Creating and managing meeting policies in Microsoft Teams are crucial administrative tasks. These strategies are pertinent to controlling the features available to meeting participants. In essence, these policies assist in managing which meeting and calling experiences are accessible to users in Microsoft Teams.
To manage and create meeting policies, you will need to have the requisite permissions as an admin on Microsoft Teams. You can create and manage policies from either the Teams admin center or by using PowerShell.
Creating meeting policies from Teams Admin Center:
Here’s how you can create a new meeting policy from the Teams admin center:
- Navigate to the Microsoft Teams admin center.
- In the admin center, navigate to “Teams” > “Meeting Policies”.
- Besides the name of the policy page, click “Add”.
- Enter a name and description for the new policy.
- Now, you can set the parameters as per your needs (i.e., enable Meet Now in channels, Allow channel meeting scheduling, etc.)
- Once your settings are in place, click “Save”.
Here’s a quick reference table about some crucial policy settings:
Policy Setting | Description |
---|---|
Allow Meet Now in Channels | Determines if users can start instant meetings in channels. |
Allow Channel Meeting Scheduling | Determines whether channel meetings can be scheduled or not. |
Allow Private Meeting Scheduling | Determines whether private meetings can be scheduled or not. |
Allow Email Invitations | Dictates if users are allowed to send an email with a meeting invitation. |
Participants & Guests | Multiple settings determining video, sharing, and other capabilities. |
Ideally, you should create a custom policy for different sets of users based on their needs and job role.
Using PowerShell to manage meeting policies:
For more control and automation, you can make use of PowerShell to manage the meeting policies. Here is an example of how you can use PowerShell command lets to get, set, new, and remove meeting policies:
- To fetch details about existing meeting policies:
Get-CsTeamsMeetingPolicy
- To create a new meeting policy:
New-CsTeamsMeetingPolicy -Identity "New Policy" -Description "Policy Description" -AllowMeetNow $true
- To modify an existing meeting policy:
Set-CsTeamsMeetingPolicy -Identity "Existing Policy" -AllowMeetNow $false
- To remove an existing meeting policy:
Remove-CsTeamsMeetingPolicy -Identity "Existing Policy"
Please note down the value provided to -Identity in PowerShell commands is case-sensitive, and other parameters used in PowerShell commands have predefined values that are accepted.
In summary, managing and creating meeting policies in Microsoft Teams is all about ensuring that users utilize the Teams platform in a manner consistent with their needs and organizational protocols. By defining the right set of meeting policies, businesses can seamlessly ensure focused and productive collaboration without weighing down users with undesired features or lax security controls.
Practice Test
True or False: You can only have one meeting policy per organization in Microsoft Teams.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: You can have multiple meeting policies within your organization in Microsoft Teams. These can be applied to users to define what they can or can’t do in Teams meetings.
In Microsoft Teams, can you create a custom meeting policy?
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: Administrators can create custom meeting policies to enable certain features or functionalities for meetings.
What can you control in meeting policies in Microsoft Teams? (Multiple Select)
- A) Who can bypass the lobby
- B) Who can present
- C) Who can record meetings
- D) Who can change settings
Answer: A, B, C, D
Explanation: Meeting policies in Microsoft Teams allow you to control all these aspects and more.
True or False: You cannot assign different meeting policies to different users in Microsoft Teams.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: Microsoft Teams allows you to assign different meeting policies to different users depending upon their role or requirement.
Which PowerShell cmdlet would you use to view meeting policies in Microsoft Teams?
- A) Get-CsTeamsMeetingPolicy
- B) Show-CsTeamsMeetingPolicy
- C) Get-CsTeamsUser
- D) None of these
Answer: A
Explanation: The Get-CsTeamsMeetingPolicy cmdlet provides information about the meeting policies that have been configured in your organization.
Is it possible to divide participants in categories viz. allowed to share screen and not allowed to share screen?
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: This can be achieved by applying different meeting policies to different categories of users.
Are meeting policy changes instantly effective in Microsoft Teams?
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: It may take up to 24 hours for meeting policy changes to take effect in Microsoft Teams.
True or False: An administrator cannot control participant videos from meeting policies.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: Administrators can control aspects like participant videos and other meeting functionalities from the meeting policies.
In meeting policies, what is the default setting for “Automatic admit people”?
- A) Everyone
- B) Everyone in your organization
- C) Only the organizer
- D) None of these
Answer: B
Explanation: By default, the setting for “Automatic admit people” is everyone in your organization.
