Using Microsoft Teams for Workgroup Collaboration and Communication

As with any other tool at BCIT, usage of Microsoft Teams is subject to BCIT policy, including but not limited to  Policy 1500 Code of Conduct, Policy 5102 Student Code of Conduct, Policy 6700 Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy, and Policy 3502 Information Security.

Etiquette tips

• Consider an individual’s availability status when sending chat messages or expecting replies.
• Use @mentions thoughtfully if you need another team member’s attention or reply.
• Keep chat conversations or channel postings relevant to the person or people you are messaging or to the team and channel.
• Interpreting emotional tone in all-text communication can be challenging. To better convey your intentions, consider making judicious use of the built-in emoji, gif, sticker tools.
• ALL CAPS can often signal yelling, anger, or intensity, so it’s usually best to avoid using them.
• Consider using the emoji reaction button to acknowledge a message if you have nothing to add but want the person to know you’ve seen what they sent.
• Use the reply buttons when replying to a channel posting or a chat message to help the conversation stay organized and easy to follow.

To start chatting with one or more BCIT employee/s, in the Teams app:

1. Click the Chat icon in the left menu.
2. Click the New chat icon at the top of the chat list.
3. Start typing the person’s name into the To: field. As you type, Teams will display a list of possible users. When you see the correct person in the list, click on their name to add them. Continue to do so until you’ve added everyone you wish to chat with.
4. Type your message in the Type a message field at the bottom of the window and hit Enter on your keyboard to send it.
   • To add styling to your message, click the Format tool in the small toolbar below the message field to turn on the editing toolbar.

Other useful options for messages, available through the toolbar below the message field, include:

• Attaching a file from your OneDrive, uploading one from your computer, or sharing a link to a meeting recording.
• Changing the urgency of your message to more persistently notify someone (use with care).
• Quickly booking a Teams meeting.

Additionally, although chat doesn’t keep chats about a topic together the way that channel postings and replies can, you can still reply to a specific chat message and the original message will be referenced in your reply.

More information from Microsoft support:

• First things to know about chats in Microsoft Teams
• Start a chat in Microsoft Teams
• Send a file, picture, or link
• Use read receipts for messages in Microsoft Teams
• Like or react to messages
• Reply to a specific message in chat
• Schedule chat messages

Posting to a channel is a little different to sending a chat. Whereas chat is a freeform stream of messages back and forth, channel posting are more self-contained with all replies to a posting staying organized with the posting which can have a subject in addition to content, though many of the associated editing and content tools are similar.

Adding a channel posting

In Teams:

1. Click the Teams icon in the left menu and navigate to the desired team and channel under Your teams.
2. Click the Start a post button at the bottom of the channel view.
   • Note: You can actually add a channel posting to more than one channel at the same time. Click the Settings button at the top right of the posting editor and choose Multiple channels under Post in. Then click the + button next to the first channel name to choose additional channels.
3. [Optional] Add a descriptive subject to the Add a subject field.
   • Note: Teams permits you to add a channel posting without a subject. Depending on how your team decides to use channels and channel postings, it may make sense for some channel postings to be posted without a subject, especially if they’re unlikely to be the start of a larger or ongoing conversation. In most cases, a subject is likely a good addition.
4. Add the content of your posting and format it using the editing toolbar at the top. Postings can be quite short or they can be very long.
5. [Optional] Use @mentions to specifically link to and notify individuals. Type the @ symbol and start typing the person’s name. When you see the person in the list, click on them to add their name and email link.
6. [Optional] Attach a file from your or the team’s OneDrive by clicking the Attach files icon in the options toolbar and following the prompts.
7. [Optional] Attach a meeting recording by clicking the Stream icon in the options toolbar and pasting in a link to the recording’s Stream page.
8. When you’re satisfied with the posting, click the Post button.

Your posting will be added to the channel at the end of the stream. As others reply to your posting or if you edit it, it will be pushed back down to the end of the stream again to keep it in everybody’s view and attention.

Replying to a channel posting

In Teams, viewing the channel posting you wish to reply to:

1. Click the Reply button at the bottom of the posting.
2. Start typing your reply.
   • Note: The reply editor works very similarly to the chat editor. To add a multi-paragraph reply, use Ctrl-Enter to add a soft return, as just hitting Enter will send your reply.
3. When your reply is complete, hit Enter or click the Reply button on the right.

