Microsoft Teams and SharePoint: Optimising Collaboration for Your Australian Team

The Common Problems

• Team sprawl: Dozens of abandoned Teams nobody can delete
• Document chaos: Files scattered across Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, and email
• Permission confusion: Who can access what? Nobody knows
• Search failure: Can't find documents you know exist
• External sharing risks: Sensitive documents shared without oversight

Planning Your Team Structure

• Department-based: One Team per department (Sales, Marketing, Operations)
• Project-based: One Team per project or engagement
• Client-based: One Team per major client (for professional services)
• Hybrid: Department Teams for ongoing work, project Teams for temporary initiatives

SharePoint Document Organisation

1. Use metadata, not folders: SharePoint metadata enables powerful filtering without deep folder hierarchies.
2. Standardise document libraries: Create consistent libraries across Teams.
3. Enable versioning: Track document history automatically.
4. Set retention policies: Automatically manage document lifecycle.

Governance Controls

1. Control Team creation: Limit who can create new Teams to prevent sprawl.
2. Set expiration policies: Teams without activity can be automatically archived.
3. Guest access policies: Define who can invite external guests.
4. Sensitivity labels: Classify Teams and documents to enforce protection.