Microsoft 365 is a comprehensive suite of productivity tools designed to enhance collaboration, communication, and efficiency. It includes well-known applications like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, and Outlook, along with cloud-based services like Teams, One note and Planner. With real-time collaboration, secure cloud storage, and seamless integration across devices, Microsoft 365 helps individuals and teams work smarter, stay organised, and stay connected from anywhere.
Please ensure you view the information governance guidance for the apps below where available. If you plan to use an application for a purpose not covered in the use guidance, this brief Information Governance check should be completed.
M365 Skills Hub
This online learning resource is for users of Microsoft 365 and provides up-to-date resources and tutorials to help you make the most of the tools in your day-to-day work.
It is available to Argyll and Bute Council through collaboration with the Digital Office – Scottish Local Government as part of the M365 Cross Organisation Collaboration Programme.
The Skills Hub features:
- Self-paced guided learning modules from Microsoft along with tailored and custom guidance for Microsoft 365 users. Here, you can review entire modules or just the bits you’re interested in.
- You can watch recorded training sessions covering different apps within Microsoft 365.
- Sign-up for live training sessions.
- Learn about new features seen across Microsoft 365.
- Find out about features coming soon to Microsoft 365.
- Sign up for a monthly what’s new round up summary.
- Ask questions and get help and advice on Microsoft 365 from fellow users of the Skills Hub.
How do I access M365 Skills Hub?
- To access this resource, you must have the Microsoft Authenticator app installed on your mobile phone to verify your identity. You will only be able to gain access by using an Argyll and Bute Council email address. It is not possible to gain access to the M365 Skills Hub with a personal email address. This resource is for Argyll and Bute Council networked employees only.
- Follow this step-by-step guide for requesting access to the M365 Skills Hub includes setting up the Microsoft Authenticator app.
- Accounts stay active unless they are inactive for 60 days, after which they will be deleted and you would need to rejoin.
- For queries regarding the Microsoft Authenticator app download the guidance.
For more information and resources from the M365 Skills Hub team go to The M365 Skills Hub -Turas -Learn and M365 Skills Hub
If you have any issues, please contact the digital champion for your service area in the first instance, or submit a ticket to the HROD Helpdesk using the Enquiry Form. You can send the enquiry as an Employee, Manager of Employees, or Non-Employee.
What is included in Microsoft 365?
In addition to familiar apps such as Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint, etc. Microsoft 365 provides a whole new set of tools (apps) including Teams and One Note.
Teams
Microsoft Teams is a powerful collaboration tool that brings together chat, video calls, file sharing, and team organisation in one platform. It allows teams to communicate in real time, hold virtual meetings, and collaborate on documents seamlessly. Whether for small group chats or large team discussions, Teams helps keep everyone connected and organised, making remote work and team coordination more efficient than ever.
Outlook
Microsoft Outlook is an all-in-one email and calendar application that helps you manage communications, appointments, and tasks with ease. It allows you to send and receive emails, schedule meetings, and organise your calendar. With features like shared calendars and task management, Outlook helps streamline both personal and team productivity, making it an essential tool for staying on top of your work.
Please review the Information Governance guidance for Email management.
OneNote
Microsoft OneNote is a digital note-taking app that lets you capture, organise, and share your ideas and information. Whether you’re jotting down meeting notes, creating to-do lists, or brainstorming, OneNote allows you to keep everything in one place, accessible from any device. With features like notebooks, sections, and tags, it’s easy to stay organised and collaborate with others on shared notes, making it a versatile tool for individual use or team projects.
Tip: If want to share your one note contents with colleagues, start the app directly in a Teams channel and remember NEVER store any client info or confidential information in OneNote
Please review the Information Governance guidance for One Note.
Planner
Microsoft Planner is a task management tool designed to help teams organise and track their work. With Planner, you can create tasks, assign them to team members, set deadlines, and monitor progress in a visually intuitive way. Its simple, board-style layout allows for easy collaboration and ensures that everyone stays aligned on project timelines and responsibilities, making it a great tool for managing both small and large projects efficiently.
Sway
Microsoft Sway is a digital storytelling app that lets you create interactive, visually engaging presentations, reports, and newsletters. Unlike traditional slide decks, Sway allows you to combine text, images, videos, and other media into a dynamic, responsive layout. It’s an easy-to-use tool for quickly creating professional-looking content that can be shared online or embedded into websites.
One Drive
Microsoft OneDrive is a cloud storage service that allows you to securely store, access, and share your files from anywhere. With OneDrive, you can easily sync documents, photos, and videos across multiple devices, ensuring your content is always up to date and accessible. It also makes collaboration easy, as you can share files with colleagues and work together in real-time, all while keeping everything backed up and protected in the cloud.
Please review the Information Governance guidance for One Drive.
Forms
Microsoft Forms is a simple, user-friendly tool for creating surveys, quizzes, and polls. It allows you to collect responses in real-time and analyse the results with built-in charts and data insights. Whether you’re gathering feedback, conducting assessments, or organising data, Forms makes it easy to design customised forms and share them with others, helping you streamline data collection and decision-making.
Tip: If want to share your forms contents with colleagues, start the app directly in a Teams channel.
Please review the Information Governance Guidance for Forms.
Copilot
Microsoft Copilot is an AI Assistant, which can help you save time on tasks by helping you to create reports, find answers for queries, summarising documents and emails and even analyse spreadsheets and generate insights.
Issues and support
There is a whole range of guidance and support videos available on M365 Skills Hub or the Microsoft training website. If you have any questions on the use of Microsoft apps please contact the digital champion for your service area.
For technical questions or if you still have issues or need support with any of these apps please contact the ICT Service Desk.
Phone: 01546 604060