Working online has countless benefits, from offering your employees more flexibility, which makes them more productive, to employers having a larger talent pool, state or nationwide. However, while having remote workers tune in from different locations is convenient and efficient, limited in-person contact creates an emotional distance, too. Why not add a bit of warmth and personality to your messages with the new Microsoft Teams emoji feature?
Introducing the Emoji Feature
In April 2024, Microsoft added Pepe the Frog to employee messages as part of a test run for its new emoji feature. At a Build developer conference in July, Microsoft announced it would release a public preview later.
With this feature, teams can send emojis and show off their creativity with custom-made ones, uploaded GIFs, and image files.
Microsoft Teams is one of the last providers to offer customizable emojis, given that leading providers like Google Chat, Discord, and Slack have provided similar features for years. Furthermore, the Team Chat app will only support Unicode emoji upon public release. It won’t yet be available to EDU tenants.
How Can You Get Started With It?
Once the updated version rolls out, anyone already using this Team collaboration software will notice it toggles on by default so all users in your tenant can automatically start accessing and using this feature. Some emojis should be preset, but you and your employees can add or delete any as you wish by clicking on the custom category and entering the reactions and emojis menus.
While new emojis should appear immediately, it may take up to 24 hours for deleted emojis to disappear from all devices and chats.
You can add or delete available emojis and control who has access to them. For instance, if you want only certain employees, like managers, to have this privilege, enter the Messaging Policy groups. By default, all users have access.
What if you don’t want to use the emojis feature? Whether you believe emojis aren’t right for a professional work setting or your employees are misusing this perk, simply go to the Messaging Settings page in your Microsoft Teams business communication platform and turn off the feature for the entire tenant.
The Expected Timeline for New Emojis
This virtual meetings application is targeted for release in mid-July 2024, and Microsoft has already begun rolling out the update worldwide. However, depending on your location outside the US and whether you’re a GCC user, you may not have this option available until early August. Similarly, GCC High and DoD can expect rollout dates between early and late August.
So, if you’re a business owner who wants to spice up a video conferencing platform or Office 365 collaboration tool, don’t underestimate the power of a few stickers. Try using these emojis to add fun and excitement to your next meeting on Microsoft Teams.
