24 Nov Managing Chat for Sensitive Microsoft Teams Meetings

Managing Chat for Sensitive Microsoft Teams Meetings

In today’s digital age, where virtual meetings are a norm, managing the flow of sensitive information during these meetings is crucial. Microsoft Teams offers various features to control chat functionalities, especially in sensitive meetings. This post will explore how meeting organizers and Teams administrators can manage chat to meet compliance requirements and maintain the confidentiality of discussions.

Understanding Chat Controls in Microsoft Teams

By default, Microsoft Teams enables chat for all meeting participants, both during and after the meeting. However, for sensitive meetings, it’s essential to have tighter control over this feature. Here’s a breakdown of the available chat-related controls and how they can be managed:

• Meeting Chat: Can be controlled via Admin policy, Sensitivity label, Template, and directly by the Meeting organizer.
• Prevent Copying Chat Content: Managed through Sensitivity labels.
• Q&A Feature: Controlled via Admin policy and by the Meeting organizer.
• Shared Notes: Governed through Admin policy.

Note: Some settings in sensitivity labels and custom meeting templates require Teams Premium.

Teams meeting Engagement: You, as an admin, can create custom policies based on the requirements and control the chat functionality in meetings. You don’t have to disable chat entirely.  The below screenshot shows the available options for meeting engagement, which can be customized.

1. Meeting chat: You can set chat on for everyone, including anonymous attendees, OR On for everyone but anonymous users. – Set based on requirement.
2. External meeting chat: When this is turned on, people can read or write messages in external meeting chats from untrusted organizations. – Set based on the requirement.
3. Q&A: If you turn this on, organizers can enable a question-and-answer experience for their meetings. – set based on requirement.
4. Reaction: Keep this on.
5. Teams meeting engagement 

Strategies for Managing Chat in Sensitive Meetings

Restricting Anonymous Participants:

• To prevent anonymous participants from using chat, adjust the ‘Chat in meetings’ Teams admin policy. This setting cannot be altered by meeting organizers or through templates or sensitivity labels.

Limiting Chat Availability:

• Meeting organizers can set chat to be available only during the meeting. This can also be configured using meeting templates or sensitivity labels for specific meeting types.

Preventing Copying from Chat:

• Use sensitivity labels to restrict the copying of chat content. If a sensitivity label that restricts copying is the default in a container label, it applies to all team channels.

Disabling Chat Entirely:

• For meetings where sensitive or highly confidential information is discussed, you can turn off the chat feature using a meeting template or sensitivity label.

Alternatives in Meetings Without Chat

In scenarios where chat is disabled, organizers can enable the Q&A feature, allowing attendees to ask questions or make comments in writing. While this feature is off by default, Teams administrators can control its availability through the Q&A admin meeting policy.

Additionally, Teams allows the creation of shared meeting notes and the use of a whiteboard. While these cannot be turned off by the meeting organizer, admin policies can restrict their use.

Best Practices for Sensitive Meetings

Define Clear Policies:

• Establish organization-wide policies for managing chat in sensitive meetings. Ensure these policies are communicated effectively to all Teams users.

Use Sensitivity Labels:

• Leverage sensitivity labels to enforce restrictions on chat copying and availability, aligning with the organization’s data protection policies.

Train Meeting Organizers:

• Educate meeting organizers on how to use meeting templates and sensitivity labels to control chat features as per the meeting’s sensitivity.

Monitor and Adjust Policies:

• Regularly review and adjust admin policies to ensure they meet the evolving needs of your organization.

In conclusion, Microsoft Teams provides robust controls to manage chat functionalities in sensitive meetings. By utilizing a combination of admin policies, meeting templates, and sensitivity labels, organizations can ensure that their compliance requirements are met while maintaining the flexibility and collaborative benefits of Teams meetings. As remote work and virtual meetings continue to be prevalent, these controls are invaluable for maintaining the integrity and confidentiality of sensitive organizational communications.