Productivity
Microsoft Forms: One of the Handiest Freebies in Microsoft 365
Microsoft Forms is included with most Microsoft 365 business plans, yet many companies never use it. Learn how to build surveys, quizzes, and registration forms in minutes, see results charted automatically, and put Forms to work for your business.
Microsoft 365 is one of the most widely used business cloud platforms in the world. Part of its appeal is the number of tools included in a subscription: alongside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams, most business plans include a long list of smaller apps that many companies never open.
With so many different apps, it is not uncommon for some to go unused. Companies may not even be aware they have access to these helpful tools. One of the most useful apps included with a Microsoft 365 subscription is Microsoft Forms, a free online survey and form-building tool.
What Is Microsoft Forms?
Microsoft Forms is a drag-and-drop form, quiz, and survey creator. It is simple to use and allows you to send out surveys via a link. Recipients can fill out your form online from any device. Once responses come in, the results appear in the software instantly and are automatically collated into charts. You can also export the results to Excel.
How to Get Started in Forms.
Open Forms from the Microsoft 365 app launcher, or visit forms.office.com, which now redirects to Microsoft's newer forms.cloud.microsoft address, and sign in with your work account. Choose New Form or New Quiz from the top menu, or explore the built-in templates. Click Add New to add a form field and choose from field types including Choice for multiple-choice questions, Text, Rating, Date, Ranking, Likert for recording attitudes or opinions on a scale, Net Promoter Score for a scale from not likely to extremely likely, and Section separators that can include a title and image. Enter your questions and when finished, click Send at the top. You can distribute the survey via link, email, QR code, embedded in a web page, or through social media. View responses on the Responses tab.
Advantages of Using Microsoft Forms.
It Is Included in Microsoft 365 Subscriptions. If you already subscribe to Microsoft 365, using Forms makes sense. It can save you money if you are currently using a separate survey tool, and it is easily accessible by signing in with your work account. Responses are stored in your Microsoft 365 environment rather than with another vendor, and you can restrict a form so that only people in your organization can respond.
It Saves Time. Sending a survey by email is time-consuming, with concerns about attachments bouncing and the manual work of collating results. With Microsoft Forms, recipients simply follow a link and fill out the form online with no download required. Results appear immediately and are automatically collated for you.
Get Charted Results Automatically. You can quickly see survey results in meaningful graphs and easily export to Excel if you need to upload the results into another platform.
It Is Easy to Use. There is a very low learning curve with Microsoft Forms. The interface is intuitive and simple, so just about anyone can jump in and start using it right away.
Ways You Can Leverage Microsoft Forms.
Annual Customer Satisfaction Survey. A web-based survey can increase your response rate from customers. They can fill out your satisfaction survey from any device, making it quick and easy. You can see results instantly and chart them to gain insights into what your business is doing right and what you can improve.
Employee Security Awareness Quiz. Send a security awareness quiz to your employees using Forms, integrating it easily into your cybersecurity awareness training. The results view also shows how long each person took and the average time to complete the quiz.
Change Readiness Survey. Change management is a growing focus of many organizations due to the speed of technology-driven transitions. You can use Forms to improve user readiness for change adoption by creating and sending out a change readiness survey to affected groups.
Event Registrations. Are you hosting an event? You can easily gather registration details by sending out a Forms link via QR code, social media, text, or email.
Volunteer Registration Form. Embed a Forms registration form on your web page to sign up volunteers. The platform will automatically collate volunteer information, helping you better match people's talents to your needs.
One caution: Forms is convenient, but do not use it to collect Social Security numbers, payment card numbers, or health information unless your IT team has confirmed the form's settings and retention meet your obligations. You will find even more ideas from the Forms templates, including competitive analysis studies, post-event feedback surveys, office facility request forms, employee satisfaction surveys, product pricing surveys, and course enrollment forms.
Would You Like to Get More Out of Microsoft 365?
There is a good chance your company may be leaving value on the table with Microsoft 365. The team at Cyber One Solutions can help you make the most of your subscription. Contact us today to learn more about our Microsoft 365 support services.