Greetings to our fantastic nonprofits. You may already be familiar with how you can use Microsoft Teams to work and collaborate effectively and efficiently with other members of the organization. However, what about people outside of the organization? A question that has been very popular this past week is, “Can I add users from outside of the organization to a team in Microsoft Teams”? The answer is yes! In this article, we will discuss guest users, guest user access and permissions, and how to add a guest user to your team.
Guest Users
Guest users are individuals who are not part of your organization, but who can be invited to participate in specific teams, channels, and conversations within Microsoft Teams without compromising the security of any sensitive data within the organization. This can be particularly helpful for non-profit organizations that may work with external partners, volunteers, or donors who need access to certain information or discussions.
You can grant access to guest users for as long as you’d like and simply remove them from the group when their access and participation are no longer required.
Guest User Access and Permissions
The guest experience in Microsoft Teams is designed to provide a seamless and secure way for external users to collaborate with your team. Guests have access to many of the same features as team members, including group chats, meetings, file sharing, and more. However, there are some limitations to the guest experience, such as the inability to create private channels or manage teams. To view a comparison chart of team member and guest capabilities, click here to learn more.
Checking for Guest Access Permission
Before you add a guest user to your team for the first time, you should check to make sure your organization has the allow guest user tab set to "on" in the Microsoft Teams admin center. It has defaulted to be on, so unless someone with administrative privileges has turned it off you should be fine. Here is how to double-check.
1. Navigate to www.office.com and sign in with administrative credentials.
2. In the side panel, select Show All.
3. Under Admin centers, select Teams.
4. Once the Teams admin center is open, in the side panel, select Users.
5. Under the Users dropdown menu, select, Guest access.
6. Make sure the ”allow guest access in Teams” tab is switched to on, if not, select on from the dropdown menu.
Hooray! Now that we’ve ensured the allow guest access settings are on, let's add a guest to our team channel!
How to Add a Guest User to Your Team
1. In the Team tab inside of Microsoft Teams, select the three dots (more options) next to the Team to which you’d like to add a guest member to.
2. Select ‘Add member”
3. Add the member by typing in their email address and selecting “Add _____ as a guest.”
4. Continue adding all desired guests and then select “Add.”
5. You will see a message stating the user has been added, but it may take a while for them to appear on the member list.
Congratulations! You have now successfully added a guest user to your Team in Microsoft Teams. Happy collaborating, nonprofits, and as always, thank you for allowing us to serve you and help better serve our communities!
Microsoft
