Posted in MS Teams

Teams Meeting Policies

   September 15, 2024

Microsoft Teams Meeting Policies: Overview

Microsoft Teams meeting policies are a set of customizable rules that control the features and capabilities available to participants in Teams meetings. These policies allow administrators to manage how meetings are conducted, including participant permissions, recording capabilities, video settings, and more. Meeting policies are essential for ensuring consistency, security, and compliance across an organization, especially for managing meetings at scale.

Administrators can create custom policies, apply them to specific users or groups, and adjust various settings according to organizational needs.

Key Features and Concepts of Microsoft Teams Meeting Policies

  1. Global (Org-Wide) vs. Custom Policies
    • Global Policy: The default meeting policy that applies to all users unless another policy is assigned. Every organization has a global policy by default.
    • Custom Policies: Administrators can create custom policies to apply specific rules to individual users, departments, or groups. Custom policies can be more restrictive or permissive based on needs.
  2. Meeting Creation and Scheduling
    • Allow Scheduling Private Meetings: This setting determines whether users can schedule private (ad-hoc) meetings that are not tied to a channel.
    • Allow Channel Meetings: Controls whether users can schedule meetings within a channel. Channel meetings are visible to all members of the team.
    Usage Example: An organization might want to restrict private meetings and require all meetings to be tied to a team or channel, so that meeting content is visible and accessible to the entire team.
  3. Meeting Join Settings
    • Allow Anonymous Users to Join: Determines whether users without a Teams account can join the meeting. This is useful for inviting external participants, such as clients or partners, without requiring them to create an account.
    • Automatically Admit Users: Controls which participants are automatically allowed to bypass the meeting lobby and join the meeting. Options include:
      • Everyone
      • People in my organization
      • Invited users only
    Usage Example: For high-security meetings (e.g., board meetings), only invited participants might be automatically admitted, while others wait in the lobby until manually admitted by the organizer.
  4. Lobby and Access Control
    • Who Can Bypass the Lobby: Configures which participants can bypass the lobby and join directly.
    • Always Let Callers Bypass the Lobby: Allows users joining by phone to automatically bypass the lobby.
    • Notify When Participants Join or Leave: Sends notifications to the meeting organizer or presenter when participants join or leave the meeting.
    Usage Example: A company may enable the lobby for all external participants to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive discussions. Internal users, however, might bypass the lobby.
  5. Video and Audio Settings
    • Allow IP Video: Controls whether participants can turn on their video during a meeting. This can be disabled to save bandwidth or prevent video from being used during certain types of meetings.
    • Allow Transcription: Allows meetings to be transcribed automatically, providing text records of the discussion.
    • Allow Cloud Recording: Enables or disables the ability to record meetings in the cloud (stored in OneDrive for Business or SharePoint).
    Usage Example: In an educational setting, teachers may be allowed to record classes, while students are not. A custom policy can be created to allow instructors to record sessions for future reference, while restricting student access to the recording feature.
  6. Screen Sharing Policies
    • Allow Screen Sharing: Determines whether participants can share their screen during meetings.
    • Who Can Share: Defines who is allowed to share content, with options including:
      • All participants
      • Only the meeting organizer and presenters
    • Allow PowerPoint Sharing: Enables users to share PowerPoint presentations within a meeting.
    • Allow Whiteboard and Shared Notes: Controls whether participants can use the Microsoft Whiteboard or take shared meeting notes.
    Usage Example: In meetings where sensitive content is discussed (e.g., financial reports), screen sharing may be restricted to only the presenter or organizer to prevent unauthorized content from being shared.
  7. Chat and Reactions
    • Allow Meeting Chat: Controls whether chat is available during a meeting. This setting has three options:
      • Enabled: Chat is allowed throughout the meeting.
      • Disabled: No chat is available.
      • In-Meeting Only: Chat is available only while the meeting is in progress and not before or after.
    • Allow Reactions: Enables participants to use emojis such as thumbs up, clapping, and other reactions during the meeting.
    Usage Example: For formal meetings, such as legal or executive board meetings, chat and reactions might be disabled to ensure a professional and focused environment.
  8. Participant Role and Permissions
    • Who Can Present: Specifies which participants can be presenters, with options such as:
      • Only the organizer
      • Specific participants
      • Everyone in the meeting
    • Allow Attendees to Unmute: Determines whether attendees can unmute themselves or whether only presenters and the organizer have control over muting and unmuting.
    Usage Example: For training sessions, only the instructor (presenter) might be allowed to share their screen and control audio, while participants remain muted to avoid distractions.
  9. Meeting Recording Policies
    • Allow Cloud Recording: Controls whether participants can record meetings in the cloud.
    • Recording Auto Expiration: Allows admins to set expiration dates for meeting recordings, automatically deleting them after a set period (e.g., 30 days).
    Usage Example: A legal firm may enforce strict policies around meeting recordings, enabling them only for specific cases where transcripts are needed for compliance purposes and automatically deleting old recordings after a set time.
  10. Breakout Room Policies
    • Allow Breakout Rooms: This setting determines whether breakout rooms can be used in meetings. Breakout rooms allow smaller group discussions within a larger meeting.
    Usage Example: A custom policy might allow breakout rooms for training sessions or workshops but disable them for formal, company-wide meetings.
  11. Q&A and Polling
    • Allow Q&A: Enables a structured Q&A session where participants can ask questions and the presenter can answer them in an organized manner.
    • Allow Polls: Allows the organizer to run polls during the meeting to gather instant feedback from participants.
    Usage Example: In large webinars or training sessions, Q&A might be enabled to allow attendees to ask questions in a managed format, while polls can be used to gauge understanding or gather opinions during the session.
  12. Dial-In and Dial-Out Settings
    • Allow Dial-In Conferencing: Determines whether users can join the meeting by dialing in from a phone (PSTN).
    • Allow Dial-Out from Meetings: Allows participants to call out to phone numbers and invite others into the meeting via phone.
    Usage Example: In remote or rural locations with limited internet access, participants may join a meeting via phone. The organization can use a custom policy to allow dial-in for external users while limiting dial-out capabilities to only organizers.

