form is submitted, Teams can instantly notify the relevant people or channels.
Automated notifications for key events
Set up flows that send alerts when specific conditions are met, like overdue tasks, failed processes, or new submissions. These notifications can appear as chat messages, adaptive cards, or posts in designated Teams channels, ensuring visibility without manual follow-up.
Custom alerts and escalation paths
Tailor notifications based on priority or role. For example, high-priority issues can be escalated to managers, while routine updates go to team leads. You can also create digest-style summaries for daily or weekly reporting.
10. Custom templates
One of the most powerful ways to digitize manual processes in Microsoft Teams is by using custom templates.
Templates help standardize workflows, reduce setup time, and ensure consistency across departments and projects.
Standardize recurring processes
Whether it’s onboarding, project kickoffs, or approval workflows, templates allow you to predefine tasks, documents, and communication channels. This ensures that every instance of a process follows the same structure, reducing errors and missed steps.
Create reusable Planner boards and SharePoint lists
Build templates for task management in Planner, complete with buckets, assignments, and due dates. Similarly, you could also use SharePoint to create reusable lists for forms, checklists, or data tracking.
Automate template deployment with Power Automate
Use Power Automate to trigger the creation of Teams channels, Planner boards, and document libraries based on a selected template.
For example, when a new project is initiated, a flow can automatically set up everything needed—saving time and ensuring consistency.
Conclusion: Teams is the perfect tool to digitize manual processes
While on the face of it, we think of Teams as a communication and collaboration solution, the possibilities only start when thinking about process digitization.
If you’ve already gone all-in on Teams for your collaboration needs, it’s time to explore what you can achieve by digging further into the spectrum of possibilities.
Need help planning what that might look like?
