If Microsoft Teams were a Kindergarten and What Governance is All About

When you think of kindergartens, you can imagine the colorful classrooms and the energetic children learning and playing together. Now, what if we take that idea of a kindergarten and apply it to our virtual workplace communication platforms, such as Microsoft Teams? You might be wondering how this is related to governance. Well, just like kindergarten teachers manage their students to ensure an organized and effective learning environment, governance in Microsoft Teams involves managing the platform to maximize its usage and minimize risks. In this blog post, we'll explore why governance is important in Microsoft Teams and how it relates to a kindergarten.

1. Clear guidelines and expectations - In a kindergarten, teachers have a set of rules and expectations that their students should follow. Similarly, in Microsoft Teams, governance provides clear guidelines on how to use the platform effectively, such as setting policies and procedures for information sharing and access. This helps to ensure that team members know what's expected of them, reducing confusion and miscommunication.
2. Collaboration and communication - In a kindergarten, children work in groups and learn to collaborate and communicate effectively. Similarly, Microsoft Teams enables team members to work together seamlessly, whether they're in the same room or across different time zones. Governance ensures that these collaborations are done effectively and securely, allowing the team members to communicate without fear of data breaches or other security risks.
3. Digital Natives - Children in kindergarten grow up in a digital world, using tablets and computers from a young age. The same can be said for most of today's workforce. Many of us have grown up with technology and use it as a part of our daily lives. Microsoft Teams is a powerful tool for team collaboration and communication but it’s important to ensure that everyone uses it properly and securely. Governance comprises of IT staff setting up proper security measures, ensuring that access is granted to the right individuals, granting appropriate permissions, and so on.
4. Lessons learned - Kindergarten is the foundation of learning, where children learn social and academic skills that are essential throughout their schooling years. In Microsoft Teams, governance ensures that learning from mistakes is shared across the organization. This helps the organization to constantly learn and to improve on its usage of the platform. Governance can lead to modifications in standard operating procedures, updates in guidelines and policies, which creates a more efficient, productive and secure environment.
5. Risk Management - Kindergarten teachers are responsible for ensuring the safety of their students. Similarly, governance in Microsoft Teams is about mitigating the risks associated with using the platform. This could include setting up a data retention policy, preventing unauthorized access to confidential messages and files, training users about data protection, and much more.

In summary, governance in Microsoft Teams is like a kindergarten classroom - it’s about keeping things organized, secure, and focused on learning. It’s essential to understand the importance of governance, and how it relates to a kindergarten. Proper governance can lead to increased productivity, reduced risks, effective collaboration and ultimately a better-secured workplace that enables your team to excel. With that, have fun navigating your own kindergarten through Microsoft Teams!