How to Organize Microsoft Teams and Channels in 2025

More Writing

• Career Advice
  • Feb 21, 2025 How Art College Students Can Prepare Their Portfolio and Resumes for Job Hunting Feb 21, 2025
• Marketing
  • Feb 13, 2025 Creative Providers in Ohio Feb 13, 2025
  • Jan 8, 2025 How to Organize Microsoft Teams and Channels in 2025 Jan 8, 2025
  • Nov 1, 2024 Marketing Budget Calculator Nov 1, 2024
• Operations
  • Feb 28, 2025 Operations Improvement Funnel: How to filter problems out of your business. Feb 28, 2025
  • Jan 8, 2025 How to Organize Microsoft Teams and Channels in 2025 Jan 8, 2025
• Processes
  • Feb 28, 2025 Operations Improvement Funnel: How to filter problems out of your business. Feb 28, 2025
  • Jan 8, 2025 How to Organize Microsoft Teams and Channels in 2025 Jan 8, 2025
• The Art of Business
  • Jul 18, 2020 Use Google Ads to Inspire Effective SEO for Artist Jul 18, 2020
  • Apr 5, 2017 The Art of Denying: Why being able to say 'No' is important as an artist. Apr 5, 2017
  • Dec 15, 2015 The Art of Inventory: Why artists should keep inventory of their products. Dec 15, 2015
• The Art of Marketing
  • Jul 18, 2020 Use Google Ads to Inspire Effective SEO for Artist Jul 18, 2020

Author: Kasandra Murray

As the owner of Unlucky Umbrella Studio, Kasandra focuses on the importance of growing marketing and operations together. She has over a decade of experience in management, operations, and marketing. She aims to help businesses resolve critical issues and increase revenue, which leads to happier clients and a better work culture.

More than a million companies worldwide use Microsoft 365 and likely use teams to communicate. If you are looking for some best practices when organizing your Microsoft Teams, channels, and chats, here is what we recommend to many clients.

General Rules Of Keeping Teams Organized

1. Simplify your types of teams.

Break your teams down into four main categories:

• Organization Team: A place where everyone in your organization can see communications from leadership.

• Cross-Departmental Team: A place where multiple departments can collaborate.

• Department Team: A place where people within the same department can communicate or collaborate.

• Project Team: A Cross-departmental team for a project with a start and an end.

2. Use chats first, then create a team if needed.

It’s way easier to scale up than it is to scale back. Start with group chats and add/remove people as needed. Chats have similar functionality to teams - you can share files, tag people, add tabs, and more. Wait to create teams until you need additional features, like the subject chats with replies.

Your department teams should always start as a group chat, then grow into a department if necessary. Generally, the smaller your organization, the fewer teams you should have.

3. Train, train, and train some more.

• Teach people where to post.

• Correct employees when they post in the wrong place - this helps them learn faster.

• Teach employees about team features and their appropriate uses.

4. Teams should be fluid and flexible to accommodate your business teams.

• Chats should be able to evolve into teams.

• Teams should be able to devolve into chats.

• Teams and chats should be able to be retired/locked when no longer necessary.

5. Create a communication best practice.

Nowadays, there are a ton of ways to communicate within an organization. Make it clear how you expect your employees to communicate and through what tools. Your employees can communicate via email, phone calls, and team messages. Break your communication down into Urgent, important, and confidential, and explain what communication is necessary.

Communication and

Provide your name and email to receive our free Communication Best Practice template.