Is your work environment in Microsoft Teams as productive as it can be?
Having a clear and well-organized Teams environment is fundamental to ensuring the productivity and efficiency of a company. However, in the pursuit of maximizing functionality, it is easy to make mistakes that can ultimately disrupt workflow and reduce productivity.
Here are seven common mistakes in Microsoft Teams that you should avoid:
1. Create new Teams when there are already existing ones, with the same purpose or name
Why not? It creates confusion and splinters information and resources, making it harder for team members to find and share relevant information.
A Better way: Before you create a new team, do a quick check to see if there is already a team with a similar purpose or goal. If there is already a similar Team, consider joining it or creating a new joint.
2. Finish projects by just leaving the team
Why not? Leaving old teams active but without members can create clutter and make it harder to navigate the Teams environment. It can also lead to sensitive information being easily accessible for longer than necessary.
A Better way: Use the archive feature in Teams when a project ends. This preserves all information and conversations securely and prevents further activity, while keeping the history available for future reference.
3. Neglect to update team owners when people change positions or leave the organization
Why not? If a team owner leaves the team without a new owner being assigned, it can cause problems with team management and access to important information.
A Better way: Have as a rule always have at least two team owners to ensure continuity. If a team owner leaves, be sure to immediately update the ownership to another appropriate person in the organization.
4. Use too long or similar team names
Why not? If team names are too long, they can get cut off in the Team List making it difficult to quickly identify and differentiate them, especially if distinguishing information is placed towards the end of the name. This can create confusion and make it difficult to find the right team, especially in environments with many similar teams.
A Better way: Strive to make team names short and concise while remaining descriptive. If you manage several similar teams, place the distinguishing details earlier in the name. This ensures that the key information is visible even if the name is partially cut off in the user interface.
5. Overuse of @mentions
Why not? Too much use of @mentions, especially to the entire team, can lead to notification fatigue and cause important messages to be lost in the noise.
A Better way: Use @mentions sparingly and only when absolutely necessary to get someone's attention. For general messages, consider just posting in the channel without specifically mentioning anyone.
6. Ignore the default channel and create new channels for each new discussion
Why not? The default channel, General/General, is meant for important messages and discussions that affect the entire team. Failure to use this channel may result in important information being missed.
A Better way: Use the “General” channel for messages that are important to all team members. Use or create dedicated channels for more specific topics or projects.
7. Fail to exploit tabs and applications
Why not? Teams offers the ability to integrate various Microsoft applications and third-party services as tabs within a team. Not integrating and using available applications and services reduces team efficiency and the ability to work seamlessly within the same platform.
A Better way: Explore and integrate relevant Microsoft and third-party applications that can improve collaboration and productivity. Use tabs to organize these tools and resources in a clear way.
Create a more structured and safe work environment
By proactively avoiding these mistakes, your company can create a Teams environment that is not only more structured and secure, but also more conducive to productivity and efficiency. The right strategies and approaches can make a big difference in how well your team collaborates and achieves its goals.
