Understanding Teams Structure
Microsoft Teams has three main ways to communicate:
Teams: Groups of people who work together. Think departments, projects, or the whole company.
Channels: Topics within a team. Think conversations about specific subjects—marketing campaigns, client projects, general announcements.
Chat: Private conversations between specific people. Think quick questions, sensitive discussions, or one-to-one conversations.
Getting this structure right is the difference between a useful collaboration tool and a confusing mess.
Teams: The Big Picture
What Is a Team?
A team is a collection of people who need to work together and share information. Each team gets:
- Shared channels for conversations
- Shared file storage
- Shared apps and integrations
- A shared calendar (via connected SharePoint)
How Many Teams Should You Have?
For small businesses, less is more.
Under 20 employees: One team is often enough. Call it your company name.
20-50 employees: Consider 2-4 teams based on natural divisions (departments or major projects).
Over 50 employees: More structure becomes necessary, but still aim for as few teams as practical.
The test: If most people need to be in most teams, you have too many teams. Consolidate.
Team Types
When creating a team, you choose:
Private: Only invited members can see or join. Best for most business teams.
Public: Anyone in your organisation can find and join. Useful for company-wide teams or interest groups.
Organisation-wide: Automatically includes everyone. Only available for smaller organisations. Useful for company announcements.
Practical Team Structures
Option 1: Single Company Team (Best for <20 people)
```
Your Company Name
├── General (announcements)
├── Projects
├── Sales
├── Random/Social
└── IT Help
```
Option 2: Department Teams (Best for 20-50 people)
```
Company-Wide
├── Announcements
├── General Discussion
└── Social
Sales & Marketing
├── General
├── Leads
└── Campaigns
Operations
├── General
├── Client Projects
└── Processes
```
Option 3: Project-Based Teams (For project-heavy businesses)
```
Company Hub (everyone)
├── Announcements
└── General
Project Alpha (project team only)
├── General
├── Client Communication
└── Deliverables
Project Beta (different project team)
├── General
├── Technical
└── Testing
```
Channels: Organising Conversations
What Is a Channel?
Channels are topic-specific conversation spaces within a team. Every team starts with a 'General' channel—you can add more as needed.
Channel Best Practices
Start with few channels
Resist the urge to create channels for everything. Start with 3-5 channels maximum. Add more only when a clear need emerges.
Use clear, short names
Good: "Marketing", "Client Updates", "Tech Issues"
Bad: "Marketing Team Discussion Forum", "Updates from clients and prospects"
Write descriptions
Add a description explaining what the channel is for. Click the channel name > Edit channel to add one.
Archive, don't delete
Finished projects or inactive channels can be hidden rather than deleted. Team settings > Manage channels > Hide channel.
Standard vs Private Channels
Standard channels: Visible to everyone in the team. Use for most purposes.
Private channels: Only visible to selected members. Use for:
- Sensitive HR discussions
- Management conversations
- Confidential projects
- Finance matters
Warning: Private channels have limitations—they don't support all features and can fragment information. Use sparingly.
Suggested Channel Structures
For a company-wide team:
- General (required—use for important announcements)
- Random or Water Cooler (non-work chat)
- IT Help or Tech Support
- HR or People
- Wins and Kudos (celebrating successes)
For a project team:
- General (project-wide discussion)
- Client or External (communications with outside parties)
- Technical or Development
- Testing or QA
- Documentation
For a sales team:
- General (team discussion)
- Leads (new opportunities)
- Pipeline (active deals)
- Wins (closed deals—celebrate!)
- Competition (market intelligence)
Chat: Private Conversations
When to Use Chat vs Channels
Use channels when:
- The information might help others
- You want a searchable record
- Multiple people should weigh in
- It's about a shared project or topic
- Transparency is valuable
Use chat when:
- It's between specific people only
- It's a quick question with a quick answer
- It's sensitive or personal
- It doesn't need to be archived
- It would clutter a channel
Chat Features
One-to-one: Private conversation between two people.
Group chat: Private conversation between up to 250 people. Useful for project subgroups without creating a full team.
Chat names: Name your group chats! Click the pencil icon next to the chat name. "Project X Core Team" is easier to find than a list of names.
Managing Chat Overload
Chat can become overwhelming. Tips:
Pin important chats: Right-click > Pin. Keeps frequent conversations at the top.
Mute noisy chats: Right-click > Mute. You can still read messages but won't get notifications.
Pop out chats: Right-click > Pop out chat. Opens in a separate window for ongoing conversations.
Filter unread: Use the filter at the top of the chat list to see only unread messages.
Using @Mentions Effectively
@mentions are how you get someone's attention in Teams. Use them wisely.
Types of @Mentions
@Name: Notifies a specific person. They'll see a red badge and notification.
@Team: Notifies everyone in the team. Use sparingly—this is the equivalent of reply-all.
@Channel: Notifies everyone who has that channel shown (not hidden). Less intrusive than @team.
