Is anyone building individual development plans inside Teams?
So hear me out. I discovered that if something is in a live document, sharepoint, etc, I've found that employees dont really check up on it or follow through with it unless they are regularly reminded. Same goes for any software we try to implement that requires a seperate login and lives in another app completely. Our employees spend most of their time communicating in Teams so I want to take our IDP process into Teams. Are there any decent talent or employee development apps for Teams that anyone can recommend for IDPs?Stop Automatic Calling when Screensharing
I screenshare a lot in my position; I call the coworker (Phone/Headset) and train them on what I need them to look at. I am in a large office building, and the automatic calling of the receivers' PC is disruptive, as I do not was the whole office to hear my conversation or have people hear my trainee. I see no way to disable the team auto-call once I start to screen share or in the Options. All my coworkers feel this frustration as well. I do use the computer microphone/speaks aspect when working from home, but would disable it totally, if it would stop the auto-call. I do not want it to affect meeting invites to others, as others around the country can use their PC speak/microphone, if they want. Please advise.
small white window that opens during sharing in a meeting
Hi, I've Teams vers. 26120.3106.4722.3411. For some time when I access to a meeting and sharing the screen, a window or a presentation, a small white windows appears at the bottom right and I cannot close it. To close this window and to prevent it from opening again I need to disconnect to Teams also for 2-3 times. Well, how could I solve a such issue permanently? Thanks This is the window image that I can capture:
Anything inside Teams for people management you use and can recommend?
We currently have to use one tool for goals, another for feedback, a spreadsheet for review tracking, Teams for 1:1s, and then some shared doc for engagement notes. Leadership asked me if theres anything that does all of this inside Teams so they dont have to keep jumping around. We're a mid-size company (around 200 people) fully on Microsoft 365. Anyone found a good all-in-one solution that actually works inside Teams?How are you running 1:1 meetings inside Teams without it turning into a mess?
Right now were using a shared OneNote for agendas and action items but honestly nobody updates it and half the time the meeting turns into a random chat with no structure. I tried using Planner tasks as a workaround but thats clunky because theres no real connection between the task and the meeting itself. Has anyone found a good way to keep 1:1 agendas, notes, and follow ups all in one place inside Teams? We have about 40 people so it needs to scale a bit.How to use the new Chats & Channels experience in Teams
The new chats and channels experience in Microsoft Teams introduces several enhancements designed to improve collaboration and streamline communication. You can turn on this feature in preview for evaluation. These updates aim to make it easier for teams to collaborate, stay organized, and ensure that no important messages are missed. #MicrosoftTeams #Teams #NewFeatures #Microsoft365 #Productivity #MPVbuzz
Feature Request: Custom Status Labels for Calendar Events (e.g., 'In a Training')
Hey Teams Community! 👋 I have a small but impactful feature idea and would love your votes and feedback. --- 🔴 The Problem Right now, every calendar block in Microsoft Teams shows the same status to colleagues: "In a Meeting." Whether you're in a 10-minute standup or a 3-hour mandatory training — it all looks identical. This creates ambiguity, leads to unnecessary interruptions, and doesn't reflect how modern workplaces actually function. --- 💡 The Feature Request Allow users to assign a custom status label to a calendar event when creating it — visible to colleagues who check availability — without exposing private event details. Something as simple as a dropdown when creating an event: ✅ In a Meeting (default) 🎓 In a Training 🎯 Focus Time 📋 In a Workshop The chosen label would appear: → In the chat status indicator → On the calendar availability hover card → When someone tries to @mention or call you --- ✅ Why This Matters - Reduces interruptions during high-focus or learning sessions - Helps colleagues make smarter decisions about whether to wait or escalate - Especially valuable for schools, hospitals, training teams, and L&D departments - Lightweight to implement — no privacy concerns since it doesn't reveal event titles --- 🗳️ If you've ever been interrupted during a training because someone thought you were just "in a meeting" — please upvote and share your experience below! Let's get this on the Teams roadmap. 🚀 Tags: Feature Request, Calendar, Status, Availability, Training, Teams, Microsoft TeamsMicrosoft Teams Consecutive Interpretation Explained (NEW Copilot Feature for Multilingual Meetings)
🚀 New in Microsoft Teams: Consecutive Interpretation (powered by Copilot) Microsoft Teams just introduced consecutive interpretation, a new way to run multilingual meetings that feels far more natural than real-time translation. 🎧 Instead of translating while someone is speaking, Teams now: Lets one person speak Translates after they finish Enables real, turn‑by‑turn conversation In my latest video, I explain: • What consecutive interpretation is How it differs from real-time (simultaneous) interpretation When to use one vs the other Why this matters for international teams 👉 Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/u-fH_00nFuU #MicrosoftTeams #Microsoft365 #Copilot #AIatWork #MultilingualMeetings #FutureOfWorkTransforming Microsoft Teams into a Project Management Hub
