Unlocking Productivity: SharePoint, Teams, and OneDrive Best Practices for SMBs with M365 Business Premium

For Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) leveraging Microsoft 365 Business Premium, the suite of tools – SharePoint, Teams, and OneDrive for Business – offers an incredible opportunity to transform collaboration and boost productivity. But simply having the tools isn’t enough; strategic configuration and a well-designed collaboration structure are key to unlocking their full potential. This blog post will guide you through the recommended best practices and provide detailed steps to configure your environment for maximum efficiency.

Understanding the Trio: SharePoint, Teams, and OneDrive

Before diving into configuration, it’s crucial to understand the distinct roles of each platform:

OneDrive for Business: Think of this as your personal cloud storage. It’s ideal for individual work files, drafts, and documents you’re not yet ready to share broadly. It provides seamless synchronization across devices and robust versioning.
SharePoint Online: This is your organization’s intranet and document management system. SharePoint sites are perfect for structured, long-term document storage, company-wide resources, policies, and departmental information. Every Microsoft Team gets an associated SharePoint Team Site.
Microsoft Teams: The hub for teamwork. Teams brings together chat, meetings, calls, and collaboration on files. It’s designed for dynamic, real-time collaboration within specific groups or projects, with the underlying file storage powered by SharePoint.

Designing Your Collaboration Structure: The “When to Use What” Guide

A common pitfall is using these tools interchangeably. A clear “when to use what” guideline is essential for user adoption and efficient collaboration.

Your Personal Work & Drafts: OneDrive for Business
Immediate Team/Project Collaboration: Microsoft Teams (with files stored in the connected SharePoint Team Site’s document library)
Company-wide Information & Structured Document Management: SharePoint Communication Sites (for intranets, HR portals) and SharePoint Team Sites (for departmental or long-term project repositories not necessarily tied to a daily Teams chat).
Formal/External Communication: Outlook (for email and calendaring)
Task Management: Microsoft Planner (for team tasks, integrated into Teams) and Microsoft To Do (for personal tasks).

Detailed Steps: Configuring Your Collaboration Environment

Phase 1: Foundation & Security (Admin-Focused)

Initial Setup & Domain Verification: Ensure your Microsoft 365 tenant is fully set up, and your custom domain is verified. This is typically done during your initial M365 Business Premium subscription setup.
User Management & Licensing:
- Go to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center https://admin.microsoft.com
- Navigate to Users > Active Users.
- Add users and assign the appropriate Microsoft 365 Business Premium licenses. Ensure display names and usernames are consistent.
Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for ALL Users: This is non-negotiable for SMB security.
- From the Admin Center, go to Azure Active Directory (now Microsoft Entra ID).
- Under Security > Conditional Access or Identity > Users > Per-user MFA, enable MFA for all users. Consider setting up Conditional Access policies to enforce MFA based on location or device.
Configure OneDrive for Business Default Settings:
- In the Microsoft 365 Admin Center, go to Show all > SharePoint > Settings > OneDrive sync.
- Ensure the OneDrive sync app is recommended and consider enabling Known Folder Move to automatically back up users’ Desktop, Documents, and Pictures folders to OneDrive.
- Set appropriate retention policies for OneDrive files in the Microsoft Purview compliance portal.
- Review external sharing settings for OneDrive. For SMBs, it’s often best to restrict external sharing to specific domains or require sign-in for external users.
SharePoint Online Default Settings:
- In the Microsoft 365 Admin Center, go to Show all > SharePoint > Policies > Sharing.
- Set your default external sharing level (e.g., “Existing guests” or “New and existing guests”). Avoid “Anyone” links for sensitive data.
- Implement retention policies for SharePoint sites and libraries in the Microsoft Purview compliance portal.
- Consider configuring data loss prevention (DLP) policies to prevent sensitive information from being shared inappropriately.
Microsoft Teams Default Settings:
- Go to the Microsoft Teams Admin Center https://admin.teams.microsoft.com
- Under Teams > Teams settings, define guest access permissions. Be clear on who can invite guests and what guests can do.
- Establish Team and channel naming conventions (e.g., Dept-Marketing, Project-LaunchX). This helps with organization and searchability. Communicate these clearly to users.
- Consider governance policies for Team creation (e.g., restricting who can create new Teams or requiring approval for new Teams). This prevents sprawl.
- Review app availability. Limit or approve third-party apps based on your company’s security and productivity needs.

