Streamline Team Collaboration with OneNote

OneNote is a digital note-taking tool that comes with plenty of benefits for users including enhancing team collaboration.

Note-taking is an essential part of day-to-day operations for many business owners, managers and teams, especially when it concerns important matters. Many modern businesses opt for digital solutions like OneNote; a robust productivity tool that leverages cloud and Microsoft technologies to make information capturing, storage and sharing a breeze.

Some of its main benefits include:

Facilitating real-time collaboration

OneNote is part of the fully cloud-based Microsoft 365 suite. This means OneNote users can share files with other team members or clients in real-time. Multiple people can view and edit their notes simultaneously, allowing for a seamless collaboration at any time, from anywhere. You can track all changes to the file and restore the previous version of a document in case of accidents.

Businesses that run in multiple locations can benefit from this feature as well. People located across the country can collaborate on the same project at the same time, removing the need for sending multiple versions of a document back and forth over email. This saves a huge amount of time that would usually be spent waiting for responses.

Securing sensitive information

Doing business online and sharing sensitive data comes with security risks. This is especially true for notebook software. Fortunately, OneNote comes with a set of security features that protect your data from being exposed to third parties. For example, you can lock specific sections with passwords while having all your information secured with 3DES encryption at all times. And if your password-protected documents remain inactive for a long time, the software will automatically lock them to prevent data leaks.

Integration with other software

Like other Office 365 suite apps, OneNote has great integration abilities. You can sync your OneNote with Outlook to send email information directly to the app and vice versa. What’s more, you can integrate this software with non-Microsoft apps as well. Some notable plugins include Zapier, Slack, Trello, Evernote, Dropbox, Salesforce, and many others. And all your essential apps will be synchronised, allowing your team to be more productive each day.

Creating quick notes

Quick Note is a great feature that lets you write down a thought when you’re out having lunch or away from the office. For example, if you’re out and about and remember you’ve forgotten to respond to an email, you can take your phone, open the OneNote app, and create a Quick Note reminding you of this task. The next time you open OneNote on your computer, you’ll see the message there.

Again, if you’re on your laptop and need to quickly note something down, windows key + N will open a quick note window which lets you jot down any idea or thought in a matter of seconds. All your notes will be saved in the “Unfiled Notes” section of your “Quick Notes” notebook, a place where all your notes are saved by default.

Searching across all notes

Searching for notes becomes more challenging as time passes. If you’re an active user, you can find yourself storing hundreds of notes in a matter of months. But don’t worry, as there are lots of options to organise and find your notes. OneNote has a built-in search option to make note finding easier. All you need to do is click on the magnifying glass or hit “Ctrl” (or “Command” for Mac) + “F” on your keyboard and look for a phrase or word. The software will go over all your typed, handwritten, and even picture notes.

Scanning documents from your phone

If you need to take notes from a physical document, you can use the Microsoft Lens: PDF Scanner App (available for Android and iOS) to take high-quality scans of multiple documents using your phone and upload them to OneNote.

Digital note-taking tools have helped thousands of workers and managers become more productive. OneNote is one such software that seems to have it all – abundant features, flexibility, and ease of use. Whether you’re a business owner who wants to boost your team’s performance or a project manager that needs better tracking of the project timeline, OneNote has something in store for everyone.

If you’d like to learn more about how this powerful tool can help you make your business better, feel free to reach out to us for a quick chat, or contact our Digital Productivity Consultant and Trainer, Tonia Meakin, for a comprehensive OneNote training session.