written by
Zack Calloway

3 Lesser-Known Microsoft 365 Tools To Improve Your Workflow

Microsoft 365 Tech Tips Video Microsoft Teams 3 min read

Microsoft Teams is an impressive collaboration and workflow tool that has the potential to completely transform the way you interact with team members. It’s especially useful when you’re working with a distributed workforce, where some (or even all) members of your team aren’t in the same physical location.

If you’re already using Teams, you know how powerful it can be. But did you know about these lesser-known tools from Microsoft that can further improve your productivity and workflow?

Each of the tools we review below is already available to you if you have a Microsoft 365 subscription or license. And each tool integrates seamlessly with Teams, so you can keep everything running in the same ecosystem.

Editor

Your organization’s top-tier, public-facing content probably routes through an editor or proofreader (or someone with a better than average eye, at least). That’s because we all understand the importance of brand image: your company needs to look polished and professional at all times.

But your own communication? It could probably use the polish, too. But virtually no one’s sending everything they write to a professional editor. The time and cost just aren’t worth it.

There are digital tools that can help to bridge this gap, offering “good enough” automated editing capabilities. Grammarly is one well-known third-party solution, but Microsoft has just released their own: Editor.

You have access to Editor with your Microsoft 365 subscription. Editor works as a browser extension nor Chrome and Edge. It’s like Spelling and Grammar Checker, supercharged. Editor will analyze your writing in real time, underlining possible mistakes and sometimes suggesting corrections.

We’re hoping Microsoft pushes Editor out to standalone apps, like Teams and Outlook. But for now, it’s still a valuable addition in any web-based app (including the web versions of other Office products).

Lists

Lists is, in some ways, exactly what you think it is: a list-making app.

But hang on— keep reading. This little app is definitely worth your time if you’re already using Microsoft 365.

Lists is a Microsoft 365 app that allows you to create intelligent lists with plenty of flexibility and collaboration built in. Your lists go with your account and are available on any device, anywhere. They’re also searchable within Microsoft 365, so you don’t need to worry about misplacing anything.

Lists includes a whole bunch of templates as well, giving you the flexibility to store more than just bullet points. And Teams integration is a piece of cake. Any Teams channel can use Lists. Just add a new tab to a channel and select Lists. You can embed lists in your Teams channel or create brand-new ones right within the collaboration app.

Sway

There are plenty of situations where a simple email or Word document is good enough. And for visual presentations, PowerPoint still has a role to play.

But there are times where you’d really like to do something better — if only you had the tools. If you want to do something with more visual impact yet you lack serious design skills, you need to check out Sway.

Sway is Microsoft’s next-gen visual content producer, perfect for creating visually striking newsletters, documentation and presentations. Its powerful automated design tools are simple to use, and you can create impressive static or animated content in minutes.

Want to Do More with Microsoft 365? We Can Help

Editor, Lists and Sway are three powerful apps included in Microsoft 365, but they join a dozen or so others that most people just don’t know about.

Want to get the most out of your Microsoft 365 subscription? Our team can help. We can identify apps you’re not using that could improve your workflow and help you craft a plan to implement them.

Want to learn more? Reach out today.

Microsoft Office tech tip