Phase 2: Structuring for Collaboration (User & Admin Collaboration)

Identify Collaboration Needs & Groups:
- Gather key stakeholders from different departments or projects.
- Determine how teams currently communicate and share files.
- Identify logical groups for collaboration (e.g., Sales Team, Marketing Team, Project X Team, Leadership).
Create Microsoft 365 Groups/Teams:
- For each identified collaboration group, create a Microsoft Team in the Teams Admin Center or directly in the Teams application.
- When you create a Team, it automatically creates a corresponding Microsoft 365 Group (which includes a SharePoint Team Site, Exchange mailbox, Planner, etc.).
- Best Practice: Start with a few core Teams (e.g., by department or major function) and add specific channels within them. Avoid creating a Team for every single small project initially.
Organize Channels within Teams:
- Within each Team, create Standard Channels for different topics, workstreams, or sub-projects.
- Use the “General” channel for announcements and onboarding.
- Private Channels should be used sparingly for sensitive discussions or files involving a subset of the Team members.
- Shared Channels (if applicable) allow seamless collaboration with specific internal or external teams without granting full access to the parent Team. Ideal for client projects or vendor collaborations.
Leverage SharePoint for Structured Content:
- Team Sites (Connected to Teams): The “Files” tab in each Teams channel is powered by a document library in the connected SharePoint Team Site. Encourage users to store all Team-related documents here. Use folders within these libraries for further organization.
- Communication Sites: Create dedicated SharePoint Communication Sites for company-wide news, HR resources, IT support, or marketing collateral that needs to be broadly accessible but controlled by a smaller group of content creators. Link these sites from within Teams using tabs or a central intranet portal.
Integrate Apps & Tabs in Teams:
- Pin frequently used files, SharePoint pages/lists, Planner boards, OneNote notebooks, or websites as tabs within relevant Teams channels.
- For example, add a Planner tab to a project channel to track tasks, or a OneNote tab for meeting notes.
Document Co-authoring Best Practices:
- Encourage users to co-author documents directly in Teams or SharePoint Online instead of sending attachments via email.
- Remind users to use the @mention feature in documents and Teams chats to notify specific colleagues.
- Utilize version history in SharePoint and OneDrive for easy rollbacks and tracking changes.

Phase 3: Adoption & Ongoing Management (Continuous Improvement)

User Training & Education: This is perhaps the most critical step.
- Conduct internal workshops or provide clear, concise training on “when to use what” for OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams.
- Provide quick-reference guides, FAQs, and short video tutorials.
- Leverage Microsoft Learn resources, which offer extensive free training materials.
- Focus on practical scenarios: e.g., “How to share a document for team collaboration,” “How to find company policies,” “How to conduct a project meeting.”
Establish “Champions” Program:
- Identify enthusiastic users in different departments who can become internal experts and advocates.
- They can help answer questions, promote best practices, and gather feedback.
Regular Review & Optimization:
- Periodically review your Microsoft 365 usage from the Admin Center. Identify underutilized features or areas of confusion.
- Gather feedback from users regularly to understand their pain points and suggestions for improvement.
- Stay updated with new Microsoft 365 features and enhancements, and communicate relevant updates to your team.
- Conduct content audits in SharePoint to ensure information remains relevant and accurate.
Data Governance & Compliance:
- Regularly review and enforce retention and deletion policies to manage data lifecycle and compliance.
- Monitor audit logs in the Microsoft Purview compliance portal for suspicious activities or data breaches.

Conclusion

Microsoft 365 Business Premium offers a powerful toolkit for SMBs to foster a highly productive and secure collaboration environment. By thoughtfully designing your collaboration structure and diligently applying these best practices for SharePoint, Teams, and OneDrive for Business, you can empower your employees, streamline workflows, and ultimately drive greater success for your business. Remember, it’s an ongoing journey of refinement and user engagement, so keep learning and adapting!

Getting beyond just emails with Microsoft 365

Getting employees to move beyond the familiar (email, basic file storage) requires a thoughtful and multi-faceted strategy. Simply *having* the tools isn’t enough; you need to address awareness, skill, motivation, and integration.

