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Update Team

Definition

The Update Team action in Microsoft Teams allows you to modify the settings, structure, and permissions of an existing team. With this action, you can update key details such as the team’s name, description, or visibility (Public or Private), as well as manage members, owners, and guest access. It also provides full control over permissions (e.g., whether members can create channels, add apps, or delete messages) and fun settings (such as enabling Giphy or memes).

This action is especially useful for keeping teams up to date as projects evolve, reorganizing access when members join or leave, and ensuring governance rules are consistently applied without having to manually adjust settings in Microsoft Teams.


💡 Example Use Cases

  1. Project Scope Change Rename the team and refine its description when a project pivots or moves to a new phase, so users immediately understand the updated purpose.
  1. Team Restructuring Add new members, remove former contributors, and promote leads to owners to reflect current responsibilities without creating a new team.
  1. Governance Standardization Align permissions (e.g., channel creation, app installs, connectors) with company policy after an audit, ensuring all teams follow the same rules.
  1. Visibility Adjustment Switch a team from Private to Public for company-wide initiatives or revert to Private when the work involves sensitive information.
  1. Guest Collaboration Enablement Enable or tighten guest capabilities (like creating or deleting channels) to support external partners while maintaining control.
  1. Communication Controls Configure messaging settings—such as allowing @team/@channel mentions, member message edits, or owner deletion—to improve signal-to-noise and moderation.
  1. Culture & Compliance Tuning Turn Giphy, stickers, and custom memes on for creative teams or off for regulated environments; set strict Giphy content rating when required.

🔹 Inputs

  1. Connection The connection represents the authentication between zenphi and your Microsoft Teams account. It ensures that the action can access and update team settings securely within your organization. Make sure the connection has sufficient permissions to modify team members, channels, and settings.

  1. Team ID Select the team you want to update from the dropdown list. This list includes both active and archived teams.

    • The Team ID uniquely identifies the team and ensures the correct team is updated.
    • This prevents accidental changes to other teams with similar names.

  1. Name Enter the updated display name for the team.

    • The name is what users see in Microsoft Teams.
    • Changing the name can reflect a new project phase, rebranding, or restructuring within the organization.

  1. Description Provide a brief description for the team, explaining its purpose or scope.

    • Maximum length: 1,024 characters.
    • Helps users understand the team’s role at a glance, especially if they are added later or are guests.

  1. Visibility Set the team’s accessibility:

    • Private (0): Only invited members can access the team. Best for confidential projects.
    • Public (1): Discoverable and joinable by anyone in the organization. Ideal for open collaboration spaces.

  1. Members Add or update the list of regular members for the team.

    • You can select users from the dropdown or type email addresses separated by commas.
    • Members can participate in conversations, collaborate on files, and interact within the team based on the permissions you define.

  1. Owners Add or update the team owners.

    • Owners have elevated permissions to manage the team, including adding/removing members, changing settings, and deleting the team.
    • You can select owners via dropdown or type their email addresses separated by commas.

  1. Member Settings Control what regular members can do within the team:

    • Allow Create/Update Channels: Lets members add new channels or modify existing ones.
    • Allow Create Private Channels: Lets members create channels only visible to specific users.
    • Allow Delete Channels: Lets members remove channels.
    • Allow Add/Remove Apps: Lets members install or uninstall apps.
    • Allow Create/Update/Remove Tabs: Lets members manage tabs in channels (e.g., Planner, OneNote).
    • Allow Create/Update/Remove Connectors: Lets members connect external apps (like Trello or GitHub).

  1. Guest Settings Defines permissions for external users (guests) invited to the team:

    • Allow Create/Update Channels: Lets guests add or modify channels.
    • Allow Delete Channels: Lets guests remove channels.
  1. Messaging Settings Determines how team communications are managed:
  • Allow Channel Mentions: Enables @channel mentions to notify all channel members.
  • Allow Team Mentions: Enables @team mentions to notify all team members.
  • Allow Owner Delete Messages: Allows owners to delete any message in the team.
  • Allow Member Delete Messages: Allows members to delete their own messages.
  • Allow Member Edit Messages: Allows members to edit their own messages.
  1. Fun Settings Controls playful features and content filtering in the team:
  • Allow Custom Memes: Lets members use uploaded memes.
  • Allow Giphy: Lets members post GIFs from Giphy.
  • Allow Stickers and Memes: Enables Teams’ built-in stickers and meme reactions.
  • Strict Giphy Content Rating: Filters Giphy content strictly to keep it appropriate (default is moderate).

🔹 Outputs

  1. Team ID The unique identifier of the team that was updated.

    • This ID is crucial for referencing the team in subsequent actions, such as posting messages, adding channels, or integrating with other systems.
    • Ensures that automation steps target the correct team, especially in organizations with multiple teams with similar names.

  1. Team Name The current display name of the updated team.

    • Reflects any changes made during the update, such as rebranding or project renaming.
    • This is the name visible to all members and guests within Microsoft Teams.

  1. Team Description The description entered for the team.

    • Provides context about the team’s purpose, scope, or any recent changes.
    • Helps new members and guests quickly understand what the team is for.

