Back in the day, teams relied on sticky notes and endless email chains to keep track of tasks. But in today’s fast-paced, hybrid work world, that just doesn’t cut it anymore. If you want to stay ahead of deadlines and keep your team humming, solid project management is a must.
According to McKinsey, the average worker spends nearly 30% of their week wrangling emails and another 20% just trying to find info or the right person to help. That’s a lot of time lost.
Enter Microsoft Planner – a simple yet powerful tool that helps small teams stay organised, collaborate better, and deliver results. Whether you’re managing a few tasks or juggling multiple projects, Planner makes it easy to keep everything on track. And with the right IT partner (like us!), getting started is a breeze.
🚫 Tired of Missed Tasks and Email Overload?
When tasks aren’t clearly laid out, things start to slip:
- Deadlines get missed
- Key details vanish in chat threads
- Projects stall over tiny miscommunications
- Managers lose sight of the big picture
It’s frustrating, and it slows your team down.
✅ A Smarter Way to Stay on Top of Tasks
Microsoft Planner brings everything together in one place. It’s intuitive, easy to use, and perfect for small teams. Here’s how it helps:
🗂️ 1. Task Boards That Make Sense
Planner works like a shared to-do list:
- Create tasks quickly
- Assign responsibilities
- Add due dates, checklists, files and notes
- Move tasks through stages like To Do → In Progress → Done
No more chasing updates through email threads or lost messages.
👀 2. Views That Fit Your Workflow
Planner gives you multiple ways to see what’s going on:
- Board View: Drag-and-drop cards in columns
- Grid View: Quick scan of tasks, due dates and progress
- Schedule View: Calendar layout for weekly/monthly planning
- People View: See who’s got what on their plate
- Timeline View: Gantt-style chart for big-picture planning
- Assignments View: Track effort and scheduling in detail
Whether you’re a visual thinker or a checklist lover, there’s a view for you.
📌 3. Task Details That Keep You Moving
Click into any task to:
- Set start/end dates
- Add priorities and checklists
- Attach files and assign owners
- Link to Teams channels for context
- Set dependencies so tasks happen in the right order
Everything’s in one spot, so nothing falls through the cracks.
🧩 4. Templates That Save Time
Why start from scratch? Planner offers ready-made templates – some free, some premium. Pick one, tweak it, and you’re off and running.
🔗 5. Seamless Microsoft 365 Integration
Planner plays nicely with the tools you already use:
- Teams: Create and assign tasks straight from chats
- Outlook: Turn flagged emails into tasks
- SharePoint & Loop: Embed Planner tabs in project sites
- Power Automate: Automate repetitive workflows
- Excel & Power BI: Export data for analysis
- Viva Goals: Align tasks with company-wide objectives
It’s all connected, so your team can work smarter, not harder.
🤖 6. Built-In AI That Boosts Productivity
Since July 2024, Copilot in Planner helps you:
- Summarise tasks and plans
- Create tasks using natural language
- Get progress updates and reminders
Plus, Microsoft’s Project Management Agent can break down goals, suggest tasks, and even recommend who should do what. Less admin, more action.
🚀 Getting Started Is Easy
- Open Planner in Teams or the web
- Click “New Plan” and choose a template
- Build your board – add buckets and tasks
- Customise each task with dates, files and links
- Explore different views to track progress
- Set up reminders and notifications
- Invite your team and walk them through the basics
You’ll be up and running in no time.
💡 What You’ll Gain
With Planner, small businesses can:
- Cut down on email clutter and meeting fatigue
- Keep everyone accountable and aligned
- Visualise progress at a glance
- Launch new projects faster
- Use AI to save time and reduce manual effort
- Connect tasks with the tools your team already uses
It’s all about keeping momentum and freeing up time to focus on your customers.
⚠️ What Happens If You Don’t Act?
When tasks are scattered and tools don’t talk to each other:
- Deadlines get missed
- Roles and responsibilities become unclear
- Teams feel overwhelmed
- Meetings drag on without clear outcomes
It slows your business down and costs you money.
🛠️ Make Planning a Habit, Not a Hassle
Planner isn’t just another app – it’s a smarter way to work. It keeps your team organised, on track and connected.
At Bold ICT, we’re here to help you every step of the way. From setup to confident use, we’ll tailor Planner to suit your team’s unique needs.
Let’s simplify project management together. Get in touch.