Here’s an effective strategy broken down into actionable steps:

Phase 1: Assessment & Planning

Understand the “Why”:
- Survey/Interviews: Talk to employees (or a representative sample). Why aren’t they using other tools? Common reasons include:
  - Lack of awareness (don’t know what’s available).
  - Lack of understanding (don’t know how to use them).
  - Lack of perceived value (don’t see the benefit over current methods).
  - Lack of time to learn.
  - Resistance to change (“Email works fine for me”).
  - No clear expectation or direction from leadership.
- Identify Pain Points: Ask what their biggest daily frustrations or time-wasters are (e.g., finding documents, managing tasks, collaborating on reports, endless email chains). This helps you map M365 tools to solve their actual problems.
- Analyze Current Usage (if possible): Use the Microsoft 365 admin center reports to get baseline data on which services are being used, even minimally.
Identify High-Impact Use Cases & Target Tools:
- Don’t try to push everything at once. Based on the pain points identified, select 2-3 tools or features with the highest potential impact. Examples:
  - Problem: Endless internal email chains, difficulty tracking conversations. Solution: Microsoft Teams (Chat, Channels).
  - Problem: Difficulty managing team tasks or small projects. Solution: Microsoft Planner (integrated into Teams).
  - Problem: Version control chaos, difficulty collaborating on documents. Solution: SharePoint/Teams file storage with co-authoring & version history (moving beyond personal OneDrive).
  - Problem: Repetitive manual tasks (e.g., approvals, notifications). Solution: Simple Power Automate flows.
  - Problem: Collecting feedback or simple data. Solution: Microsoft Forms.
- Define Clear Scenarios: Instead of saying “Use Teams,” say “Use Teams chat for quick internal questions instead of email,” or “Use the ‘Project Alpha’ Team channel for all discussions and file sharing related to that project.”

Phase 2: Execution & Engagement

Secure Leadership Buy-in & Role Modeling:
- This is CRUCIAL. If managers and leaders aren’t using the tools, employees won’t either.
- Brief leadership on the strategy and the business benefits (efficiency, collaboration, knowledge sharing).
- Encourage leaders to actively use the target tools (e.g., post announcements in Teams, manage their team tasks in Planner, share files via SharePoint/Teams links).
Targeted Communication & Awareness Campaign:
- Focus on “What’s In It For Me?” (WIIFM): Communicate the benefits to the employee, not just the features. (e.g., “Spend less time searching for files,” “Reduce email clutter,” “Collaborate easier with your team”).
- Use Multiple Channels: Emails, intranet posts, team meeting announcements, short videos, posters.
- Showcase Success Stories: Highlight teams or individuals who are already using the tools effectively.
- Regular Tips & Tricks: Send out short, actionable tips related to the target tools/use cases.
Provide Practical, Contextual Training:
- Variety of Formats: Offer different learning styles – live workshops (virtual or in-person), short recorded video tutorials, quick reference guides (QRG), lunch-and-learn sessions.
- Scenario-Based: Train on how to accomplish specific tasks relevant to their jobs using the tools (e.g., “How to co-author a report in Teams,” “How to manage your project tasks with Planner”), not just abstract feature overviews.
- Keep it Short & Focused: Micro-learning is often more effective than long, overwhelming sessions.
- Leverage Microsoft Resources: Point employees to Microsoft Learn, built-in help features, and templates.
Integrate Tools into Existing Workflows:
- Identify specific business processes where the new tools can replace older, less efficient methods.
- Example: Mandate that all documents for a specific team project must be stored and collaborated on within the designated Team/SharePoint site, not emailed as attachments.
- Example: Set up a Planner board for a recurring team process and make it the standard way to track progress.
- Make it the path of least resistance over time.
Establish Champions & Support Systems:
- Identify “Champions”: Find enthusiastic early adopters in different departments. Provide them with extra training and empower them to help their colleagues. Recognize their efforts.
- Provide Clear Support Channels: Make it easy for employees to ask questions – a dedicated Teams channel, help desk support, regular Q&A sessions.
- Create a Resource Hub: A simple SharePoint page or Teams tab with links to training materials, FAQs, guides, and champion contacts.

