Get started with Microsoft 365 for Financial Services

Frontline workers in the financial services industry have unique needs for communicating and collaborating based on the services they offer. To get the most benefit for your frontline workforce, first choose which scenarios Microsoft 365 can help you with in your day-to-day business operations, and then make sure that you prepare your environment with the right fundamentals, teams, and apps to support those scenarios.

  1. Choose your scenarios you want to implement for your business.
  2. Set up Microsoft 365 - Set up Microsoft 365, Microsoft Teams, and any other services you need.
  3. Configure services and apps - Use team templates to set up the teams you need quickly, including the channels and apps you need for your business. Add in other apps from Microsoft as needed to support your scenarios.

Choose your scenarios

Microsoft 365 and Teams offer capabilities that help financial services organizations enhance productivity in their daily operations and digital transformation. We recommend the following scenarios for financial services organizations:

Note

These scenarios are also part of Microsoft Cloud for Financial Services. You can do more with these scenarios when you also use other capabilities from the Microsoft Cloud for Financial Services, such as Microsoft Dynamics 365. Learn more about using this solution, which brings together capabilities from Dynamics 365 and Microsoft 365 at Microsoft Cloud for Financial Services.

Communicate within and across locations

Bring associates and management together across branches to collaborate and streamline operations with Teams and Teams apps.

Key apps and capabilities: Shifts, Walkie Talkie, Planner, Approvals, Praise, Lists, Updates, Viva Connections, Chat, Files

Additional services: SharePoint, Power Platform and Power Apps

More information: Frontline team collaboration

Simplify business processes

  • Create and manage schedules for your employees with Shifts
  • Automate your organization's unique workflows with Power Apps
  • Streamline approvals with the Approvals app
  • Track key performance indicators (KPIs) with Power BI reports
  • And more

Key apps: Approvals, Shifts, Updates

Additional services: Power Platform with Power Apps and Power BI

More information: Simplify business processes

Onboard and train employees

Financial services organizations have unique needs due to the high knowledge bases of frontline staff. From numeracy skills to up-to-date knowledge of company and governmental regulations, make sure your workforce is prepared with a strong onboarding and training process.

Key apps and capabilities: Lists, Viva Learning, Viva Connections, Viva Engage, meetings

Additional services: SharePoint

More information: Training and onboarding

Strengthen corporate communications

Employee engagement is a significant contributor to workplace satisfaction, loyalty, and productivity at any organization. Learn how to keep everyone informed and engaged using SharePoint, Teams, Viva Connections, and Viva Engage.

Key apps and capabilities: Viva Connections, Viva Engage, meetings

Additional services: SharePoint

More information: Corporate communications with frontline workers

Note

For all these capabilities, users must have an appropriate license. For more information about general Teams licensing, see Manage user access to Teams. Check out Understand frontline worker user types and licensing to learn more about using Microsoft 365 for frontline workers in combination with other licenses. For a detailed comparison of what's included in Microsoft 365 plans for enterprises, see the Modern work plan comparison table.

Configure services and apps

Diagram of teams, team templates and apps that can be included.

Apps and services for financial services

Ensure that your workers can communicate, collaborate, and deliver great customer service with Teams apps like Shifts, Planner, Lists, Praise, and more. You can determine which apps are available for your users by enabling them in the Teams admin center or by using a team template. Learn more about managing Teams apps.

For financial services environments, the following apps and services can help you transform your business processes and support communication.

Teams apps and services Description Manage Help
Approvals Streamline the sign-off process by integrating Approvals into chat. Manage Approvals Use Approvals
Chat Enable quick conversations between staff with chat in Teams. Chat, teams, channels & apps in Teams Chat in Teams
Documents and files Share standard operating procedures, regulatory compliance policies, company policies, and financial product fact sheets. Teams and SharePoint integration Share files
Praise Recognize coworkers for great teamwork with the Praise app. Manage the Praise app Send Praise to people
Shifts Create and manage schedules and clock in and out with Shifts. Shifts for frontline workers Use Shifts
Planner Help employees know what they should focus on when not with customers by assigning tasks. Your corporate office can use task publishing to send out tasks to locations and track progress across those locations. Manage the Planner app Use Planner
Updates Check in on recurring or one-off priorities such as daily counts. Managers can create templates for employees to fill out and submit. Manage the Updates app Use Updates
Virtual Appointments Schedule and manage virtual consultations with clients, view analytics, and more, in the Virtual Appointments app. Manage the Virtual Appointments app What is the Virtual Appointments app?
Viva Connections Viva Connections creates an experience in Teams that connects employees with tools, news, and resources. Employees can view a tailored news feed from your organization and a personalized dashboard with the resources they need. Overview of Viva Connections Use Viva Connections
Viva Learning Provide initial and ongoing training to make sure your employees are up-to-date with their skills and knowledge base. Overview of Viva Learning Use Viva Learning
Viva Engage Connect your entire organization and enable communication across departments and regions with Viva Engage. Overview of Viva Engage Use Viva Engage
More apps and services from Microsoft Description Manage Help
Power Apps and the Power Platform Integrate business processes and enable quick updates to data, such as sales numbers, KPIs, and other reports. Teams integration with Microsoft Power Platform and Manage Microsoft Power Platform apps in the Teams admin center
SharePoint A new, connected SharePoint site is created whenever you create a new team. You can use SharePoint to store files, post news, and make sure your workers have access to important information. Teams and SharePoint integration Add a SharePoint page, list, or document library as a tab in Teams

To learn more about successfully implementing and adopting Teams, see Adopt Microsoft Teams.