A guide to best practice collaboration using Microsoft Teams
I spend a lot of my time working with groups of colleagues who use Teams chats to stay connected and ensure projects move forward. The flipside of this ease when working remotely is constant interruptions from messages and people struggling to get their heads into focus gear. Here I’ve outlined some considerations that can help your team to use Teams in a sustainable way whilst ensuring collaboration and focus are both respected.
Notifications
Set channel messages to “Only show in feed” so they don’t pop up and distract you
Mute or hide channels that aren’t relevant to your current work
Use Focus Assist or Do Not Disturb when you need uninterrupted time
Presence & status
Switch to Do Not Disturb when concentrating as this stops chat notifications
Add a custom status message (e.g. “In focus time, will respond after 3pm”)
Respect colleagues’ status indicators and don’t message during their focus blocks unless it’s urgent
Channel use
Keep urgent updates separate from ongoing discussion
Reply in threads to keep conversations tidy and easy to follow
Pin the channels you use most and check others at set times instead of constantly
Response expectations
Don’t expect instant replies unless something is marked urgent
Use @tags (like @urgent or @projectX) to make priorities clear
Aim to check chats in batches, for example, morning, after lunch, and end of day
Team norms
Accept that delayed responses are normal and respect focus time
Keep social chat in designated channels so project spaces stay clear
Share wins and gratitude in a dedicated space to keep morale strong
Review & iterate
Check in with colleagues regularly to see if the Teams chats are working for people and have a formal review every quarter
Collect feedback on what’s working and what feels disruptive
AI support for collaboration
Use Intelligent Recap to catch up on long chat threads without scrolling endlessly
Try Channel Agents to surface relevant information and reduce noise in busy discussions
Use Copilot File Summaries for a quick overview of shared documents being sure to double-check these against the original file before making decisions
Explore Loop integration in Teams for dynamic, real‑time co‑authoring and collaboration on live documents inside channels
By re‑thinking how you and your colleagues are using Teams you’ll be sure to feel in control of your day, connected to each other, and able to produce good results whilst staying in touch.