How to Create a Team in Microsoft Teams [Step-by-Step]

If you’ve just started using Microsoft Teams or your organization has recently migrated to it, the first thing you’ll probably want to do is create a team. It sounds simple, but there are actually a few different ways to do it, and picking the right method can save you a lot of time and setup effort later.

In this tutorial, I’ll walk you through every method available to create a Team in Microsoft Teams, explain when to use which one, and share a few tips I’ve picked up along the way.

What Exactly Is a “Team” in Microsoft Teams?

Before we jump into the steps, let me quickly explain what a team actually is because this trips up a lot of new users.

A team in Microsoft Teams is essentially a shared workspace. Think of it like a project room where you and your colleagues can chat, share files, hold meetings, and organize work all in one place.

Inside every team, you have channels, which are like separate topic-based rooms within that workspace. For example, you might have a team called “Marketing” with channels for “Social Media,” “Campaigns,” and “Analytics.”

Understanding this structure helps you decide how to set up your team from day one.

Before You Create a Team

A couple of things worth checking first:

• Do you have permission to create teams? Some organizations restrict who can create teams. If you hit a wall, check with your IT admin.
• Does a similar team already exist? It’s worth searching for existing teams before creating a new one, especially in larger organizations. Microsoft Teams allows you to own up to 250 teams per account, so duplicates can pile up fast.

Create a Team in Microsoft Teams

Now I will tell you how to create a team in Microsoft Teams.

Method 1: Create a Team from Scratch

This is the most common method. Use this when you’re starting fresh and don’t have an existing group or team to build on.

Step 1: Open Microsoft Teams

Launch the Microsoft Teams desktop app or go to teams.microsoft.com in your browser. Sign in with your Microsoft 365 account.

Step 2: Navigate to the Chat or Teams section

On the left sidebar, click on Chat (in the combined view) or Teams (if you’re using the separate view). You’ll see your current list of chats, channels, and teams.

Step 3: Click “New items”

At the top of your list, you’ll see a New items button (it looks like a pencil or a “+” icon depending on your Teams version). Click it.

Step 4: Select “New team”

From the dropdown, click New team. You’ll land on the team creation screen.

Step 5: Name your team

Give your team a clear, descriptive name. Something like “HR Department” or “Project Phoenix Q2” works better than just “Team 1.” You can also add an optional description—I’d recommend it because it helps others understand what the team is for, especially in larger organizations.

Step 6: Choose the privacy type

This is an important step. You have two options:

• Private — Only people you invite can join. This is the default setting and is ideal for project teams, department-specific groups, or any team where you want to control membership.
• Public — Anyone in your organization can find and join the team. Good for company-wide topics, knowledge sharing, or communities of interest.

Pick based on who needs access. When in doubt, go with Private — you can always change it later.

Note: If your organization has set up sensitivity labels (for data classification), you’ll also see an option to apply one here. This is more common in enterprises with strict compliance requirements.

Step 7: Name your first channel

Teams requires you to name at least one channel before creating the team. By default, it suggests “General” — and that’s fine to keep. You can rename it later, and you’ll add more channels once the team is created.

Step 8: Click “Create”

Hit Create, and you’re done. Your new team will appear in your Teams list within a few seconds.

Step 9: Add members

After the team is created, you’ll be prompted to add members. Type a name, email address, or group name to find people in your organization. You can also add external users (guests) by entering their email address — they’ll receive an invite to join.

When adding members, you’ll also assign roles:

• Owner — Can manage team settings, add/remove members, and delete the team
• Member — Can participate in channels, chat, and meetings

You can skip adding members at this stage and do it later if you prefer.

Method 2: Create a Team from an Existing Team

This method is a real time-saver. If you’ve already set up a team with channels, tabs, settings, and apps, and you want to replicate that structure for a new project or department, you don’t have to start from scratch.

Step 1: Go to Chat or Teams in the left sidebar.

Step 2: Click New items > New team.

Step 3: Click More create team options on the creation screen.

Step 4: Choose From another team.

Step 5: Select the team you want to copy from. You’ll then see checkboxes to choose what you want to carry over:

• Channels
• Tabs
• Settings
• Apps
• Members

Step 6: Name your new team, set the privacy, and click Create.

This is especially useful when you’re onboarding a new client, starting a recurring project, or setting up similar teams across different departments.

Method 3: Create a Team from a Microsoft 365 Group

If your organization already uses Microsoft 365 Groups (for shared mailboxes, SharePoint sites, etc.), you can connect a Teams workspace directly to that group. This is probably the cleanest method for IT admins or team leads managing multiple services.

Step 1: Follow the same steps as above — New items > New team > More create team options.

Step 2: Select From a group.

Step 3: You’ll see a list of Microsoft 365 Groups that you own, don’t already have a team connected to them, and have fewer than 10,000 members. Pick the one you want.

Step 4: Click Add team. Teams will automatically create a new team using the same name, privacy settings, and membership as the group.

A couple of things to keep in mind:

• This option is not available for groups with more than 10,000 members.
• Groups connected to Viva Engage communities cannot be converted to a team this way.
• Once linked, the team shares the group’s membership, so changes in one place reflect in the other.

Method 4: Create an Org-Wide Team (For Admins Only)

If you’re a Microsoft 365 admin and want to create a team that automatically includes everyone in your organization, there’s a special option for that: an Org-wide team.

This is useful for company-wide announcements, all-hands communications, or a general company community space. As new users are added to your Microsoft 365 tenant, they get automatically added to this team.

To access this:

• Follow the standard team creation flow.
• If you’re an admin, you’ll see the option Org-wide as a team type alongside Private and Public.
• Name it something clear, like “[Company Name] All Staff,” and click Create.

Only Microsoft 365 global admins can see and use this option.

After Creating Your Team: What to Do Next

Once your team is live, here are the first things I’d suggest doing:

• Create additional channels — Click the three dots (- – – ) next to your team name and select Add channel. Set up channels based on topics, workstreams, or sub-projects.
• Pin important tabs — Inside any channel, you can add tabs (like SharePoint pages, Excel files, Planner boards, or websites) to keep important resources front and center.
• Set up channel notifications — Encourage members to customize their notification settings so they’re not overwhelmed from day one.
• Add apps and bots — Use the Apps section to integrate tools like Planner, Approvals, or third-party tools your team already uses.
• Share the team link or code — If your team is public or you want to make joining easier, go to the team settings and copy the team link or generate a join code to share.

Common Questions People Ask

Quick Recap

Here’s a one-line summary of each method to help you decide:

• From scratch — Best for brand-new teams with no existing structure to copy
• From an existing team — Best when you want to replicate channels, tabs, and settings from another team
• From a Microsoft 365 Group — Best when you already manage a group and just want to add a Teams workspace to it
• Org-wide — Best for admins who need a company-wide communication hub

That’s really all there is to it. Creating a team in Microsoft Teams takes less than two minutes once you know where to click. The trickier part — and the more important part — is planning your team structure before you create it. Think about which channels you’ll need, who should own them, and whether Private or Public makes more sense for your use case.

Also, you may like:

• Send a Microsoft Teams Invite
• Create a Group in Microsoft Teams
• 15 Best Practices For Microsoft Teams
• Microsoft Teams Default Profile Picture: How to Change It