If you use Microsoft Teams only for chats and meetings, you’re missing much of what it can actually do. While Microsoft Teams is often seen as a communication tool, it can also function as a central workspace for managing projects - from planning and brainstorming to execution and documentation - all in one place. When combined with tools like Microsoft Planner, SharePoint, and Microsoft Loop, Teams can become a practical project management hub that keeps work organized and reduces the need to switch between systems. This article walks through a clear, practical approach to setting up and using Teams for real-world project delivery. Why Use Microsoft Teams for Project Management? Organizations often hesitate to introduce new tools due to cost, training effort, or resistance to change. Microsoft Teams offers a strong advantage: it is already widely adopted in many organizations as part of Microsoft 365. Using Teams for project management allows you to: Centralize communication and documentation Reduce tool fragmentation Improve team visibility and collaboration Leverage existing infrastructure without additional cost Instead of switching between multiple platforms, teams can manage conversations, files, tasks, and workflows in one place. Structuring Your Project in Teams A well-structured Team is the foundation of successful project management. Create a Dedicated Team Start by creating a Team specifically for your project. Avoid mixing multiple projects in one Team, as it leads to confusion and poor organization. Recommended channels structure: General (announcements and overview) Planning (timelines, scope, requirements) Execution (daily work discussions) Risks and Issues Documentation Onboarding Lessons Learned This structure ensures clarity and separates strategic discussions from operational ones. Managing Tasks with Planner Task management is a critical part of any project. Inside Microsoft Teams, you can add a Planner tab to manage tasks visually within the same workspace where communication and files are stored. How to use Planner effectively: Create buckets (e.g., To Do, In Progress, Completed, or structured by topic) Assign tasks to team members for clear ownership Set due dates and priorities Attach files and add comments directly to tasks Use labels to categorize work (e.g., Design, Frontend, Backend, Testing) for better filtering and tracking Planner also provides multiple views beyond the basic board: Board view (Kanban-style) for workflow tracking Charts view for progress and workload overview Schedule (Calendar) view to track deadlines visually across time This combination allows teams to switch between operational tracking and higher-level planning depending on the need. This visual approach improves accountability, transparency, and makes task tracking easier even for non-technical users. Document Management with SharePoint Every Team in Microsoft Teams is backed by a SharePoint site. This means all files shared in Teams are stored and managed through SharePoint. Using SharePoint effectively allows you to: Structured storage of project documentation through folders and metadata Maintain version control Role-based access management Centralized file organization Control access permissions Enable real-time collaboration Best practices: Create clear folder & metadata structures (e.g., Contracts, Designs, Reports) Avoid duplicate files Use naming conventions Instead of sending documents via email, teams can collaborate directly within Teams, ensuring everyone works on the latest version. SharePoint Lists in Microsoft Teams SharePoint Lists in Microsoft Teams provide a structured way to store, manage, and track information directly within the collaboration workspace. A SharePoint List is essentially a flexible data table, where each item represents a record with defined fields (such as status, owner, due date, priority, or category). They are especially useful for: Project roadmaps and milestone tracking Action item tracking with ownership and status Checklists for delivery and execution steps Simple status registers and progress tracking Unlike free-form messages or documents, SharePoint Lists keep information structured, filterable, and easy to update, which makes them suitable for ongoing tracking and reporting. When used inside Microsoft Teams, Lists help teams move from discussion to execution by turning decisions into trackable items with clear ownership, status, and visibility. Embedding SharePoint Pages in Teams Beyond file storage, Microsoft 365 allows SharePoint pages to be embedded as tabs within Teams, making key project information easily accessible in one place. SharePoint pages can be added as tabs inside Microsoft Teams channels, providing structured and persistent access to key project information without leaving the collaboration space. In practice, organizations often use SharePoint pages for: Project home page with key links and overview Governance page with rules and standards Onboarding page for new team members Documentation hub for core resources Centralized knowledge hubs This helps ensure that essential information is not scattered across chats or files, but is instead organized and always available within the project workspace. SharePoint is better suited for structured, stable, and long-term information. Microsoft Loop for Real-Time Collaboration Microsoft Loop introduces a more dynamic layer of collaboration inside Microsoft Teams, designed for fast, interactive work