If you’re an active Microsoft Teams user, you may have noticed built-in Wiki tabs at the top bar of each Team channel. This app is often underused or simply deleted – and wrongly so! It can be used to collaborate, have conversations, edit, guide and much more. Wondering how to use Wiki efficiently? In this blog post we break down all you can do in Wiki.
What can you use Wiki for?
Wiki is one the default apps in Microsoft Teams pinned as a tab in each channel of a team. You can treat it the same way as Word or Notepad. Wiki is a place where you add, edit and share information. In Wiki you can create multiple pages and divide them into sections. They are visible in Collapse Wiki menu on the left side bar.
So, what can you use Wiki pages and sections for? Let’s have a look.
Detailed channel/team description
You may want to use Wiki tab as a reference point for your team members to communicate about the purpose of the team or the channel in more detail. You can outline what topics should be covered in each particular channel, the format in which posts should be written and general guidelines for the use of the team or the channel.
Rules
Wiki is a great place to keep all the workplace rules. For example, you can create pages stating your organization’s rules of remote working. They may include working hours, level of flexibility, focus hours, days for meetings, a list of regular events, employees’ rights and responsibilities, etc.
Additionally, you can create pages specifying rules for the use of specific tools, list of allowed apps, rules for creating teams and channels, naming policies to follow and so on.
How-to guides and instructions
Wiki tab is an easily accessible and visible site within Microsoft Teams to keep instructions and guidelines for different tools and processes. For example, you can include how-to guides for working on projects – they may cover framework, key stages, KPIs, tasks, approach, etc.
Similarly, you can specify instructions for launching a marketing campaign, writing social media posts and blog articles, sales email templates, and many other. All depends on the purpose of the team and nature of your team’s work.
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Resources
If you are looking for a place to keep all the resources that your team uses, shared login information, and useful links, Wiki is a perfect choice.
For example, if you’re in a marketing team, you can add links to insightful articles about how to generate blog posts ideas, online courses and training materials, image and video sources, design pages, presentations and email templates, etc.
This way you make sure your team has quick access to all the necessary resources.
FAQs
Wiki tab in Microsoft Teams can be used as your team’s knowledge base. You can add all common abbreviations used in the team, requirements for certain tasks, explanations of different processes, for example, how to push new content on the website, etc.
Best practices
Share best practices for literally any work process in your organization in Wiki tab in a relevant channel. For instance, you can add best practices for efficient use of Microsoft Teams, tips and tricks for writing an engaging email or a top-notch video script, ideas for interview questions or dealing with a difficult customer. The possibilities are endless – it all depends on the industry, the area you work in and your company’s culture. Surely, you have lots of best practices to share!
How to use Wiki tab in Microsoft Teams
Now that we’ve outlined what Wiki can be used for, let’s see how it works.
Add a wiki tab to a Microsoft Teams channel
Wiki is a default app that you can see in every Teams channel. However, you can add another one if you need it or, for example, if you or your team members deleted the original one.
To add the Wiki tab, go to the Microsoft Teams channel where you want to have it click on +Add a tab and search for Wiki. Name it the way you like – it can represent the subject that you plan to cover there – and click Save.
Add pages
When you open Wiki tab for the first time, you see a blank page with Untitled page and Untitled section written on it. We called our Wiki Best practices so let’s go on with that example. We will dedicate this tab to listing best practices for different work processes. Our first page will be dedicated to best practices in Microsoft Teams, so we’ll call it accordingly.
To add new pages for listing best practices for marketing, sales, project management, and other departments, click on Collapse wiki menu at the top left corner and then select New page and give it a name.
Add sections
Sections structure your notes on the page and let separate the subject into sub-categories. You can choose a title for each section to divide your content into information blocks. In our example for Microsoft Teams best practices, we added a section Conversations.
You can create as many pages and sections as you wish. The more content you add to the page, the longer it gets. You can check all your sections in the collapse menu on the left. All the sections are numbered for easier navigation. You can also move them up and down as well as delete them by clicking on […] More options.
Link to a section
If you wish to share a particular section of the Wiki page with individual users or your whole team, you can copy the link to it and paste it in a private chat or a channel conversation in Microsoft Teams.
Collaborate
You and your colleagues may want to work together on adding content for your Wiki. And there’s no need to start a separate conversation – you can do so directly in Wiki. Just @mention them in a specific section and they will receive a notification in their Activity feed.
If having conversations right in a section isn’t for you, you can click on Show section conversation and start your chat there. You can share your feedback, leave comments, ask questions and work together on the content. In the conversation section you have the same formatting options and can add links, images, emojis, gifs, and others.
Your conversation will automatically appear in the channel you’re using.
Hope we convinced you that Wiki is worth using in Microsoft Teams. It can be extremely handy when you need your team members to have a easily accessible and visible reference point or a knowledge base to which everyone can contribute.
If you’re interested in Microsoft Teams integration with other apps we invite you to read these articles: