Microsoft Teams Optimisation: Getting More from Your Investment

Introduction

Microsoft Teams has become the default collaboration tool for many Australian businesses. But there’s a difference between having Teams and actually using it well. Most SMBs barely scratch the surface of what Teams can do.

If your team treats Teams as just another chat app or video calling tool, you’re leaving significant productivity gains on the table. This guide covers practical ways to get more value from your existing Teams investment.

Common Teams Problems

Meeting Overload

The shift to remote and hybrid work created meeting culture problems:

• Meetings that could be messages
• Back-to-back video calls with no breaks
• Everyone invited to everything “just in case”
• No clear agendas or outcomes

Teams can help solve these problems—if configured and used properly.

Channel Chaos

Many organisations end up with:

• Too many channels, most inactive
• Important messages lost in busy channels
• No clear structure for what goes where
• Private chats duplicating channel discussions

Notification Fatigue

The constant ping of notifications:

• Interrupts focused work
• Creates anxiety about missing important messages
• Leads people to ignore notifications entirely
• Reduces rather than improves responsiveness

Optimising Your Teams Structure

Team and Channel Design

Start with Clear Purpose

Each Team should have a clear reason to exist:

• Department teams (Marketing, Sales, Operations)
• Project teams (with defined end dates)
• Topic teams (cross-functional groups)
• Social teams (optional, for culture)

Channel Naming Conventions

Use consistent prefixes for easy scanning:

• 00-General - Team-wide announcements
• 01-Announcements - Important updates
• 10-Projects - Project discussions
• 20-Resources - Shared documents and references
• 90-Random - Off-topic chat

Numbers help sort channels logically rather than alphabetically.

When to Create New Channels

Create new channels when:

• Topic generates regular discussion
• Specific group needs focused space
• Information should be easily searchable
• Privacy requirements differ

Don’t create channels for one-off topics—use posts with subject lines instead.

Private Channels vs Private Teams

Private Channels

For sensitive topics within an existing team:

• HR discussions in a department team
• Confidential project planning
• Leadership conversations

Separate Private Teams

For completely separate groups:

• Executive team
• Board communications
• Acquisition discussions

Use the minimum necessary privacy. Over-privatisation fragments communication.

Meeting Best Practices

Reduce Unnecessary Meetings

Use Posts Instead

For status updates and announcements, post in the relevant channel:

• Tag relevant people with @mentions
• Mark as important if needed
• Let people respond asynchronously

Meeting-Free Time Blocks

Configure team expectations:

• No meetings before 10 AM
• Focus Friday afternoons
• Minimum 5-minute gaps between meetings

Teams scheduling assistant helps find appropriate times.

Make Meetings Better

Always Include Agenda

In the meeting invite:

• Clear purpose statement
• Discussion topics with time estimates
• Required preparation
• Expected outcomes

Use Meeting Chat Effectively

During meetings:

• Share links and references in chat
• Take notes collaboratively
• Capture action items
• Reference materials without screen sharing

Record and Transcribe

For important meetings:

• Record for those who couldn’t attend
• Enable transcription for searchability
• Post recordings in relevant channel
• Summarise key decisions in a post

Meeting Settings Worth Configuring

Organisation-Wide Settings

Admins should consider:

• Lobby settings for external guests
• Recording permissions
• Transcription availability
• Meeting duration defaults

Personal Settings

Encourage individuals to configure:

• Calendar sync preferences
• Notification settings for meetings
• Default camera and microphone settings
• Background effects

Taming Notifications

Organisation Guidelines

Establish notification norms:

Urgent vs Important

• Direct messages: Expect relatively quick response
• @mentions: Expect response within working hours
• Channel posts: Response when convenient
• Priority notifications: Genuinely urgent only

Respect Focus Time

• Check status before pinging
• Use scheduled send for non-urgent messages
• Avoid @channel unless truly necessary
• Never use priority notifications for non-emergencies

Individual Settings

Help team members configure:

Quiet Hours

Set working hours so notifications pause outside them.

Channel-Specific Settings

• Mute low-priority channels
• Enable only @mentions for busy channels
• Turn on all activity for critical channels

Focus Sessions

Use Microsoft Viva Insights integration:

• Schedule focus time blocks
• Automatic status updates
• Notification snoozing

Integrations and Apps

Essential Integrations

Task Management

Planner integration provides:

• Kanban boards in channels
• Task assignments from messages
• Deadline tracking
• Progress visibility

Document Collaboration

SharePoint integration enables:

• Files tab in every channel
• Co-authoring in real-time
• Version history
• Search across documents

Forms and Polls

Microsoft Forms for:

• Quick polls in channels
• Feedback collection
• Simple surveys
• Meeting voting

Third-Party Apps

Approved App Store

Admins should curate available apps:

• Review security and privacy
• Enable useful productivity apps
• Block potential security risks
• Monitor usage

Popular Useful Apps

• Polly for polls and surveys
• Approvals for workflow automation
• Shifts for scheduling
• Bookings for appointment scheduling

Search and Discovery

Finding Information

Search Tips

• Use filters (From, In, With)
• Search within specific teams or channels
• Use quotes for exact phrases
• Check Files tab for documents

Message Organisation

Help future search by:

• Using descriptive subject lines
• Starting new threads for new topics
• Saving important messages
• Pinning critical posts

Knowledge Management

Wiki Tab

Use for persistent information:

• Team processes and procedures
• Onboarding information
• FAQ and common solutions
• Reference materials

OneNote Integration

For more structured knowledge:

• Meeting notes by date
• Project documentation
• Training materials
• Shared notebooks

Security and Compliance

Guest Access

When to Allow

Guest access appropriate for:

• Client collaboration
• Vendor coordination
• Partner projects
• External consultants

Configure Properly

• Limit to specific teams
• Set expiration dates
• Review regularly
• Monitor activity

Data Governance

Retention Policies

Consider business and legal requirements:

• How long to keep conversations
• Archive vs delete decisions
• Compliance recording needs
• eDiscovery requirements

Information Barriers

For regulated industries:

• Prevent communication between groups
• Maintain ethical walls
• Comply with regulations

Measuring Success

Usage Analytics

Teams Admin Centre provides:

• Active users over time
• Meeting patterns
• Channel activity
• App usage

Productivity Indicators

Track improvements in:

• Meeting duration trends
• Email volume (should decrease)
• Time to decision
• Employee satisfaction

Regular Review

Quarterly assessment:

• Which teams are active/inactive
• Channel usage patterns
• Common pain points
• Feature requests

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Over-Engineering

Don’t create complex structures before you need them. Start simple and evolve based on actual usage patterns.

Ignoring Training

People won’t use features they don’t know exist. Regular tips and training sessions help adoption.

No Governance

Without guidelines, chaos ensues. Establish clear norms for team creation, channel management, and communication expectations.

Treating It Like Email

Teams is designed for collaboration, not one-way messaging. Encourage interaction, not broadcast.

Conclusion

Microsoft Teams is a powerful platform, but power without purpose just creates complexity. The goal isn’t to use every feature—it’s to communicate and collaborate more effectively.

Start with the basics: clean up your team structure, establish communication norms, configure notifications sensibly. Then add integrations and features as genuine needs arise.

The best Teams deployment is one your team actually uses well, not one with every possible feature enabled.

Review your current setup against these recommendations. Pick one area to improve first, get that working well, then move to the next. Incremental improvement beats attempted transformation.