Melanie has attended:
Feedback - Giving and Receiving course
People Management for Managers course
MS Teams
Hi There, I've recently set up a Team within MS Teams that is for myself and those I manage. I would like to use the Team to both store and work collaboratively on key documents, monitor tasks, and also for this to be used as a tool for Senior Management to have visibility on what we in the team are up to. Can you point me in the right direction please? Thank you!
RE: MS Teams
Hi Melanie,
Thankyou for your question to the forum.
Here are a few elements of best practice for using Teams for both your team and Senior Management:
1. Organise Your Team Channels Intentionally
Channels are where structure begins. A simple, effective setup might include:
a) a General Channel
High‑level updates, announcements, and anything senior management may want to skim.
b) Projects / Workstreams
One channel per major project or theme.
c) Resources / Documents
A place for shared templates, policies, and reference materials.
d) Team Tasks / Planning
For tracking work, deadlines, and priorities.
This keeps conversations tidy and makes it easier for leadership to find what they need without digging.
2. Use the Files Tab + SharePoint for Document Collaboration
Every channel has a 'Shared' tab for File storage which is backed up by SharePoint. To make collaboration smooth:
- Store key documents in the relevant channel’s Shared tab
- Use co-authoring in Word/Excel/PowerPoint so multiple people can edit at once
- Use version history to track changes
- Create folders for structure (e.g., “Drafts”, “Final”, “Archive”)
If you want a more polished document library, you can open the SharePoint site behind the Team and customise it.
3. Use Posts + Tags for Communication
- Use @Team or @Channel to notify everyone
- Create custom tags (e.g., “Managers”, “Project Leads”)
- Pin important messages to the top of a channel
This keeps communication clear and reduces the need for email.
4. Manage Access for Senior Leadership
If you want leadership to see things but not change them:
- Add them as 'Members' with limited permissions
- Or create a private channel for manager-only discussions
- Or give them SharePoint read-only access to specific folders
This gives transparency without risking edits performed by mistake
If you are interested, STL runs a course on Teams - Communication & Collaboration which takes you through how to set up the above features
Hope this helps
Kind regards
Martin Sutherland
(IT Trainer)