How to Configure Meeting Policies in Microsoft Teams Admin Center

  1. Access the Teams Admin Center:
  2. Navigate to Meeting Policies:
    • In the left-hand menu, select Meetings > Meeting Policies.
  3. View or Edit the Global Policy:
    • The global policy is the default policy applied to all users. You can view or edit this policy by selecting it and adjusting the settings.
  4. Create a Custom Policy:
    • To create a custom policy, click on + Add. Name the policy, configure the desired settings (e.g., video, screen sharing, recording), and save the policy.
  5. Assign Policies to Users:
    • Once created, you can assign policies to users by going to the Users section, selecting a specific user, and applying the desired meeting policy.
  6. Monitor Policy Usage:
    • Use the Reports section in the Admin Center to monitor how meeting policies are being applied and adjust as necessary based on organizational needs.

Example Use Cases of Meeting Policies

1. Education Scenario (Restricting Student Permissions)

In an educational environment, the admin creates a custom meeting policy for students that disables cloud recording, restricts screen sharing to teachers only, and prevents students from unmuting themselves unless allowed by the teacher. Teachers, on the other hand, have a more permissive policy that allows them to control audio, share content, and record lessons.

2. Legal Firm (High-Security Meetings)

A legal firm might create a custom policy that disables anonymous users from joining, requires all participants to enter a lobby before the meeting starts, and disables chat to maintain a professional environment during legal discussions. Recording is also disabled to comply with confidentiality requirements.

3. Corporate Webinar (Large Event Management)

For corporate webinars, the admin creates a policy that restricts who can present, disables attendee unmuting, and enables Q&A and polls to manage the flow of interaction. Additionally, chat is restricted to in-meeting only, ensuring that attendees focus on the event and the Q&A panel.

Microsoft Teams meeting policies provide administrators with the flexibility to control and customize the behavior of meetings across the organization. From managing who can present and join meetings to controlling video usage and security settings, meeting policies ensure that Teams meetings are conducted according to the organization’s standards and compliance requirements.

By applying global or custom meeting policies, organizations can fine-tune how meetings are handled across different

Share: XFacebookPinterestLinkedin
Author: tonyhughes