How to Create a Team in Microsoft Teams

If you’ve been tasked with setting up Microsoft Teams, you’re probably the first person in your organization to use the app. For that reason, you’ll definitely be the one your colleagues flock to for advice.

Creating the first teams and channels using the app isn’t difficult, if a learning curve still exists. Here’s how to get started with teams on Microsoft Teams.

Teams vs. Channels

Before we continue, let’s cover a little bit more about teams and channels.

There are two main terms when it comes to Microsoft Teams: teams and channels. Each team represents a group of people working toward a common goal. On the other hand, a channel is a collaboration space for a team to get work done.

Right off the bat, here’s a top tip: put your team in the Get to know Teams team before having them move on to the real deal. Here, they’ll be able to discover everything that Microsoft Teams can offer, without the risk of messing something up.

Get to know Teams is great for checking whether everyone has set up and installed everything correctly, and whether their platforms are all operational. It’s a test run that will help you avoid some trivial issues when you finally activate Microsoft Teams.

Creating a Team

There’s not much to creating a new team in Microsoft Teams, so let’s get straight to the point on how to create one.

1. Open Microsoft Teams and select Teams, it’s on the left-hand side of the screen.
2. Then, navigate to the bottom of the list and select Join or create a team.
3. Finally, go to Create a new team.

Now that you have a team, it’s time to invite some people to join it.

Inviting People to Join

Inviting people to join a team is pretty straightforward, once you know how to navigate through the menu. First, you’ll want to designate the team owners. By default, you’ll be the sole owner in the team that you’ve created, but you can add more.

1. To do so, go to More options.
2. Then, navigate to Manage team.
3. Next, use the Members tab to select the team owners.
4. Now, find a team member, go to Role, and then click Owner.

You can easily change a team member’s role with a few clicks. The cool thing about Microsoft Teams is that you can not only add individuals, but also groups, and even entire contact lists.

Create a Channel

One of the great things about teams is channels, as discussed above. After all, collaboration is key. Now that you’ve come this far, it’s time for you to create a channel in the team that you’ve just created.

1. Go to the team in question and select More options.
2. Then, navigate to Add channel. Alternatively, go to Manage team and then add the first channel from the Channels tab. Use whichever way you prefer.

Once you’ve created the channel, make sure that you’ve given it a descriptive name – the whole point is that the team members are able to find what they’re looking for without too much effort. You can also add a channel description, making it easier for your team members to get by on the channel.

The neat thing about channels is that you can pin tabs to them and add various third-party tools, making the environment business- and user-friendly. You can also add links to various webpages and a plethora of other content types.

Take Things Slowly

Even when you’re done with the Get to know Teams team, you shouldn’t rush your colleagues into high-paced Microsoft Teams use. They’re still probably going to be in the process of getting used to working on this platform. Some will figure it out more quickly, others will have a harder time getting the gist of it.

Take things slowly and in the end, you’ll have created an efficient collaborative work and communication environment.

Creating Teams and Channels

The syntax of creating teams and channels on Microsoft Teams is simple and straightforward. Still, you should pay attention to how well your team is receiving this information. Take your time and don’t rush it. There’s a period of adjustment to take into account. After some practice, however, your team will be flying all over the Microsoft Teams platform.

Have you tried using Microsoft Teams in your workplace? Did your team have any trouble adjusting to it? What were your team’s biggest problems? Hit the comment section below with any thoughts/questions/tips that you might have regarding Microsoft Teams.