Phase 3: Reinforcement & Iteration

Gamification & Incentives (Optional but can be effective):
- Introduce friendly competitions or challenges related to tool usage (e.g., “Team with the best-organized SharePoint site,” “Most helpful answer in the Q&A channel”).
- Offer small rewards or recognition for participation or achieving milestones.
Gather Feedback & Measure Progress:
- Regularly check usage statistics in the M365 admin center.
- Conduct follow-up surveys or quick polls to gauge understanding and satisfaction.
- Ask champions and managers for qualitative feedback.
- Track whether the initial pain points are being addressed.
Iterate and Expand:
- Based on feedback and results, refine your approach. What’s working? What’s not?
- Once adoption of the initial target tools improves, gradually introduce new tools or more advanced features, following the same principles.
- Don’t stop communicating and training – adoption is an ongoing process.

Key Principles:

Start Small & Focused: Don’t overwhelm people.
Focus on Value & Problem Solving: Answer the “WIIFM”.
Make it Easy: Provide clear guidance, training, and support.
Lead by Example: Leadership involvement is non-negotiable.
Be Persistent & Patient: Change takes time.

By implementing this structured approach, focusing on employee needs and benefits, and providing ongoing support, you can significantly increase the adoption and effective use of the powerful tools within Microsoft 365 Business Premium.

Why using "Add shortcut to My files" in OneDrive for Business is generally considered a best practice over syncing entire individual SharePoint document libraries directly

The Old Way vs. The New Way (Shortcuts)

Syncing Individual Libraries (The Older Method):
- Users navigate to a SharePoint site’s document library in their web browser.
- They click the “Sync” button.
- The OneDrive sync client creates a separate sync root on their computer, often under a folder named after the organization (e.g., C:\Users\YourName\Contoso\Team Site - Documents).
- If a user syncs multiple libraries this way, they get multiple top-level folders in their File Explorer, separate from their primary OneDrive - Contoso folder.
Using Shortcuts (“Add shortcut to My files”):
- Users navigate to a SharePoint site’s document library (or even a specific folder within it) in their web browser or Microsoft Teams.
- They select the library/folder and click “Add shortcut to My files”.
- A special link (which looks and behaves like a folder) is created inside their primary OneDrive - Contoso folder in File Explorer.
- All shared content accessed via shortcuts appears alongside their personal work files within that single, main OneDrive folder structure.

Why Shortcuts are Best Practice:

Here’s a breakdown of the benefits, focusing on the user and business impact:

Unified & Cleaner File Explorer Experience:
- Problem with Syncing: Multiple synced libraries clutter the File Explorer navigation pane and the user’s profile folder. It becomes hard to track where files are – is it in my OneDrive, or in one of the many synced library folders? This creates fragmentation.
- Shortcut Solution: All important locations (personal files and shared libraries/folders via shortcuts) appear within the single OneDrive - Contoso folder. This provides a unified, centralized view of all work files, regardless of their ultimate source (personal vs. SharePoint).
- Business Benefit: Reduced confusion, easier navigation, less time spent searching for the right folder. Users have one primary place to look for their work content.
Improved Performance & Reduced Resource Usage:
- Problem with Syncing: Each synced library establishes its own sync relationship. Syncing many large libraries can consume significant bandwidth, CPU, and disk I/O, especially during initial setup or large updates, potentially slowing down the user’s machine. While Files On-Demand helps, managing multiple sync roots can still be heavier.
- Shortcut Solution: Shortcuts are essentially pointers. They leverage the existing sync relationship of the primary OneDrive account. The sync client manages changes efficiently within that single context. Files are downloaded on demand when accessed through the shortcut, just like Files On-Demand works normally, but without the overhead of managing multiple distinct library syncs.
- Business Benefit: Faster computer performance, less network congestion, quicker setup when accessing new shared locations. Reduces potential user frustration from system slowdowns.
Enhanced Scalability:
- Problem with Syncing: As users join more projects and teams, they might sync dozens of libraries. This becomes unwieldy to manage, increases the chance of sync errors, and can hit technical limits (e.g., path length limitations, sync token limits).
- Shortcut Solution: Adding shortcuts is lightweight. Users can add shortcuts to numerous libraries and folders without fundamentally increasing the complexity of their sync setup in the same way that syncing each library individually does. It scales much better as collaboration needs grow.
- Business Benefit: Supports modern, dynamic work environments where users frequently collaborate across multiple teams and projects without overwhelming their local system or hitting technical roadblocks.
Consistency Across Platforms:
- Problem with Syncing: The structure created by syncing libraries in File Explorer doesn’t directly mirror the structure seen in the OneDrive web interface (which shows “My files” and “Shared libraries”).
- Shortcut Solution: The structure in File Explorer (shortcuts inside OneDrive - Contoso) directly mirrors how these shortcuts appear within the “My files” section of the OneDrive web interface.
- Business Benefit: Consistent user experience whether accessing files via the web or the desktop, leading to less confusion and easier training.
Simplified Management (for the User):
- Problem with Syncing: Users need to manage sync settings (e.g., “Free up space”) potentially across multiple different library folders. Removing a synced library requires going into OneDrive settings.
- Shortcut Solution: Managing shortcuts is as simple as managing any other file or folder within their primary OneDrive. To stop seeing a shortcut, they just delete it from their OneDrive folder (this doesn’t delete the original library, just the pointer). Files On-Demand settings are managed centrally for their main OneDrive.
- Business Benefit: Easier for users to manage their own file access without needing complex steps or IT intervention. More intuitive self-service.
Reduced Potential for Sync Complexity/Errors:
- Problem with Syncing: While the sync client is robust, managing multiple independent sync roots increases the potential points of failure or complex conflict scenarios, especially with overlapping content or very deep folder structures hitting path limits.
- Shortcut Solution: By channeling access through the primary OneDrive sync root, some potential complexities related to managing multiple roots are avoided. It streamlines how the sync client interacts with SharePoint content.
- Business Benefit: Increased reliability and fewer sync-related support tickets or user issues.

