Microsoft Bundle Integration

Awardco’s integration with Microsoft Teams, Outlook, and Microsoft 365, known as the "Microsoft Bundle", offers the following features within each application:

• Microsoft Teams
  • Full Awardco Access — Users can access the full Awardco platform from within Teams
  • Notifications — Users can receive real-time notifications from Awardco within Teams (if enabled)
  • Quick-Recognition Tool — Users can easily recognize the people they’re interacting with in a Chat, Channel, or Call
• Microsoft Outlook
  • Full Awardco Access — Users can access the full Awardco platform from within Outlook
• Microsoft 365
  • Full Awardco Access — Users can access the full Awardco platform from within the Microsoft 365 application

Note for clients using Outlook: For the most comprehensive in-app experience, we recommend that clients use both the Bundle Integration and Awardco’s Outlook Add-In, which functions as a quick-recognition tool while reading or writing emails in Outlook.

IMPORTANT REGIONAL NOTE: Clients hosted on European (award.co.uk) and Canadian (awardcocanada) servers must use the dedicated "Awardco Europe" or "Awardco Canada" app from AppSource. The European and Canadian app currently offers the embedded experience only and does not support Teams Notifications or the Quick-Recognition Tool.

1. Integration Setup Instructions
   • Admin Setup
   • User Setup
2. Pinning the App
3. Notifications (Teams Only)
4. Quick Recognition Tool
5. FAQ

Integration Setup Instructions

The initial setup of the Microsoft Bundle requires the following steps:

Admin Setup

1. Install — Your Microsoft Admin deploys the Awardco app from the Microsoft 365 Admin Center or Teams Admin Center
2. Connect Platforms — Your Microsoft Admin must accept app permissions, enter your Awardco domain, and log in to Awardco to connect your integration.

User Setup

1. User Login — Individual users must login to the integration using their Awardco credentials upon first use

Admin Setup

Step 1: Install

The integration can be installed from the 365 Admin Center or Teams Admin Center by following the steps below.

365 Admin Center

Your organization’s Microsoft Admin can install and deploy the app to the full organization or a subset of users from the Microsoft 365 Admin Center. They can install the integration via the following steps:

1. Go to the Awardco listing in Microsoft AppSource
2. Click “Get it now” to be directed to the 365 Admin Center
3. Select the users you would like to deploy the integration to
4. Accept permissions on the permissions consent screen (*see below for more information about permissions being requested)
5. Finish Deployment (*it may take up to 24 hours for the integration to display for users after being deployed)

Teams Admin Center

Alternatively, your Microsoft Admin can also deploy the integration from the Teams Admin Center via the following steps:

1. Login to the Teams Admin Center
2. Go to Teams apps→Setup policies
3. Select the policy that applies to the group of employees you want to deploy the app to
4. Click “Add apps” under the “Installed Apps” section, and search for Awardco
5. Click “Add” to deploy and click “Save” (*it may take up to 24 hours for the integration to display for users after being deployed)
6. Accept permissions
   • Go to Teams apps→Manage apps
   • Search for Awardco under the “All apps” section
   • Click on Awardco and go to the “Permissions” tab
   • Click “Grant Admin Consent” and accept permissions (*see below for more information about permissions being requested)

Step 2: Connect Platforms

You’ll need to connect your Awardco platform with your Microsoft tenant by completing the following steps (this can be done by any user that has the integration installed):

1. Open Microsoft Teams
2. On the left sidebar, click on the … button, and search for Awardco
3. Click on the Awardco app
4. Enter your organization’s Awardco domain and click “Continue”
5. Login using your Awardco credentials

*This step only needs to be completed once, and then the app will automatically update this information for all other users within the organization

User Setup

User Login

Users will need to login to the integration to gain access to its full functionality. They can do this by accessing the Awardco app from wherever it is deployed (Teams, Outlook, 365) and logging in with their Awardco credentials.

Users may be required to agree to Awardco’s cookie policy or terms and conditions if they have not already done so on the Awardco platform.

Once logged in, they should remain logged in and not need to enter their Awardco credentials again, unless they log out of the integration. 

Pinning the App

To encourage engagement with the Awardco app, we recommend pinning it to places where your employees can easily find and interact with it.

In Teams

Your Microsoft Admin can pin the app for your entire organization by completing the following steps:

1. Login to the Teams Admin Center
2. Go to Teams apps→Setup policies
3. Select the policy that applies to the group of employees who have the app deployed and you want to pin the app for
4. Click “Add apps” under the “Pinned Apps” section, and search for Awardco
5. Add the app. It will now be pinned in the app bar and into the ellipsis menu, and you can arrange the app in the order you want it to appear.

If your organization allows it, the app can also be pinned on an individual-user basis by following the steps below:

• If the app is currently visible in the left sidebar:
  • Right click on the app icon in the left sidebar and choose the “pin” option
• If the app is not currently visible in the left sidebar:
  • Click on the … button, and search for Awardco
  • Right click on the app icon and choose the “pin” option

In Outlook

Pinning the app in Outlook can only be done on an individual-user basis, by following the steps below:

1. Open the app drawer in the left sidebar (signified by the “waffle” icon)
2. Find the Awardco app by scrolling or searching
3. Right click on the app icon and choose the “pin” option

In Microsoft 365

Pinning the app in Microsoft 365 can only be done on an individual-user basis by following the steps below:

1. Click on “Apps” on the side bar of Microsoft 365.
2. Find the Awardco app and hover over it.
3. Click the … icon and then click “Pin”.