You can also use the emoji reply option if you have no content to add and only want the poster to know you’ve seen and appreciated their posting.

Other channel posting options

• Edit: Your channel postings will have an Edit icon at the top right. Click it to edit your posting, which will then be marked as “edited” once you’ve posted the new version.
• Pin: You can pin a channel posting so that it is highlighted for everyone. Click the three horizontal dots and click Pin.
• Link: Every channel posting has a unique link associated with it. If you want to reference a previous channel posting in a new one or just send it to someone via chat or email, click the three horizontal dots at the top right and click Copy link.

More information from Microsoft support:

• Send a message to a channel
• Cross-post a channel conversation
• Like or react to messages

To add a regular channel to a team, in Teams:

1. Click the Teams icon in the left menu and navigate to the desired team under Your teams.
2. Click the three dots next to the team name and then click Add channel.
3. Add a channel name and description.
4. Click the Choose a channel type drop-down and select Standard.
5. Click the checkbox to Automatically show this channel in everyone’s channel list.
6. Click the Create button.

Once the channel has been created, you can immediately start posting to it, associating it with meetings, uploading files to it, etc.

More information from Microsoft support:

• Create a standard channel
• Manage a channel

Important: There is a limit of 30 private channels per team. Once a channel has been created as a private or shared channel, it cannot be converted to a different channel type.

To add a private or shared channel to a team, in Teams:

1. Click the Teams icon in the left menu and navigate to the desired team under Your teams.
2. Click the three dots next to the team name and then click Add channel.
3. Add a channel name and description.
4. Click the Choose a channel type drop-down and select Private or Shared.
5. If you selected “Shared“, you can now choose whether to share the channel with everyone in the team automatically. If you only want to include some of the members of the team, uncheck this box.
6. Click the Create button.
7. Start to type the name of the first person you want to include in the channel (or share it with) and Teams will start to generate suggestions based on what you type. When you see the correct person, click on them to add them to the list. Repeat until you’ve added everyone you want to add.
   • Note: If you are creating a private channel, you will only be able to add other members of the team and searches for users who aren’t team members will return no results.
8. [Optional] If appropriate, click the Member drop-down next to their name to make them a channel owner.

Once the channel has been created, you can immediately start posting to it, associating it with meetings, uploading files to it, etc.

More information from Microsoft support:

• Create a shared or private channel
• Manage a channel

Team owners can delegate other team members to also be team owners and have access to team owner functionality.

Note: It is strongly recommended that each team have at least two active team owners in case of absences or departures.

To promote a team member to team owner, in Teams:

1. Click the Teams icon in the left menu and navigate to the desired team under Your teams.
2. Click the three dots next to the team name and then click Manage team.
3. Find the name of the person you wish to promote under Members and guests, click the Member drop-down next to their name and then select Owner from the list.

The new team owner will be notified that you have promoted them.

More information from Microsoft support:

• Team owner, member, and guest capabilities
• Make someone a team owner

Important: Membership can only be changed manually for ad hoc teams. Departmental team membership is managed automatically and cannot be changed using this process. However, this limitation is not obvious within the Teams app and if a team owner attempts to add or remove members, the process will quietly fail without providing an error message.

Adding members

To add team members, in Teams:

1. Click the Teams icon in the left menu and navigate to the desired team under Your teams.
2. Click the three dots next to the team name and then click Add member.
3. Start to type the name of the first person you want to add to the team and Teams will start to generate suggestions based on what you type. When you see the correct person, click on them to add them to the list. Repeat until you’ve added everyone you want to add.
4. [Optional] If you wish to also make any of the newly added people a Team owner, click the Member drop-down next to their name and then select Owner from the list.
5. Click the Add button.

Removing members

To remove team members, in Teams:

1. Click the Teams icon in the left menu and navigate to the desired team under Your teams.
2. Click the three dots next to the team name and then click Manage team.
3. Find the person you wish to remove from the team and click the X button on the right.
   • Note: If the person is a team owner, you will first need to change them to a regular member (click on Owner and select Member) in order to make the X button appear so that you can remove them.

People that you add to a team will receive an email letting them know they are now a member and the team will appear in their teams list.

More information from Microsoft support:

• Team owner, member, and guest capabilities
• Add members to a team
• Remove someone from a team