How it Improves Day-to-Day Workflow and Information Processing:

Finding Information Faster: Instead of remembering “Is this project file in the ‘Project X – Documents’ sync folder or the ‘Marketing – Campaigns’ sync folder?”, the user just looks inside their main OneDrive - Contoso folder. They might organize shortcuts into a “Team Sites” or “Projects” subfolder within their OneDrive for clarity.
Reduced Context Switching: Working seamlessly between personal work files and shared team files within the same folder structure reduces mental friction. You don’t have to navigate to a completely different section of File Explorer.
Streamlined Collaboration: Accessing the latest version of a shared document is as simple as navigating through your familiar OneDrive structure via the shortcut. Saving changes automatically syncs them back to the SharePoint library for colleagues to see.
Better Mental Model: Users develop a clearer mental map: “Everything I work on is in my OneDrive; some things are mine, and some are pointers (shortcuts) to shared team spaces.” This simplifies how they conceptualize file storage.
Efficient Onboarding to New Projects: When joining a new team or project, simply adding a shortcut to the relevant library/folder instantly integrates it into their existing workflow without cluttering their File Explorer root or triggering a massive initial sync of an entire library they might only need a small part of.

In Summary:

Using shortcuts (“Add shortcut to My files”) is the recommended best practice because it offers a more unified, performant, scalable, and user-friendly way to access shared SharePoint/Teams files compared to syncing individual document libraries. It centralizes access within the user’s primary OneDrive folder, simplifying navigation, reducing system resource usage, and providing a consistent experience across devices and platforms, ultimately improving daily productivity and how users interact with business information.

What is the ideal structure for collaboration services in Microsoft 365

There isn’t a single “one-size-fits-all” perfect structure, as the ideal setup depends heavily on your organization’s size, culture, industry, compliance needs, and specific work patterns. However, a widely recommended and effective approach revolves around using **Microsoft Teams as the central hub for collaboration**, leveraging other services in specific, defined roles.

Here’s a breakdown of the ideal structure and the role of key services:

Core Principle: Teams as the Primary Collaboration Interface (“Hub”)

Think of Microsoft Teams as the user’s primary window into collaboration for specific groups, projects, or departments. It brings together chat, meetings, files, and apps into one place.

1. Microsoft Teams:

Purpose: Day-to-day teamwork, project collaboration, communication within defined groups.
Structure:
- Teams: Create Teams based on organizational structure (departments), major cross-functional projects, or long-term initiatives. Avoid creating too many Teams initially.
- Channels (Standard): Use channels within a Team to organize conversations and files by specific topics, workstreams, or sub-projects. The “General” channel is for announcements and onboarding.
- Channels (Private): Use sparingly for focused collaboration within a subset of the Team members when privacy is needed for conversations and files.
- Channels (Shared): Use for collaborating securely with specific internal or external people/teams without giving them access to the entire parent Team. Ideal for specific vendor collaborations or joint projects with partners.
- Tabs: Pin frequently used files, SharePoint pages/lists, Planner boards, websites, and other apps as tabs within relevant channels for easy access.
Usage: Chat, channel conversations (persistent discussions), scheduled and ad-hoc meetings, screen sharing, integrating apps (like Planner, Forms, Power BI).