where content is continuously evolving. Loop components (such as notes, tables, task lists, and meeting agendas) can be embedded directly into Teams conversations and edited in real time by all participants. It is especially useful for: Live meeting notes Quick decision-making and feedback collection (including simple polls or inputs) 1:1 discussions and follow-ups Brainstorming sessions and idea capture Shared task tracking during discussions In practice, teams can collaborate on meeting notes or brainstorming pages during calls, with updates visible instantly to everyone. This removes the need to switch between documents or wait for post-meeting summaries. Unlike structured tools like SharePoint, Loop is designed for fluid, real-time collaboration, where information is shaped and refined as the discussion happens. Automating Workflows with Power Automate Manual processes can slow down project execution. With Power Automate, you can streamline repetitive tasks. Common automation examples: Notify the team when a task is completed Send reminders for upcoming deadlines Automatically save email attachments to SharePoint Trigger approval workflows Example scenario: When a task in Planner is marked as “Completed,” a notification is sent to the project manager and logged in a tracking list. This reduces manual follow-ups and improves efficiency. Power BI Dashboards Power BI can be integrated into Teams as a tab, allowing teams to access real-time reporting directly within their project workspace. It is commonly used for: Project status dashboards KPI and performance tracking Resource and workload visibility Financial or delivery reporting Instead of switching to a separate reporting tool, teams can monitor progress and insights directly inside Teams, ensuring better visibility and faster decision-making. Microsoft Whiteboard Microsoft Whiteboard provides a visual collaboration space for real-time ideation and planning. It is especially useful for: Brainstorming sessions Process mapping and flow design Workshop facilitation Visual planning during meetings Whiteboard supports freehand drawing, sticky notes, and structured diagrams, making it effective for capturing ideas during live discussions and workshops. Integration with Other Tools (Microsoft & Third-Party) Microsoft Teams can be extended with a wide range of Microsoft 365 services and external applications, allowing it to function as a central hub for project work, reporting, and collaboration. Teams also supports many external tools, allowing organizations to align existing systems without fully replacing them. Common examples include: Jira – agile project and issue tracking Trello – lightweight task and board management ServiceNow – IT service management workflows GitHub – development and repository tracking Salesforce – CRM data and customer-related workflows Communication and Collaboration Effective communication is essential for project success. Microsoft Teams provides multiple ways to facilitate this: Channel Conversations Keep discussions organized by topic instead of using scattered chats. Meetings and Calls Schedule regular check-ins, sprint reviews, or stakeholder updates directly within Teams. Mentions and Tags Use @mentions to notify specific team members and ensure accountability. Practical Use Case Consider a company implementing a new internal intranet. Using Microsoft Teams: A Team is created for the project Planner tracks tasks such as design, content migration, and testing SharePoint stores documents and site assets Power Automate sends reminders for deadlines Teams meetings are used for weekly progress reviews This setup enables the team to manage the entire project lifecycle without introducing additional tools. Best Practices for Success To maximize the effectiveness of Microsoft Teams for project management: Keep your structure simple and consistent Avoid creating too many channels Encourage team members to use channel conversations instead of private chats Regularly review and clean up tasks Use automation where it adds clear value Adoption is just as important as functionality. A well-designed system only works if the team actively uses it. Limitations to Consider While Microsoft Teams is powerful, it has limitations: Not suitable for highly complex project scheduling Limited dependency management compared to dedicated PM tools Reporting capabilities are basic without Power BI For large-scale or highly regulated projects, a dedicated project management tool may still be required. Professional Context and Applied Perspective The approach described in this article reflects practical experience in designing and implementing collaboration environments using Microsoft Teams within real organizational settings. It is based on applied use of integrated Microsoft 365 capabilities, including SharePoint, Microsoft Planner, and Microsoft Loop, to support structured project execution and improve cross-functional collaboration. Rather than relying on isolated tools, this approach focuses on designing a unified digital workspace that aligns communication, task management, documentation, and automation within a single environment. Microsoft Teams is more than just a communication platform. When used strategically, it becomes a practical and efficient tool for managing projects. By combining Teams with Planner, SharePoint, and Power Automate, organizations can create a unified workspace that supports collaboration, task management, and process automation. For teams looking to simplify their toolset while maintaining productivity, Microsoft Teams offers a compelling solution for modern project management.