  1. Team Visibility Indicates the access level of the team:

    • Private: Only invited members can access the team.
    • Public: The team can be discovered and joined by anyone in the organization.
    • This output helps confirm whether visibility changes were applied correctly.

  1. Is Archived A flag indicating whether the team is archived.

    • Archived teams are read-only, meaning members cannot post messages or edit files.
    • Typically false for active teams but useful to track for automated compliance or reporting workflows.

  1. Member Settings Reflects the permissions assigned to regular team members. The output shows whether members can:

    • Add or remove apps.
    • Create private channels.
    • Create or update channels.
    • Add, update, or remove tabs.
    • Add, update, or remove connectors.
    • Delete channels.
    • Helps ensure member permissions align with company policies and project requirements.

  1. Guest Settings Shows permissions applied to external participants (guests):

    • Whether guests can create or update channels.
    • Whether guests can delete channels.
    • This output is critical to confirm external collaborators have appropriate access without compromising security.

  1. Fun Settings Details which “fun” features are enabled in the team:

    • Custom Memes: Whether members can upload and use memes.
    • Giphy: Whether GIFs are allowed, and if the strict content rating is applied.
    • Stickers and Memes: Whether built-in stickers and memes are enabled.
    • Helps balance engagement and professionalism, depending on team type and purpose.

  1. Messaging Settings Reflects how communication is managed in the team:

    • Allow Channel Mentions: Whether @channel mentions are permitted.
    • Allow Team Mentions: Whether @team mentions are permitted.
    • Allow Owner Delete Messages: Whether owners can delete any messages.
    • Allow Member Delete Messages: Whether members can delete their own messages.
    • Allow Member Edit Messages: Whether members can edit their messages.
    • This output ensures messaging behavior aligns with organizational policies for moderation and collaboration.

🔹 Example Scenario: Reorganizing a Product Development Team

Situation: Your company’s Product Development Team is working on multiple products simultaneously. Recently, a new product manager joined, two team members moved to another project, and some permissions need adjusting to improve collaboration and governance. The team also wants to restrict fun features to keep communication professional.

Step 1 – Trigger the Flow The flow is triggered on-demand by the team lead when restructuring is needed. This allows immediate updates without waiting for IT or admins to make manual changes.

Step 2 – Update Team Action Setup

  • Team ID: Select the existing Product Development Team from the dropdown.
  • Name: Keep the team name as “Product Development” to maintain consistency.
  • Description: Update the description to reflect the current focus: “Team for managing all product development projects, including new features and releases.”
  • Members: Remove the two members who moved to another project and ensure remaining members are correctly assigned.
  • Owners: Add the new product manager as an owner and retain existing owners for continuity.
  • Visibility: Keep the team Private to ensure sensitive product information stays secure.
  • Member Settings: Restrict members from creating channels but allow them to use tabs and apps relevant to their work.
  • Guest Settings: Keep guest permissions limited (no channel creation or deletion).
  • Messaging Settings: Allow @team mentions, permit members to edit messages, but restrict deletion to owners only.
  • Fun Settings: Disable Giphy and stickers; memes are only allowed with moderation.

Step 3 – Outcome After Flow Runs

  • All member and owner updates are applied instantly.
  • Permissions and governance rules are enforced across the team.
  • Messaging settings are aligned to improve communication efficiency.
  • Fun features are restricted to maintain a professional environment.
  • Outputs like Team ID, Team Name, Member Settings, and Messaging Settings confirm that all changes were successfully applied.

Step 4 – Benefits in Real World

  • Saves time compared to manually updating team settings in Microsoft Teams.
  • Reduces risk of errors when adding/removing members or changing permissions.
  • Ensures governance, security, and professional communication standards are consistently maintained.
  • Allows the team lead to restructure the team quickly in response to organizational changes.

This example shows a complete workflow scenario, demonstrating why and how the Update Team action is used, with clear steps, inputs, and real-world outcomes.


🔹 Best Practices

  1. Plan Updates Carefully Before updating a team, review which fields need changes. Avoid unnecessary modifications to prevent confusion for members.
  1. Use Team ID for Accuracy Always use the Team ID to select the correct team. Names can be similar across your organization, so the ID ensures updates apply to the intended team.
  1. Maintain Owner Redundancy Always have at least two owners to ensure team management continuity. Avoid removing all owners at once.
  1. Limit Member Permissions Restrict member capabilities like channel creation or app management if the team is sensitive or requires structured governance.
  1. Check Guest Settings Ensure guests have appropriate access: allow collaboration where needed but restrict deletion or channel creation to maintain security.
  1. Review Messaging Settings Configure message editing, deletion, and mentions according to the team’s purpose. This improves moderation and prevents accidental misuse.
  1. Adjust Fun Features Judiciously Enable or disable memes, Giphy, and stickers depending on the team’s culture and compliance requirements. Use Strict Giphy Content Rating for professional or regulated teams.
  1. Test Changes on a Pilot Team For major updates, test the configuration on a smaller team first. This prevents accidental disruption for large groups.
  1. Use Outputs for Verification Leverage outputs like Team Name, Visibility, Member Settings, and Messaging Settings to confirm that updates were applied correctly.

Updated about 5 hours ago