2. SharePoint Online:

Purpose: The underlying content management service for Teams, intranets, document repositories, and business process automation.
Structure:
- Team Sites (Group-Connected): Every Microsoft Team automatically gets a SharePoint Team Site. This site’s default document library powers the “Files” tab in all standard channels within that Team. Use this site for storing team-specific documents, creating related lists, pages, and news.
- Communication Sites: Used for broader communication – company intranets, HR portals, department landing pages. Designed for a smaller number of creators and a large audience. Not directly tied to a single Team’s collaboration flow but can be linked to from Teams.
- Hub Sites: Connect related Team Sites and Communication Sites to provide unified navigation, search, and branding. Essential for building a cohesive intranet and information architecture.
Usage: Storing and managing all files shared within a Team’s standard channels, building intranet portals, creating sophisticated document libraries with metadata and views, managing lists, powering Power Automate workflows, long-term knowledge management.

Key Relationship: Teams & SharePoint Files shared or created in a standard Teams channel live in the corresponding SharePoint Team Site’s document library. Teams provides the contextual interface, while SharePoint provides the robust file management backend (versioning, metadata, permissions, compliance features).

3. OneDrive for Business:

Purpose: Personal work file storage, draft documents, ad-hoc sharing with individuals.
Structure: User’s individual cloud storage space. Users organize with folders.
Usage: Storing individual work files (“My Documents” in the cloud), drafting documents before they are ready for team collaboration, sharing files with one or a few specific individuals (internal or external) on a limited basis, syncing files for offline access.
Avoid: Using OneDrive as the primary storage location for official team or project files. Once a file is ready for collaboration or becomes an official team resource, move/copy it to the relevant Teams/SharePoint library.

4. Outlook / Exchange Online:

Purpose: Formal communication, external communication, calendaring, personal task management (integrating with To Do).
Structure: Individual mailboxes, shared mailboxes (for roles like info@, support@), M365 Group mailboxes (for receiving group emails).
Usage: Sending formal announcements, communicating with external parties, scheduling meetings (which are often Teams meetings), managing personal calendars and tasks. Less ideal for iterative, real-time team discussions (use Teams chat/channels instead).

5. Planner / To Do:

Purpose: Task management.
Structure:
- Planner: Create Plans and add them as tabs within Teams channels for tracking team tasks related to that channel’s topic or project.
- To Do: Aggregates tasks assigned to you in Planner, flagged emails from Outlook, and tasks you create manually for personal task management.
Usage: Assigning, tracking, and organizing team tasks (Planner); managing individual workload and priorities (To Do).

6. Yammer (Viva Engage):

Purpose: Broader, organization-wide communication, communities of practice, social engagement, leadership connection.
Structure: Communities based on interests, topics, large departments, or social groups.
Usage: Open discussions, Q&A forums, sharing knowledge across organizational silos, company-wide announcements, building culture. Generally not for focused, task-oriented project collaboration (use Teams for that).

Essential Supporting Elements for an Ideal Structure:

Governance: Clear policies on Team/Site creation, naming conventions, external sharing, guest access, lifecycle management (archiving/deletion).
Information Architecture: Planning how sites connect (Hub Sites), use of metadata for findability, navigation strategy.
Security & Compliance: Utilizing M365 Groups for permissions, configuring sensitivity labels, retention policies, Data Loss Prevention (DLP).
User Training & Adoption: Crucial for success. Users need guidance on “when to use what” and best practices. Change management is key.

In Summary – The “When to Use What” Guideline:

Inner Loop (Your immediate team, project): Use Teams for chat, meetings, channel conversations, and accessing team files/apps. Files live in the connected SharePoint site. Use Planner within Teams for team tasks.
Your Personal Work: Use OneDrive for drafts and personal storage. Use To Do and Outlook Calendar for personal organization. Use Outlook for formal/external email.
Outer Loop (Broader organization, communities): Use Yammer (Viva Engage) for broad discussions and communities. Use SharePoint Communication Sites (often via an Intranet) for official news and resources. Use Outlook for org-wide formal email announcements.

Implementing this structure requires planning, clear governance, and consistent user education, but it leads to a more organized, efficient, and secure collaboration environment in Microsoft 365.