Notifications (Teams only)

Users can receive real-time notifications from Awardco within Teams. Specifically, they will appear in the Activity tab in Teams and, when clicked, will open users to the relevant Awardco page right within Teams.

To enable this functionality, notifications in Teams must be enabled by your organization, and the user must be opted-in to receive notifications in Teams.

Enabling Notifications in Teams (Admin)

As an Awardco Admin, you can enable notifications to be sent through Microsoft Teams by following these steps:

1. In Awardco, go to Admin→Integrations→Integrations Library→Microsoft Bundle
2. Set the toggle for Notifications to ON
3. In Awardco, go to Admin→Notifications→Notification Settings
4. For any notification types that support delivery through Teams, update your setting to “Default Off”, “Default On”, or “Locked On” to enable them in Teams

If your organization has any notification types to “Default On” or “Locked On” for Teams, users will automatically start receiving them in Teams as long as they have signed into the Awardco app, or as long as their email address in Teams matches their email address in Awardco.

If your organization has any notification types set to “Default Off” for Teams, users will need to manually opt-in to notification types for Teams to receive notifications there (see below).

Opting-in to Notifications in Teams (User)

Users can opt-in to receive Awardco notifications in Teams by following these steps:

1. In Awardco, click on your profile icon in the top right corner, and go to My Profile→Settings→Notifications
2. For any notification types that support delivery through Teams, check the box to start receiving notifications there

Quick Recognition Tool

The Quick-Recognition Tool allows users to quickly recognize others in-the-moment, or without leaving the context of their current task.

Enabling Autofill Recipients (Admin)

To make recognition even easier, the Awardco integration can automatically populate the recognition recipients based on the people that a user is already interacting with.

To enable this functionality, Autofill Recipients must be enabled by your organization. As an Awardco Admin, you can enable this functionality by following these steps:

1. In Awardco, go to Admin→Integrations→Integrations Library→Microsoft Bundle
2. Set the toggle for Autofill Recipients to ON

Using the Quick-Recognition Tool in Teams

1. While in a Chat, Channel, Team, or Chat within a Call, click on the Awardco app
2. Login with your Awardco credentials (if prompted due to first-time login)
3. If Autofill Recipients is enabled (see above), the app will intelligently populate recipients of the recognition based on the users you were interacting with (users must have used the Awardco integration before, or have the same email address in Teams and Awardco for this to work)
4. You can now recognize the users that have been autofilled, and may be able to add or remove users prior to proceeding with the recognition.

Using the Quick-Recognition Tool in Outlook

To offer quick recognition in Outlook, you’ll need to install the Awardco for Outlook add-in.

FAQ

• Q: Which versions of Microsoft apps support this integration?
  • A: (see table below)

• Q: Can I install the Microsoft Bundle integration for only Teams?
  • A: Because our Microsoft Bundle is built on Microsoft’s Unified App architecture, the integration is deployed as a single package across the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. Technically, an admin can block the app within the M365 Integrated Apps portal to hide it from Outlook and M365. However, because our integration is designed as a Unified Bundle, doing this might disrupt functionality. We generally recommend deploying the Bundle as intended and allowing users to simply remove the icon from their Outlook ribbon if they find it distracting.
• Q: Can individual users install the Microsoft Bundle integration?
  • A: Yes, users can find and install the Awardco app on their own from the app marketplaces within Teams, Outlook, or 365. When they do this, the app will be installed for themselves only and nobody else within your organization. Additionally, a Microsoft Admin for your organization must view and accept permissions before any users can actually use the app.
• Q: Can an admin install the app for all users?
  • A: Yes, admins can deploy and accept permissions for the whole organization (see “Integration Setup Instructions” above)
• Q: Can an admin sign in all users?
  • A: No, each user must sign in individually, though admins can handle deployment and permissions.
• Q: Will the app save my place if I navigate away?
  • A: No, the app will reload upon returning.
• Q: Will I have to sign in every time I close Teams/Outlook/365?
  • A: No, once logged in, the connection persists until you log out of the integration.
• Q: I am setting up the teams app, what happens when I see this?
  • 
  • A: This screen appears when using an incognito window, simply press the “Show the app anyway” to continue to the app.
• Q: I am setting up the teams app, what happens when I see this?
  •   
  • A: The Microsoft bundle does not support non-chromium browsers. If you are on Firefox or Safari, you’ll need to use a different browser or the app-version of Teams/Outlook to access the integration..
• Q: I am setting up the teams app, what happens when I see this?
  •   
  • A: If you go back to your Microsoft app (After successfully signing in the browser tab) and find a page saying “Waiting for login…”, something probably went wrong during the login processes. In this case, please refresh the app and try again.
• Q: Are there regional versions of the Microsoft Bundle integration?
  • A: Yes. We have dedicated versions for clients hosted on our European servers (award.co.uk) called Awardco Europe, and for our Canadian servers (awardcocanada) called Awardco Canada. Note that the Awardco Europe app offers the embedded experience only and does not currently support Teams Notifications or the Quick-Recognition Tool.

If you have any questions, please contact Awardco Admin Support.