Organizational Planning with Microsoft Groups

Margaret_Farmer

Microsoft

Apr 18, 2025

Disclaimer: This blog is geared towards Administrators within your organization. Therefore, they must have the relevant administrative access. For information about Microsoft 365 Admin Center Roles and Admin Access please see: About admin roles in the Microsoft 365 admin center - Microsoft 365 admin | Microsoft Learn

Microsoft 365 Admin Center

The Microsoft 365 Admin Center serves as your central hub for managing resources, security, licenses, and accessing other administrative centers. As an approved leader participating in the Microsoft Nonprofit Program, you are automatically assigned the role of Global Administrator. This role grants you the highest level of access, with full permissions to your organization's tenant. Listed below is a list of some privileges you can perform as a Global Administrator.

Global Administrator privileges

Manage Users and Groups
Assign Roles
Manage Licenses
Configure Security Settings
Access All Admin Centers
Monitor Service Health
Manage Billing
Create & Manage Support Tickets

Additionally, you can delegate administrative roles to other members within your organization. However, it is crucial to adhere to the principle of least privilege by restricting access to the admin center only to those who require it to perform their specific duties. This ensures a secure and efficient management. However, the bulk of this guide we will help you understand the power of Microsoft Groups within the Microsoft 365 Admin Center. Learn how you can use them to reduce time and ensure best practices for your organization.

Type of Microsoft Groups

Microsoft 365 offers a variety of group types, each designed for specific purposes, making them excellent solutions for collaboration within your organization. In the Microsoft 365 Admin Center, you can find all your active groups under the "Teams & Groups" tab, specifically in the "Active teams & groups" section. Here, you will see different types of groups, such as Microsoft 365 Groups, Distribution Lists, and Security Groups. Additionally, if you have created any SharePoint Sites or Microsoft Teams, these will also be listed as active groups in this section.

Listed below is a brief description of the different Microsoft Group Types.

Microsoft Group Types

Microsoft 365 Groups: Provides a unified membership service across Microsoft 365 applications like Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, and more.
Distribution Groups: Used to send emails to multiple recipients at once, simplifying communication with a group of people. Can be created and managed through the Exchange Admin Center.
Security Groups: Used to assign permissions to a group of users, simplifying the management of access to resources.
Mail-enabled Security Groups: Combines the features of security groups and distribution groups, allowing for both email distribution and permission assignments

Enabling Guest Users for Teams Group

Collaboration is essential to achieving multiple objectives, whether it is event planning, training, or providing services to potential clients. Microsoft understands the need for giving guest temporary access to share during meetings without jeopardizing security. To simplify the process of adding guest users to Microsoft Teams, you may need to enable the feature. If you want to share access with users outside your organization, it is best practice to create a group for guests. Under "Guest users" you should see "Manage Teams Settings." By selecting Manage Teams settings," select the check boxes then click "Save." Creating a Team is a great way to give access to guest users. You can manage guest access to Teams channels, Teams chats, and share files by Accessing the Microsoft Teams Admin Center. Guest access is turned on by default with the latest version of Microsoft Teams. However, you can turn it off in the admin center by navigating to the left-hand menu under the "Users" tab > "Guest access." You can select the dropdown on or off to enable or disable the feature.

Using Groups for Bulk Activities

As organizations expand, the need for scalable and adaptable communication and collaboration becomes essential. Microsoft Groups facilitate various bulk activities, such as sending notifications and contacting multiple users via email, among others. Below, you will find additional ways to leverage groups to enhance workflows and processes, ensuring efficient and streamlined operations.

Adding multiple users to groups: You can efficiently add several users to a group at once, saving time and effort.
Send emails to specific groups or users: Distribution lists are great for a collection of contacts in which you need to send emails. This is great for departments, and teams' emails.
Assigning bulk owners to groups: You can assign multiple owners to various groups in one go, ensuring proper management and oversight.
Managing group memberships: Easily sync group memberships with existing security groups, organizational structures, and personnel information.
Setting up recurring access reviews: Automate the process of updating access reviews with the current list of groups, ensuring ongoing compliance and security.

Best Practices

Use Security Groups to assign permissions to a group of users, simplifying access management. Manage access to sensitive information or resources, ensuring only authorized personnel can access them Avoid nesting Security Groups to prevent complexity and potential security risks.
Use Distribution Groups to simplify the process of sending emails to multiple recipients at once. Ensure that the group has at least two owners to manage memberships and settings. Follow naming conventions to keep groups easily identifiable and avoid mimicking user accounts.
Ensure that groups are created with clear naming conventions to avoid confusion and duplication. Regularly review and update group memberships to ensure they reflect current organizational needs.
Project Management: Create a Microsoft 365 Group for each project team to facilitate communication and collaboration. Use the shared calendar for project timelines and the shared document library for project file.
Departmental Collaboration: Set up groups for different departments to streamline communication and resource sharing within the department.
Secure Communication: Use Mail-enabled Security Groups for secure communication within a specific team or department, ensuring that only authorized members receive the emails.
Project-Based Access: Assign permissions and distribute project-related emails to team members using Mail-enabled Security Groups.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Microsoft Groups offer a versatile and efficient way to manage users, resources, emails, and enhance security within your organization. By leveraging various types of Microsoft Groups, such as Microsoft 365 Groups, Distribution Groups, Security Groups, and Mail-enabled Security Groups, you can streamline processes and improve collaboration. Microsoft 365 Groups provide unified membership across Microsoft 365 applications, offering shared resources like inboxes, calendars, and document libraries. Distribution Groups simplify sending emails to multiple recipients, while Security Groups help assign permissions to users. Mail-enabled Security Groups combine email distribution and permission assignments allowing members to receive secure email communication.