CIAOPS Need to Know Microsoft 365 Webinar – October

Join me for the free monthly CIAOPS Need to Know webinar. Along with all the Microsoft Cloud news we’ll be taking a look at OneDrive for Business.

Shortly after registering you should receive an automated email from Microsoft Teams confirming your registration, including all the event details as well as a calendar invite.

You can register for the regular monthly webinar here:

October Webinar Registrations

(If you are having issues with the above link copy and paste – https://bit.ly/n2k2310

The details are:

CIAOPS Need to Know Webinar – October 2023
Tuesday 31st of October 2023
11.00am – 12.00am Sydney Time

All sessions are recorded and posted to the CIAOPS Academy.

The CIAOPS Need to Know Webinars are free to attend but if you want to receive the recording of the session you need to sign up as a CIAOPS patron which you can do here:

http://www.ciaopspatron.com

or purchase them individually at:

http://www.ciaopsacademy.com/

Also feel free at any stage to email me directly via director@ciaops.com with your webinar topic suggestions.

I’d also appreciate you sharing information about this webinar with anyone you feel may benefit from the session and I look forward to seeing you there.

September Microsoft 365 Webinar resources

The slides from this month’s webinar are available at:

https://www.slideshare.net/directorcia/september-2023-ciaops-need-to-know-webinar

If you are not a CIAOPS patron you want to view or download a full copy of the video from the session you can do so here:

http://www.ciaopsacademy.com.au/p/need-to-know-webinars

Watch out for next month’s webinar.

Microsoft 365 collaboration framework training

On February 14th 2023 I’ll be running a collaboration framework training course for Microsoft 365 environments. Training will held remotely via Microsoft Teams. The session will be two (2) hours and run from 9am Sydney time.

The sessions will be recorded and other materials from the sessions (checklists, etc) will be available to attendees afterwards.

The aim of this training is to help you better prepare for the move to the Microsoft 365 collaboration environment utilising services such as Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive for Business, and so on. You’ll be shown a tested framework that you can use when designing a modern collaboration environment to ensure a business gets the most from their investment in Microsoft 365. You’ll also learn tips and tricks on how to implement this successfully inside a modern organisation, whether large or small. If you want to get the most from your Microsoft 365 collaboration environment, this course is for you. The price for this event will be:

Gold Enterprise Patron = Free

Gold Patron = Free

Silver Patron = Free

Bronze Patron = $33 inc GST

Non Patron = $99 inc GST

You can learn more about the CIAOPS Patron community at www.ciaopspatron.com.

I hope that you’ll join me in February for this event as I believe it help you improve how to get the most from the Microsoft 365 to improve day to day operations.

You can register you interest in attending this course here – http://bit.ly/ciaopsroi after which I’ll be in contact with you to arrange payment and get you enrolled.

As always, if you have any questions about this training please email me on – director@ciaops.com.

I hope to see you there.

Creating Microsoft Teams general guidelines

You’ll find plenty of advice about creating Microsoft Teams and a collaboration environment out there. None of it should be considered absolute but instead, guidelines when creating your own Teams environment. However, the most important rule should be that Teams should be a planned process, not something randomly generated. Actually taking time to think and plan your Microsoft Teams environment will make your life a whole easier.

The first major suggestion is to plan an environment that is wide, not deep as I have outlined here;

Your collaboration structure should be wide note deep

Unlike traditional file server environments, you have the benefit of powerful search functions and AI surfacing relevant material now in Microsoft 365. Having a flat structure also make it easier to re-arrange if you need to down the track and it also make permissions much easier to handle. If you need some form of hierarchical structure for navigation you can create this using hyper links but underneath the covers, keep the structure of what you build as flat as possible. This means creating lots of Teams and SharePoint sites as needed and then linking them together, using hyperlink, into whatever you need, NOT creating subsites.

Also, as I have outlined in

A framework for file migrations to Microsoft 365

Don’t dump your information into a single location, Team , SharePoint site or Library, etc. There are lots of places for collaboration inside Microsoft 365 and certain types of information works better in different places. Break your information up and put in where it makes sense. You have all these areas available to you, use them.

