Creating Teams

What is a Team?

• A collaboration hub built on Outlook 365 Groups.​

• Teams are the centralized hub for for projects, programs, work groups, etc. ​

• Use a Team when you want to categorize discussions, manage documents and/or create a Team SharePoint site.​

• All Teams that are created include a SharePoint site and a General channel

O365 Enterprise License - E5/G5

One way to determine if you have E5/G5 license is if you're in MS Outlook trying to create a meeting.

• You don't have the license if you can't see the "Teams Meeting" icon on the menu bar (you may have an outdated version of Outlook)

• If you create a teams meeting and there is no automatic conference line created. (See below for example)

• If you log into https://www.office.com with your city credentials and don't see PowerBI application, or if you click the Power BI application it doesn't take you to the PowerBI on the web page.

Troubleshoot: Teams Meeting add-in in Outlook for Windows

• If users do not see the Teams Meeting add-in

• close Outlook and Teams

In this specific order.

1. Restart the Teams client (first)

   • Sign in to Teams,

2. Restart the Outlook (second)

Don't have the capability?

If you noticed that you don't have the ability to create a Teams meeting or see the conference bridge line created. Use MS Skype if not, you can still join Teams meetings, just not organize, talk to your manager if you need a license upgrade

When NOT to create a Team

If you're just wanting to chat one on one (with one other person) or in a group chat (a few people at once, but outside a Teams channel) about day to day things. Not important information that needs to be shared with a group of people.

Team v. Chat (<-- read more)

• Channels are public to the team, Chat conversations are private to their members.

• A Channel message do not notifies users by default, conversations do. (you must @people)

• Chat history is shown automatically in a channel and optionally in a conversation.

• Channel for FYI message such as people as CC in an email

• Channel for Actionable conversation to certain team members (using @name in a channel).

• Chat to replace phone call or direct Skype message when you need quick answer from a limited group of colleagues.

  • (Use it wisely as it would create notification to every conversation members.)

Tips for Teams Chats (<-- read more)

1. Name you group chat

2. Pin your most frequently used group chats

3. Share files and make calls right from your group chat

4. Select how much chat history to include

If you have already created a teams using the MS Teams app

Please make sure you do the following:

• Add TPW SharePoint Administrators, Karo Engstrom and Diana Martin, as an Owner to your team.

  • This is required so that TPW administrators can manage the team if the original owner separates from the city or needs to archive documents according to retention plans.

• Name the team with our standard naming conventions:

  • Department Acronym (All Caps) + Division/Work Group acronym (All Caps) + Team Name

    • ex. TPW DTS Teleworking Support Team

  • This is required so that CTM Administrators can identify which teams belong to which departments.

If you would like to create a new team please submit a:

DTS Service Request Form

so that the TPW SharePoint administrator can reach out and discuss your business and purpose of your team. Provide any recommendations if there are specific functions you are trying to achieve.