@General: Special mention for the General channel in organisation-wide teams.
@Mention Etiquette
Do:
- Use @mentions when you need a response
- @mention specific people who need to take action
- Use @channel for relevant updates to that topic
Don't:
- @team for non-urgent announcements (just post normally)
- @mention large groups for questions one person could answer
- Expect instant responses to every @mention
Establish expectations: Let your team know that @mentions mean "I need your input" and regular posts mean "FYI when you have time."
Posts, Replies, and Threading
Starting a Conversation
In channels, start a new conversation by clicking "Start a post" at the bottom.
Formatting options:
- Bold, italic, ~~strikethrough~~
- Bullet points and numbered lists
- Code blocks (for technical content)
- Tables
- Attachments and images
Subject lines: Click the format button (A with a paintbrush) to add a subject line. This makes posts easier to scan and find later.
Replying vs New Posts
This is crucial and often done wrong.
Reply to existing posts when you're continuing that conversation. Click 'Reply' under the post.
Start a new post when you're raising a new topic.
Why this matters: If everyone starts new posts for replies, conversations become impossible to follow. Threading keeps related messages together.
Finding Things Later
Search: Use the search bar at the top. You can search messages, files, and people.
Filters: In search results, filter by:
- Messages or Files
- From specific people
- In specific channels
- With specific keywords
Saved messages: Hover over a message > click the bookmark icon. Access saved messages via your profile picture > Saved.
Files in Teams
Where Files Live
Every channel has a Files tab. When you share a file in a conversation, it's automatically saved to that channel's Files.
Behind the scenes, Teams files are stored in SharePoint, which means:
- Automatic version history
- Recycle bin for deleted files
- Proper backup and security
File Organisation Tips
Use folders: In the Files tab, create folders to organise documents. Keep folder structures simple—2-3 levels maximum.
Name files clearly: "Q4-Marketing-Plan-v2.docx" beats "Document1.docx"
Don't duplicate: Link to files rather than copying them. One source of truth prevents confusion.
Use the right channel: Share files in the channel they relate to. Don't dump everything in General.
Co-Authoring Documents
One of Teams' best features is real-time collaboration.
To co-author:
1. Upload or create a document in Teams Files
2. Click to open it (opens in Teams or browser)
3. Multiple people can edit simultaneously
4. Changes save automatically
Tips:
- Don't download and re-upload—edit in place
- Click the profile icons to see who else is editing
- Use comments for discussions about specific parts
Managing Notifications
Notifications are the difference between Teams being useful and Teams being chaos.
Notification Settings
Access via Settings (gear icon) > Notifications
Key settings:
- @mentions: Keep on—these are deliberate requests for your attention
- Messages: Consider turning off for busy channels
- Likes and reactions: Usually safe to turn off
Per-Channel Settings
Right-click any channel > Channel notifications
Options:
- All activity (every message)
- @mentions and replies (only when specifically mentioned)
- Off (completely silent)
Recommended: Set busy channels to "@mentions only" and important channels to "All activity."
Status Settings
Your status affects how others see you:
Available: Normal—notifications as configured
Busy: Shows you're occupied but notifications still come through
Do Not Disturb: Blocks all notifications except priority contacts
Away: Shows you're not at your computer
Set status manually by clicking your profile picture > Status. Useful when focusing on deep work.
Quiet hours: Settings > Notifications > Quiet hours. Block notifications outside work hours.
Common Problems and Solutions
"I Can't Find Anything"
Symptoms: Messages get lost, files are hard to locate, conversations are scattered.
Solutions:
- Use fewer teams and channels
- Use threading properly (replies, not new posts)
- Use consistent file naming and folders
- Use search effectively
- Save important messages
"There's Too Much Noise"
Symptoms: Constant notifications, fear of missing important messages, notification fatigue.
Solutions:
- Configure notifications properly (above)
- Hide channels you don't need to monitor actively
- Use Do Not Disturb during focus time
- Establish team norms about @mentions
- Consider whether some channels should be private
"People Use Chat for Everything"
Symptoms: Important decisions happening in private chats, information silos forming.
Solutions:
- Lead by example—use channels for shareable discussions
- Establish guidelines about what goes where
- Remind team that channel discussions are searchable and accessible
- After important chat discussions, summarise in relevant channel
"No One Replies"
Symptoms: Posts go unanswered, people don't engage.
Solutions:
- Use @mentions for messages needing response
- Ask direct questions to specific people
- Check if the channel/team is too broad
- Ensure notifications are configured properly
- Set expectations about response times
The Bottom Line
Good Teams structure isn't about using every feature—it's about using the right features consistently.
Start simple. One team, a few channels, clear guidelines about what goes where. Add complexity only when the simple structure genuinely isn't working.
The best Teams setup is one your team actually uses. That usually means fewer teams, fewer channels, and clearer expectations—not more.