Along these lines, another guideline I can give is that when information requires pure storage (no conversations or chat around it) then use a SharePoint site. If however, there will need to be conversations around that information then a Team is a much better option. For example, a SharePoint site is a great place for an archive, with finalised forms and documents like manuals and marketing material. A Team works better when creating documents that when finalised, will end up in a SharePoint. Using Teams chat correctly will cut down back and forth emails as well as making all these conversations searchable for all members of the Team.

Further, I’d suggest is to limit the depth of the structure to three (3) levels per:

The rule of three

Making a structure deeper than 3 levels generally results in people hunting up and down a structure looking for the information they are after. At the lowest level you should be able to go into a Document Library and see everything, including one level of folders below. Going deeper means you lose the initial context and when you come out you need to get re-orientated again to continue. This wastes time and creates frustration for users.

Next, when you create a new level, Team, Library, folder, etc always ask yourself the question, “Will be this be by function or location”?”. For example, if you want to create a new Team, ask the question. You then decide with Team will be for Human Resources (i.e. function). Then, when you create a channel below that Team, ask the question again. This may result in channels by State (i.e. by location). When you create a folder inside that channel, ask the same question and maybe create folders like CV, jobs, application, etc (i.e. function again)

Asking this simple question at each level provides a surprising logical structure very quickly. This is in fact where I find most people get hung up when creating a new collaboration environment and having very simple guidance you can follow helps overcome this and get on building what you need.

It is also important to follow some basic guidelines when naming each item in your structure.

– Keep the names you use as short as possible i.e. HR is far better than Human Resources

– Avoid using spaces and special characters i.e. Customer-Service not Customer Service

– Avoid having duplicate items. For example calling your Team “Projects” and then each channel something like Project-1, Project-2, Project-3, etc is redundant and consumes space.

Settling on a naming convention prior to creating your collaboration structure is a very worthwhile investment of your time. For example, settling on how to name a location like a state which could be New South Wales, NSW, N.S.W., Nsw, just to name a few possible iterations. Having a consistent approach to how you name all items in your environment will greatly assist users when they are searching for information and avoids duplicated areas. This is why a small amount of timed invested up front planning your collaboration structure pays huge dividends down the track. Unfortunately, I see too many rushing in and just creating items on the fly and then having issues down the track.

Remember, that you don’t have to build the complete structure on day one. What is the minimum viable solution required? Maybe it is something for a limited group of your users. Build it, learn, test, adjust and then move forward. Typically, you are introducing major changes inside an organisation and best method to see how this is adopted is to take a slow and sure approach while seeking feedback from users. You certainly still have your overall plans but taking one step at a time is going to allow you to quickly adjust if you need to.

Don’t forget that you’ll also have to invest in user training as I have detailed previously here:

Stop making your users feel stupid

This will be especially true if you have moved from a traditional server. Collaboration is very different from storage and failing to help users come to grips with all the features Microsoft 365 provides is going to make adoption of any new system hard. Remember, you can create the greatest collaboration structure in the world, but if people fail to use it, then that investment is wasted. In the end, technology serves humans, so help your humans come to grips with the new system and you’ll be surprised at what they can achieve it with. In my experience, the single biggest point of failure when building a new collaboration system is a failure to train the people who will be using it every day. Fail to do that, and you will struggle to make things better.

As I have outlined in

Process for file migrations to Microsoft 365

Assigning permissions comes AFTER you have created the structure. Remember, by default, Microsoft 365 is an environment designed to make it easier for users to collaborate. This means, by default, users are encourage to share, edit, and so on. For example, Teams is largely designed so that all members have the same permissions inside a Team and can read, write and delete documents by default. The more restrictive permissions you wish to apply to a structure the harder it becomes to bend the technology to accommodate this. Can it be done? Of course, but the more complex and restrictive the permissions, the harder it becomes to accommodate these inside a structure. In short, Microsoft 365 is primarily designed to allow people to work together not blocking them from getting to information. Think of it as allow more than deny.

As I said initially, there are not hard and fast rules when it comes to creating a collaboration structure in Microsoft 365. It is a tool that can be structured in just about any way to suit a business. However, following the above guideline, is going to make your life much easier and will mean you are not fighting the technology to achieve what you want. Because you want to create a structured environment it is always recommended that you design this prior to actually building it. Cleaning up afterwards always takes more time and causes more frustration in my experience. Always start simple and build from there.

Hopefully, these guidelines, based on my experience, will help you get the most from your Microsoft 365 collaboration environment. In the end, build something that work for you.