For many small businesses in Sussex, email is still the centre of daily communication.
It is used for customer enquiries, internal discussions, job updates, supplier conversations, document sharing, meeting notes and almost everything in between.
Email is useful. No question.
But when a business starts to grow, relying on email for everything can quickly become a problem. Conversations get buried, decisions become hard to track. Staff spend too much time searching through old messages. Important updates are missed because they are sitting halfway down a long email chain!
That was exactly the situation facing a local contracting business based just outside Brighton.
This story shows how a small business could use Microsoft Teams more effectively to improve communication, reduce email overload and get more value from its Microsoft 365 subscription.
Microsoft Teams brings chat, meetings, file sharing and collaboration into one place, making it a strong communication hub for small businesses already using Microsoft 365.
The Problem: Email Had Become the Default for Everything
When Lewis started his company, communication was easy. There were only a few people in the business. Most conversations happened face-to-face, by phone, or via quick emails. Everyone broadly knew what was going on.
But as the business grew, things changed.
The company took on more engineers, more customers and more projects across Sussex. Suddenly, there were jobs running in Brighton, Crawley, Burgess Hill, Horsham and Worthing. Some staff were office-based, others were on-site and some worked from home occasionally.
Email became the default way to keep everyone informed.
At first, this felt manageable. But over time, Lewis noticed the same frustrations appearing again and again.
Staff were asking:
- “Did you see my email?”
- “Who has the latest information?”
- “Was that agreed with the customer?”
- “Where is the update on that job?”
- “Did anyone reply to the supplier?”
No single issue was disastrous. But together, they slowed the business down. Poor communication rarely looks like one big failure. It usually shows up as lots of small delays:
- A customer waits longer for an answer
- An engineer turns up without the latest information
- Office staff chase updates that have already been sent
- Managers spend time searching through email threads
- Decisions are made, but not everyone sees them
For a small business, this matters. When communication is unclear, staff become frustrated, customers receive a slower service, and owners spend too much time acting as the go-between.
Lewis described it like this: “I felt like I was constantly chasing things that had already been discussed somewhere. The problem was knowing where.”
This is a familiar situation for many Sussex businesses using Microsoft 365. They have the right tools available, but they have not been configured or adopted in a way that supports how the business actually works.
The Solution: Using Microsoft Teams Properly
The firm already had Microsoft Teams included in Microsoft 365. But like many small businesses, they were barely using it. A few staff had used Teams for video calls. Some had sent occasional chat messages. But there was no structure. There were no agreed rules. Most people still defaulted back to email.
The first step was not technical. It was practical; the business needed a clear communication structure. Microsoft Teams can support chat, meetings, channels, file collaboration and communication with people inside and outside the company.
So the approach was simple: Create Teams around how the business works
Rather than one messy general area, they created Teams and channels based on real business activity.
For example: Office team, Active projects, Service and maintenance, Customer queries and Internal updates. This meant conversations had a natural home.
Move internal conversations out of email
The team agreed that quick internal questions should go into Teams, not email.
This included: Job updates, Internal queries, Status checks, Quick decisions and Site questions from engineers.
Email was still used where appropriate, especially for formal communication with customers and suppliers. But internal back-and-forth moved into Teams.
Keep conversations and files together
One of the biggest benefits came from keeping files and conversations in the same place.
Previously, a quotation or project document might be attached to five different email threads. Nobody knew which version was current.
By using Teams alongside SharePoint, documents could be shared in the relevant channel, discussed in context and updated by the right people.
Teams integrates with Microsoft 365 apps and allows users to collaborate on documents in real time.
The Result: Less Chasing, More Clarity
After a short period of using Teams properly, the firm noticed a real difference.
The team were no longer relying on email for every small update. Engineers could message the office from site. Office staff could see project discussions in one place. Managers did not have to search through inboxes to understand what had happened.
The improvements included:
- Fewer internal emails
- Faster answers to simple questions
- Reduced confusion around project updates
- Better visibility for managers
- Easier collaboration between office and site staff
Lewis summed it up well: “It feels like the business has one place to talk now. Before, everything was scattered.”
Many small businesses across Sussex are in the same position. They already pay for Microsoft 365, already have Teams and they may even use it occasionally.
But they are not getting the real benefit because the system has never been properly set up around how the business works.
That is where the value of working with a local Microsoft 365 support partner comes in.
If your team communication feels messy, it does not necessarily mean your staff are doing anything wrong.
It may simply mean the system has not been set up properly. Microsoft Teams can make a big difference, but only when it is configured sensibly and introduced in a way people understand.