Best Practices for Microsoft Teams

This article will provide some valuable best practice suggestions to ensure zero loss of data or information from the date of joining till the last date of employment.

Table of Contents

This knowledge base article provides essential best practices for effectively using Microsoft Teams within the university environment. Whether you are a faculty member, student, or staff, understanding these guidelines will optimize your collaboration experience and streamline communication.  

• Organize Teams and Channels 
• Co-organizers in Meetings
• Co-owners of Teams

Organize Teams and Channels 

Learn how to structure your Teams and pin important channels for easy access. Optimizing channel organization enhances productivity. Effective organization in Microsoft Teams enhances collaboration and productivity! 

• Reorder Teams:
  • Group similar Teams together or order them alphabetically.
  • Drag and drop Teams to arrange them in a more organized list. 
  • Click the team you want to move, then drag it to the desired position. 
• Hide Teams You Don’t Frequently Use: 
  • Some teams may be less relevant to you. Hide them to declutter your sidebar. 
  • Click the three-dot icon next to the team name and select “Hide.” These teams will move to the “Hidden Teams” section. 
  • To unhide a team, click the three-dot icon and select “Show.” 
• Hide Channels Within Teams: 
  • Even within active teams, certain channels might be less relevant. 
  • Click the three-dot icon next to a channel and select “Hide.” 
  • To unhide a channel, follow the same steps. 
• Pin Important Channels: 
  • Pinned channels stay at the top of your sidebar for quick access. 
  • Click the three-dot icon next to a channel and select “Pin.” 
  • You can pin multiple channels, ensuring they’re conveniently placed. 
• Creating Teams from Existing Groups: 
  • Utilize existing contact groups, security groups, or Office groups to create Teams. 
  • Understand the process of importing large groups into Teams. 
• Leveraging Large Teams for Collaboration: 
  • Explore the benefits of large Teams for department-wide collaboration and employee resource groups. 
  • Discover strategies for effective communication within large Teams. 
• Exploring Advanced Features: 
  • Dive into features such as document sharing, voice/video meetings, and app integrations. 
  • Maximize productivity by using additional functionalities like background images and meeting recordings. 

Co-organizers in Meetings

• Open Teams and select the Calendar icon to create a new meeting.

• Enter a title, attendees, date, and time for the meeting.
  • If required, please include a description of the meeting for reference and any necessary attachments such as files or documents. Select Send.

• Now, right-click on the meeting, and choose Edit.

• Navigate to Meeting options.

• It will open a webpage on your browser to edit meeting options.
  • Look for Choose co-organizers on the list displayed on the left side of your screen.
  • Click on the small arrow selected on the image below and choose the Additional co-organizer(s).
• Select Save at the bottom of your screen.

Co-owners of Teams

• There are two main roles in Microsoft Teams: A team owner, the person who manages the team, and team members, the people who they invite to join their team. 
• Team owners can make any team member a co-owner when they invite them to the group or after they have joined the team. 
• Having multiple team owners enables you to share managing settings and membership responsibilities, including invitations. "UTD recommends at least two owners on every Team".
• To make another team member an owner – Right-click on the three dots on a team and select Manage Team.

• As shown below, you can use/make changes to the various functions of a Team by selecting options in the banner. You can directly add a member by selecting the Add member button.

• To edit the role of the member, click on the small triangle under the role column and choose either member/owner.