Happy New Year! Wishing you a safe and prosperous start to 2025. Iâm back to provide helpful Microsoft 365 tips and tricks, and Iâm kicking off the year with this first post. Today, weâre diving into the world of Channels in Microsoft Teams. Channels are the backbone of team collaboration, providing a structured way to organize conversations, files, and tools. Whether youâre managing a project, coordinating with a department, or simply keeping your team connected, channels can significantly enhance your productivity and streamline communication.
đ¤Why this Post?đ¤
In my experience working with clients, Iâve observed that many people struggle to understand what channels in Microsoft Teams are, how they work, and their relationship with SharePoint. This lack of understanding often leads to suboptimal team setups that can decrease productivity and make day-to-day work harder to manage. Channels are a powerful feature designed to organize conversations, files, and tools within Teams, but without proper knowledge, their potential is often underutilized. This post aims to demystify channels, explain their types and uses, and clarify how they integrate with SharePoint, helping you set up your Teams environment in a way that enhances collaboration and efficiency.
âWhat is a Channel in Microsoft Teamsâ
A channel in Microsoft Teams is a dedicated space within a team where members can have focused conversations, share files, and collaborate on tasks. Think of it as a sub-team within your main team, designed to keep discussions organized and relevant. Channels help break down the larger team into manageable segments, each with its own purpose and content.
For example, in a marketing team, you might have channels for âCampaign Planning,â âContent Creation,â and âSocial Media Strategy.â Each channel serves as a hub for discussions, files, and tools related to that specific topic, making it easier for team members to find and contribute to relevant conversations.
âď¸âđĽRelationship Between Microsoft Teams and SharePointâď¸âđĽ
Microsoft Teams is back-ended by SharePoint, which means that all the files and documents shared within Teams are stored in SharePoint Online. Every Standard channel in a Team has a corresponding folder in the SharePoint document library associated with the team. When you upload a file to a standard channel, it is stored in this SharePoint folder, ensuring that all files are organized and easily accessible. Note that Private and Shared channels get their own SharePoint site. This is because each of these channel types have their own membership that is seperate from that of the main team. To navigate to the SharePoint backend of a team, click into the file tab of any channel and click the open in SharePoint button as outlined in the demonstration below. If you happen to be curious how I added metadata to the files stored in Teams, you can check out this tutorial.
âď¸Different Types of Channels in Microsoft Teamsâď¸
Microsoft Teams offers three types of channels, each serving a unique purpose. Before setting up a team, it is important to understand how each type of channel works, what they are best used for and any potential limitations to ensure that you optimize your team structure for your specific workflows. Letâs explore these with an example team called âFinance Departmentâ.
â Standard Channels in Microsoft Teamsâ
Standard channels are open to all team members and are ideal for general discussions and collaboration. They are best used for topics that everyone in the team needs to be aware of and participate in, such as company-wide announcements, general updates, and team-wide discussions. Consider the example of a Finance Department of a company. In the âFinance Departmentâ team, the âAnnouncements and Updatesâ channel is a standard channel used for overall department updates, team announcements, and general discussions that involve all finance team members. However, since they are open to all team members, sensitive or confidential information should not be shared in standard channels. Note that previously, when a new Team was created, a channel named "General" was added by default. Microsoft Teams now lets you name the first channel that is is (and must be) added to the Team as outlined below.
đPrivate Channels in Microsoft Teamsđ
Private channels in Microsoft Teams are restricted to a subset of team members, providing a secure space for sensitive or confidential discussions. They are best used for projects or topics that require limited access, such as budget planning, HR discussions, or executive meetings. In the âFinance Departmentâ team, the âBudget Planningâ channel is a private channel accessible only to the finance team leads and senior management, ensuring that sensitive financial information is kept confidential. Note that you can identify a private channel by the "lock" symbol next to the name.
Only members of the private channel can see its content. Additionally, private channels cannot be converted to standard channels, and there are limits on the number of private channels you can create within a team (limit of 30). It is important to note that in order to add users to a private channel, you must first add them to the Team. Once added, they will be available to be added to a private channel as outlined below.
đ¤Using SharePoint for Project Management?đ¤
Did you know SharePoint Lists can streamline project management? Recently, a student reached out to thank me for not only teaching how to use SharePoint Lists but for including a practical scenario on building a project task tracker. In my on-demand course, SharePoint List Fundamentals, youâll gain 90 minutes of high-quality, scenario-based content designed to help you master SharePoint Lists, whether you're a beginner or advanced user. Ready to unlock new capabilities with SharePoint Lists? Enroll today and join others in transforming your skills!
đ˘Shared Channels in Microsoft Teamsđ˘
Shared channels in Microsoft Teams allow collaboration with people outside your team or even outside your organization. They are best used for cross-functional projects, partnerships with external clients, or any scenario where collaboration with external parties is needed. For example, in the âFinance Departmentâ team, the âExternal Auditorsâ channel is a shared channel that includes team members from both the internal finance team and the external auditing firm, facilitating direct communication and file sharing. Shared channels require careful management of permissions and access. External users need to have the appropriate permissions set up, and there may be limitations on the integration of certain apps and tools.
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