Realizing I haven't blogged at all over the last year is, I suppose, one of those personal self-discoveries we were all challenged to learn over the last year due to the seismic impact of Covid-19.  One thing we've all become better at in work and personal life is virtual / video meeting.  

For Teams, there are some great enhancements to administration, sharing, engagement, and live events - but one that I want to highlight is Live Meeting Transcription.  

​Do you participate in regular or recurring meetings?  Perhaps for strategic planning, project management?  Following our Women's History Month theme, do you find that - as a woman - you might be expected to capture action items and notes for your meetings?  Your life in Teams is about to get easier.  Besides being a tool that you can utilize to break the group habit of expecting the woman in the group, or the new hire, or the junior member to take meeting notes - now you can turn on Live Transcription.  ​

This article provides a good overview and demo, and this MS Doc info provides some detail. At the time of drafting this blog entry, neither had step-by-step instructions so I've created them here, with a screenshot below. 

• Transcription must be enabled by a Global admin, and depending on your tenant seat volume, it could take 48-72 hours to deploy globally.  
• Visit 365 Admin Center
• Visit Teams Admin Center
• Select Meetings / Meeting Policies tabs at left
• Create new or modify an existing one (I added the one for my tenant to Global policy, because I want to empower everyone to use technology to do some of their lesser-value, time impact work)
• Under Audio & Video heading, turn on the slider for Allow Transcription

Caveats: 

• Right now there is no automated Governance around the Teams Transcription creations in the Teams channel. 
  
• Someone from a recurring meeting group would still need to scan transcriptions for ACTION ITEM or FOLLOW UP or a few key phrases to capture those from the meeting. 
  
• I suspect a PowerAutomate / Flow is on the horizon that can help with this, or perhaps the AI in Viva will do this for users in the near future. 

But for now:  Please, set your team free of taking manual meeting notes!

Happy International Women's Day! I first learned of this global celebration while in Norway in 2005. I was shopping for shoes at a mall, and kept being handed a long stem rose in each store I visited, and as I exited the mall. I had to ask my colleague Anita Holmebakken Jakobsen what it all meant. Then we were both surprised it wasn't a 'thing' in America.

I'm happy to say that it is more a 'thing' in America than it has ever been before, for lots of reasons. I applaud all who take the time on this day to recognize the efforts women have been making historically in order to be taken with equal seriousness and respect as men, and applaud all male allies who have worked to further equality. It started over a century ago motivated by women demanding the right to vote and hold office.

​We all have an opportunity to call out bias and inequality, in any form. Collectively, we can all help create a more inclusive world. From challenge comes change, so let's all choose to challenge.
#ChooseToChallenge #choosetochallenge2021 #IWD2021

Image from Sarah Rose Creative; the 2021 IWD Theme:  Choose to Challenge