Welcome to Google, Astra Staff!

This guide provides the key highlights for our transition to Google Workspace. Explore the topics below to learn about the core features and workflows that will boost your productivity and enhance team collaboration.

Important Dates & Tasks

Prep Week

What's Happening

Our migration partner is wrapping up data transfer which includes emails, contacts, calendars etc.

Your Tasks

  • Send and receive emails as usual but please refrain from organizing your emails into folders until after the migration is complete.
  • Use our current “Astra Staff” Google Drive as usual until Friday, August 22nd.
  • Review this onboarding page and get familiar with Google Workspace and how it differs from Microsoft Office 365.
  • Meet with Patrick to confirm you can log into your new Google account.

The Mindset Shift

From Desktop to Cloud-First

Work in the Browser

Your work now lives in your web browser, not on your computer. This means you can access it from any device, and you never have to worry about saving—it's automatic and constant.

The Single Source of Truth

Instead of creating files on your laptop and emailing attachments (report_v5_final.docx), we now share a single link. Everyone works on the same document, eliminating confusion and ensuring we're all seeing the most current version.

Shared Drives vs. My Drive

My Drive is for your personal drafts. Shared Drives are for team files. When a file is in a Shared Drive, it belongs to the team, ensuring it's never lost if someone leaves.

Workflow: By default, create documents in a Shared Drive so everyone is in the loop. When needed, you can start drafts in 'My Drive' and move them to a 'Shared Drive' for team collaboration.
It’s critical that you move files into a Shared Drive so they are easily accessible by the entire team.

Learn about Shared Drives

Key Features

  • Commenting & Tasks: Assign tasks by mentioning a person (@ or +) and clicking the "Assign" box.
  • Suggesting Mode: The new "Track Changes." Your edits appear as suggestions that can be accepted or rejected.
  • Version History: See every change ever made and revert to any previous version.
Learn about Comments & Tasks

Collaboration Core

Google Drive & Docs

Real-Time Chat

Google Chat

Spaces are the new Channels

What we called 'Channels' in Teams are now 'Spaces' in Google Chat. Each project or team should have its own Space to keep conversations and files organized.

Learn about Spaces

From Microsoft Teams to Chat

To keep conversations from becoming chaotic, always reply in a thread. This groups all replies under the original message. You can also start an instant video call from any chat or Space.

Learn the Differences

One-Click to Join

Google Meet is fully integrated. You can join video calls instantly from Calendar events, Gmail, or a Chat message, with no need to open a separate app.

Learn about Joining

Critical Workflow: Meeting Recordings

Important: Recordings are automatically saved to the organizer's personal 'My Drive.' The organizer must then move the video file to the team's 'Shared Drive' so everyone can access it.

Learn about Recordings

Video Conferencing

Google Meet

Communication Hub

Gmail & Calendar

Organize with Labels, Find with Search

In Gmail, use labels to categorize emails (you can apply multiple labels to one message). Rely on the powerful search bar to find what you need instantly.

Learn about Labels

Smart & Shared Calendars

Use the 'Find a time' feature to see when your colleagues are free. Subscribe to your team's shared calendar for visibility on projects and vacations.

Learn about Calendars

Share Files Securely

Control who can see and edit your files. Use 'Viewer,' 'Commenter,' or 'Editor' roles. For internal sharing, always check that the link is set to share only within our company.

Learn about Sharing

Work Offline

You can work on your files even without an internet connection. Enable offline mode in your Drive settings to sync files to your computer.

Learn about Offline

Key Skills & Security

Best Practices

AI-Powered Productivity

Work Smarter

Summarize Docs & Email Threads

Catch up in seconds. In Google Docs, AI can generate a summary of a long document. In Gmail, it can summarize a lengthy email chain, giving you the key points without you having to read every single reply.

Summaries in Docs Summaries in Mail

Create First Drafts with AI in Docs

Beat the blank page. In a Google Doc, just type what you want to write (e.g., `@`, 'Help me write a project proposal') and AI will generate a first draft for you to edit and refine. It's perfect for brainstorming and getting started quickly.

Learn about "Help me write"

Write Faster with Smart Compose & Reply

Let AI be your writing assistant. Get suggestions for completing sentences (Smart Compose) and one-click responses to emails (Smart Reply) right as you type, saving you time on every message.

Learn about Smart Compose
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