Microsoft Teams Governance is Not a One-off Task with a Static Plan
When organizations sought to migrate to Microsoft Teams, their main objectives are to maximize their Microsoft 365 investment and enhance both IT and end-user experiences using Teams.
Our digital workplace experts have seen the fast adoption of Microsoft Team has brought IT admin in charge of Microsoft 365 & Teams a number of management challenges: end users complain about feeling confused, too many needless teams are established, and the safety and compliance concerns caused by the way how employees use Microsoft Teams.
When the user adoption is low, Teams governance may not be as important as it is when the usage of this platform begins to scale up. Due to the ease of creating new Teams and channels, a lack of controlled process usually causes dissatisfaction for both IT Manager and employees with all the complicated navigation, content overload and complex administrative work.
Below are the most common challenges
Messy and confusing Teams
Duplicated Channels for the same purpose
Sprawl of unused and outdated Teams
Out-of-control Teams lifecycle as no approval process in place
Data security concerns due to installation of unauthorised third-party app
Sensitive data leak by giving access to external guests
A governance plan is already in place, but issues still arise.
We come across organizations that have a Teams governance plan in place but are still suffering some of the hiccups mentioned above. How does it happen?
Our modern workplace specialists realise many of these organizations have assumed Teams governance is a one-off setup and guideline-defining task.
However, the reality is that the needs and behaviors of Teams users change over time. Not every employee remembers to follow the governance principles every time they create new Teams and Channels. Some global settings do not fit all and cause some users resort to other applications since their needs cannot be met with the existing settings.
Therefore, we see Teams Governance as a continuous evolving process in order to adapt to the changing needs of employees and maintaining the adoption rate.
Where to start building, or modify existing Teams Governance strategy?
To craft an effective governance plan that fits an organization well, we usually start with a Teams health check to understand existing Team environment, assess how many teams are in the Teams tenant, identify potential harmful Teams with insecure privacy settings or unnecessary guest access, etc.
Once the health overview is revealed, organization can firstly take immediate actions to perform quick wins on potential threats, then re-define the Teams Governance framework and adjust criteria for each business-oriented Team template according to the overview of the tenant's health and usage.
Get improvement in usage, governance, and management.
ABy turning Teams governance into an ongoing process, organizations have reported some great numbers to show the improvement in Teams lifecycle management with the help of digital workplace solutions:
Decreased 50% of Teams creation per employee
Save 80% of the management time associated with lifecycle management
Eliminated 50% of harmful Teams
We have come across organizations that consider Teams governance as an afterthought but we always recommend getting ahead of governance at the onset to make sure the adoption is a great success, instead of another painful application to manage.
Streamlined communication, real-time collaboration and enhanced productivity should be the outcome for organizations transiting to Microsoft Teams, while heavy management workload, unpleasant user experience and security vulnerability should not be the results for the adoption.
To facilitate the adoption and help organizations build a better Teams governance strategy, we are currently offering a free Teams Health Check with a working session with our experts to help you determine where you are with Teams Governance and Lifecycle management.
About KBQuest
As a global digital transformation consulting firm with more than 1,300 professionals, KBQuest transforms clients’ digital journeys by committing to their success.
With our extensive industry experience and a strong track record in Cloud, Analytics and Digitalization, we tailor end-to-end digital strategies to transform businesses. Our consultation, strategy development, solution implementation and managed services empower clients to achieve their business goals through technology.
We guide businesses to outperform the competition.
