Microsoft Teams is the place in Microsoft 365 where you chat, meet, call and work on files together. Still deciding whether to start, or trying to convince colleagues? This article covers the five main reasons, how the app is organized and which first steps help you get off to a good start, both as a user and as an organization.
Five reasons to use Teams
- Everything in one place. Chat, meetings, files and apps live in one app, instead of spread across email, shared drives and separate tools.
- Less email. Quick questions go through chat, project discussions into a channel. Your inbox stays calm.
- Work on files together. Everyone edits the same version of a Word, Excel or PowerPoint file. No more attachments called version_final_2.
- Meet wherever you are. On your laptop, phone or in a meeting room, with recordings, transcripts and, with the right license, Copilot.
- Secure and managed. Teams uses Microsoft 365 security and compliance, such as MFA, sensitivity labels and retention policies.
How is the app organized?
On the left of the new Teams app is a narrow bar with the main sections. Names and order can vary slightly by version, and you can pin or unpin apps.
- Activity: notifications, such as @mentions, reactions and missed calls.
- Chat: one-to-one and group conversations. In the new app you can also show chats and channels in a single list.
- Teams: your teams with their channels, for discussions per department or project.
- Calendar: your Outlook calendar, with meetings you start in one click.
- Files or OneDrive: your own files and the files shared with you.
Chat is for quick, informal questions between a few people. A channel is for work that belongs to a team and needs to be findable later. If you want to learn the basics step by step, read the basic guide to Microsoft Teams for beginners.
How to start
- Download and install Teams and sign in with your work account. You can also work in the browser or use the mobile app.
- Set your profile picture and status, and optionally a status message when you're away.
- Check your notifications via Settings > Notifications and activity, so you don't get flooded.
- Start a chat with a colleague and try sharing a file.
- Create a team for your department or project and add channels per topic. For projects, see also set up Teams to manage projects.
- Schedule your first meeting from the calendar and test your camera and microphone beforehand.
Make agreements with your team
Agree with your team what goes in chat, what goes in a channel and what still goes by email. That way everyone knows where to look. A few practical agreements:
- Decisions and documents belong in a channel, not in a private chat.
- Only use @mentions when someone really needs to act.
- Give channels clear names and keep their number limited.
- Share files as a link, not as an attachment.
Once the basics are in place, read the most useful Teams tips and tricks.
Common beginner problems
- Too many notifications. Set less important channels to mentions only, and use the Do not disturb status when you need to focus.
- Can't find a file. Files from a chat are stored in your OneDrive, files from a channel in the team's SharePoint site.
- An external partner can't join. That depends on external access and guest access. Read five ways to work with external users.
For admins and organizations
Teams is included in many Microsoft 365 plans, but some business suites are also sold without Teams. So check which license you have. Set up a few things beforehand: who can create teams, a naming policy, guest access, and whether you work with team templates. Start with a small pilot group, collect questions and then roll out more widely. That prevents hundreds of empty or duplicate teams from appearing in the first weeks.
Nederlandstalige versie: Vijf redenen om met Microsoft Teams te starten, en zo begin je