Five Microsoft 365 features that can save your team hours every week

6 July 2026

Many organisations invest heavily in Microsoft 365, yet only use a small proportion of the tools included within their subscription.

For most teams, Microsoft 365 begins and ends with Outlook, Word, Excel and Teams. While these applications are essential, there are many other features designed specifically to improve collaboration, reduce repetitive administration and streamline day-to-day processes.

For financial firms, professional services businesses and growing organisations, even modest productivity gains can have a significant impact over time. Saving a few minutes each day across an entire team quickly translates into meaningful improvements in efficiency, responsiveness and service delivery.

Here are five Microsoft 365 features that businesses frequently overlook.

1. Shared calendars

Shared calendars provide teams with greater visibility into availability, deadlines and commitments, helping to reduce unnecessary emails and scheduling conflicts.

Rather than relying on individuals to communicate when they are available, shared calendars allow teams to see information at a glance.

Common uses include:

• Annual leave calendars
• Team availability planning
• Client meeting schedules
• Project deadlines
• Office attendance planning

The benefits include:

• Better visibility across departments
• Faster meeting scheduling
• Less back-and-forth communication
• Improved resource allocation
• Reduced risk of double bookings

For organisations managing multiple clients or coordinating hybrid teams, shared calendars can become an essential planning tool.

2. Loop components

Microsoft Loop is one of the newer additions to Microsoft 365, yet many businesses are still unaware of its capabilities.

Loop components enable teams to collaborate on content in real time across Teams, Outlook and meetings. Instead of creating multiple document versions or searching through email threads for the latest update, everyone works from the same live component.

Changes made in one location are automatically reflected everywhere the component is shared.

Loop can be particularly valuable for:

• Meeting agendas and notes
• Action trackers
• Project status updates
• Client action lists
• Shared checklists
• Brainstorming sessions

For businesses where collaboration happens across multiple departments, Loop helps ensure information remains current, accessible and visible to everyone involved.

3. Approval workflows

Many everyday business processes still rely on manual emails, spreadsheets or verbal sign-offs.

Microsoft 365 includes tools such as Power Automate and Approvals within Teams that can simplify these processes significantly.

Examples include:

• Expense approvals
• Holiday requests
• Supplier onboarding
• Contract reviews
• Document sign-offs
• Purchase authorisations

Automating routine approvals can help businesses:

• Reduce delays
• Standardise processes
• Improve accountability
• Create clearer audit trails
• Minimise the risk of missed requests

For firms operating in regulated sectors, maintaining a transparent approval history can also support compliance requirements and internal governance procedures.

4. Microsoft Bookings

Scheduling meetings often consumes more time than organisations realise.

Emails asking "What time works for you?" can quickly become an administrative burden, particularly for client-facing teams.

Microsoft Bookings allows businesses to share booking pages that display available times and automatically synchronise with staff calendars.

Clients, prospects and partners can simply choose a suitable slot without the need for multiple emails.

Bookings can be used for:

• Client consultations
• Discovery calls
• Internal meetings
• Training sessions
• Support appointments
• Recruitment interviews

Benefits include:

• Reduced administrative overhead
• Fewer scheduling errors
• Improved client experience
• Better calendar management
• Faster response times

For professional services firms that rely on strong client relationships, providing a simple booking experience can also help create a more polished and responsive impression.

5. Forms

Microsoft Forms offers a straightforward way to collect information both internally and externally.

While often associated with surveys, Forms can support a wide range of business processes.

Common examples include:

• Client satisfaction surveys
• Event registrations
• Staff feedback requests
• Service desk submissions
• Internal questionnaires
• Training evaluations
• New starter information gathering

Responses can be automatically captured, analysed and even integrated into workflows through Power Automate, reducing the need for manual data entry.

Forms are particularly effective because they are quick to build, easy to distribute and simple for users to complete.

Unlocking more value from Microsoft 365

Many businesses already have access to powerful tools through their Microsoft 365 subscription but never fully explore what is available.

Often, the most effective productivity improvements do not come from investing in new platforms. Instead, they come from making better use of the technology already in place.

Small efficiencies, when applied consistently across an organisation, can lead to measurable gains in productivity, collaboration and service quality.

How Maple helps

At Maple, we regularly help businesses identify opportunities to get more value from the Microsoft tools they already pay for.

Whether it is improving collaboration, automating repetitive tasks or simplifying internal processes, the right configuration and guidance can help teams work smarter without introducing additional systems or complexity.

Sometimes the biggest productivity improvements come from capabilities that have been available all along.