Can you use the Microsoft Teams admin center to manage meeting policies?
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: The Microsoft Teams admin center provides controls for managing all aspects of Teams, including meeting policies.
True or False: You cannot control real-time captions in Teams meetings through meeting policies.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: Microsoft Teams meeting policies allows you to turn on or turn off real-time captions for Teams meetings.
Is it possible to apply a meeting policy at an organizational level?
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: Yes, a meeting policy can be targeted at an organizational level, applying to all users within the organization.
When you create a new meeting policy, who does it apply to by default?
- A) Everyone in your organization
- B) Only the creator
- C) No one. You need to assign it.
- D) Selected users
Answer: C
Explanation: When you create a new meeting policy, it doesn’t apply to anyone by default. You need to assign it to users or groups.
True or False: Under meeting policy, you can control who can join the meeting directly.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: To control who joins a meeting directly and who waits in the lobby, you can define it under the meeting policy in Microsoft Teams.
Meeting policies cannot be used to allow or restrict the use of a virtual background.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: Meeting policies in Microsoft Teams can be set to either allow or restrict the use of virtual backgrounds during a meeting.
Interview Questions
What are meeting policies in Microsoft Teams?
In Microsoft Teams, meeting policies are used to control the features available to meeting participants. These policies are applied at the user level and can be assigned either individually or at scale through batch policies.
How do you create a new meeting policy in Microsoft Teams?
A new meeting policy can be created in Teams by navigating to Teams admin center -> Meetings -> Meeting policies -> New policy. Here, you can configure the settings as per your needs and save the new policy.
Can we create a customized meeting policy in Microsoft Teams?
Yes, we can create a custom meeting policy by navigating to the Teams admin center, selecting Meetings > Meeting policies > Add, and then filling in the necessary details for the new policy.
What is the use of the “Allow Meet Now” policy setting in Microsoft Teams?
The “Allow Meet Now” policy setting controls whether the user can start impromptu meetings in the Teams client.
Can you explain the “Allow channel meeting scheduling” setting in MS Teams meeting policies?
The “Allow channel meeting scheduling” setting controls whether a user can schedule private meetings. If this setting is disabled, users will only have the option to schedule meetings in a channel.
How can you assign a meeting policy to users in batch via PowerShell?
By using the Microsoft Teams PowerShell module, you can apply a meeting policy to multiple users at once with the ‘Grant-CsTeamsMeetingPolicy’ cmdlet.
What does the “Allow the Outlook Add-In” setting do in Microsoft Teams meeting policies?
The “Allow the Outlook Add-In” setting controls whether the user has the ability to schedule Teams meetings from Outlook.
What are the “Participants & Guests” settings in meeting policy configuration?
The “Participants & guests” settings in meeting policy configuration cover options for controlling features that both participants and guests can access during a Teams meeting.
What is the “Automatically admit people” policy setting in Microsoft Teams?
The “Automatically admit people” setting configures if, and who, to admit to the meeting automatically. Options include everyone, people in your organization, specific domains, or require everyone to be manually admitted.
Can you restrict the use of video during meetings through meeting policies?
Yes, you can control the use of camera during a video meeting by adjusting the “Allow IP video” setting in the meeting policy. When this setting is disabled, users will not be able to share video in the meeting.
What is the significance of the “Allow cloud recording” setting in Microsoft Teams meeting policies?
The “Allow cloud recording” setting in Teams meeting policies defines whether participants can record and playback the meetings. When disabled, the recording option will not be available to the participants.
What is the “IP Video” policy setting in Microsoft Teams meeting policies?
The “IP Video” setting controls whether video sharing is permitted during the meetings. If this setting is disabled, neither organizing nor participating users will be able to share their videos.
Can you limit who can present during a Teams meeting through meeting policies?
Yes, the “Who can present?” setting in meeting policies allows you to select who can have presenter capabilities during the meeting. Options range from everyone down to only specific people.
How many meeting policies can you create in Microsoft Teams?
You can create as many meeting policies as you need in Microsoft Teams, allowing for a customized approach to managing and controlling meetings in your organization.
What is the “Allow transcription” setting in Microsoft Teams meeting policies?
The “Allow transcription” setting controls whether participants have the ability to transcribe the meeting. If this policy is enabled, participants will be able to have the spoken audio in the meeting transcribed to text.