communication Archives - WheelHouse IT

Closed Captions in PowerPoint Live for Microsoft Teams Meetings

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Microsoft is excited to introduce a new feature in Microsoft Teams meetings called Closed Captions in PowerPoint Live. This feature aims to enhance accessibility for those who are Deaf or hard of hearing, have difficulty processing auditory information, have a language barrier, or are simply joining the meeting from a loud environment. Closed Captions will help these individuals better understand the auditory content shared in Teams meetings.

With Closed Captions, meeting attendees now have the option to turn on closed captions for any video that includes a closed captions file. PowerPoint users looking to create accessible presentations can easily add closed captions to any embedded PowerPoint video directly from within PowerPoint for Windows and macOS.

Here’s how to add closed captions:

Select the video and select Insert Captions from the Playback Ribbon
In the Insert Captions dialog box, select the WebVTT file or files that should be included
Select Insert

When the PowerPoint presentation is shared using PowerPoint Live in a Microsoft Teams meeting, the closed captions option will be available for viewers to turn on. To turn on closed captions, attendees can click the closed captions button on the video player in PowerPoint Live. Then, select their preferred language from the dropdown menu. Once turned on, the video closed captions will appear at the bottom of the slide for only the individual attendee. Thus, empowering each attendee to choose the closed captions setting that’s best for them. Additionally, without distracting other attendees, who may prefer to have closed captions turned off.

Closed captions make PowerPoint Live presentations more accessible and benefit everyone who watches videos. Especially those in their non-native language, people learning to read, and individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. We encourage everyone to learn how to make PowerPoint presentations more accessible with closed captions!

It’s important to note that when no closed captions are available for a video, the closed captions button will be unavailable for participants to select. Microsoft is committed to making its products accessible to everyone. They will also continue introducing new features that promote inclusivity and accessibility in their products.

How to Improve Communication Issues Within the Company

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Receiving an email that demands “immediate attention” can feel like both a hassle and troublesome to drop everything that you are currently doing to address a certain situation. Luckily, there are other ways to better manage the communication of these issues and address them in the future.

“This is Urgent and Needs Immediate Attention”

Many people can agree that they see this message on the subject line of an email far too often. If this is the case for you, there might be an opportunity to improve communications and overall business operations within your organization.

A message like this can often overwhelm and frustrate the members of your team as it does not provide clear and straightforward directions. If sent after normal business hours, this can be extremely stressful for some. It truly comes down to being fair to employees. If this email is sent out on a regular basis, how fair are you being towards those who help keep your business afloat?

Just Put Yourself in Their Shoes

Imagine receiving an email like this after work hours. Think about working hard all throughout an eight hour work day and seeing an email pop up in your inbox on something that needs to be fixed as soon as possible but you have no clue what to do? You are unsure what to fix and how you should even begin? How stressful and overwhelming this situation can be for many.

Without clear information or direction, this task seems impossible to accomplish; ultimately, affecting your employees, possibly even those that are the most hard working and have the most dedication for the company. In reality, this can turn into an organization that many people would not like to work for.

Set Appropriate Work Life Balance

If members of your team feel that they must have their work devices on and an open line of communication at all times, it might be best to start making changes in the way you conduct your business. The first step in making this change is to stop sending these “urgent and need immediate attention” emails at the end of the day without any context. Instead of doing this, perhaps try explaining what exactly is the problem or what is going on. Try to be more specific in what needs to be corrected and when you expect it to be done. Try to also be reasonable with your deadlines, as well. If problems continue to persist after business hours, it might be beneficial to look into overtime or emergency pay.

It also falls on your end to honor the employee agreement that you had members of your team sign up for upon hiring. If you have to make some changes from that agreement, then you need to let employees know and have them decide whether or not to “accept the new terms and conditions”. These changes should be an exception to the rule, rather than becoming the new norm.

Be cognizant that members of your team do not live to work for you; rather, they work to make a living. They have lives outside of work and as their employer, you should respect their work life balance. In the long run, employees will feel that you not only value them but respect their time away from work.

To improve employees’ work life balances, the right technology solutions can help your business, especially during after hours when you might need something that “needs immediate attention”. At WheelHouse IT, our professionals can address any problems you might be having. To learn more, please contact us today at 954.474.2204.

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The Right Communication Solutions to Improve Your Business

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Employees require the proper technology and communication tools in order to be productive and efficient in the workplace. By understanding the trends of the technology industry, you can incorporate the right communication tools for you and your team to be successful, resulting in an organization that is productive and efficient. Salesforce released a study that surveyed many industry leaders and consumers about how users utilized communication solutions and their expectations over a period of time.

People Want Online and In-Person Technology Solutions

The study issued by Salesforce found that consumers want technology tools for both in-person and online work environments. The survey showed that 51 percent of people prefer doing their business tasks online while 40 percent stated they physically went to their communication provider’s store. 64 percent of respondents utilized their provider’s website in the last month and 35 percent have done business online and in stores. In other words, when using technology solutions, employees seek assistance from both online (through a help desk) and in-person. Therefore, it is important to have various resources available for your team to assist them with whatever they may need to be efficient and productive. As a result, the organization will grow and develop as well.

Customer Experience is Important

About 90 percent of leaders in communication services believe they have great internal operations to offer excellent customer service to their clients. Unfortunately, about 40 percent of customers report they are not satisfied with how their current communication service providers handle their technology issues. It is obvious that managers and their teams want service providers who will address their concerns and listen to feedback more than those providers that do not.

Digital Transformation is Crucial

The majority of clients prefer to utilize the online services provided by their communication service provider. Therefore, it is imperative that you take into account digital transformation for your own technological needs. Employees want to use various collaboration tools, particularly in a remote or hybrid setting, to allow for communication amongst the entire team. Therefore, it may be a good idea to offer these tools in a cloud-based environment. This will offer great benefits for your team, as well as your organization.

We Can Help Improve Communications

WheelHouse IT can assist you and your organization in incorporating a successful communications infrastructure as we understand what your business needs and can provide that for your team. We can offer various technological tools, such as Voice over Internet Protocol, intranet solutions, instant messaging applications, virtual private networks (VPNs), video conferencing, and much more. Our understanding of the technology and communications industry can assist you in getting your money’s worth for your communication solutions.

To learn more about what we can offer you and your organization, please contact us at 954.474.2204.

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