Getting Started with Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is CRL’s hub for messaging and online meetings. This guide gets you signed in, oriented, and comfortable with the two things you’ll use most on day one: chat and meetings. It takes about 10 minutes to read through.

Before you begin: finish your first-time sign-in and 2FA setup first — Teams uses the same CRL account and DUO approval as the rest of Microsoft 365. If you haven’t done that yet, start there and come back.

Step 1 — Open Teams

On your CRL computer, Teams is already installed and kept up to date for you. Click Start, type Teams, and open Microsoft Teams. Pin it to your taskbar so it’s one click away.

Only the “new Teams” client is supported. The older “classic” Teams reached end of support and no longer works — if you still see two Teams icons, use the one simply named Microsoft Teams and let IT know so the old one can be removed.

Prefer the browser, or on a device without the app? Go to https://gov.teams.microsoft.us/ — this is CRL’s GCC High web address for Teams. Don’t use teams.microsoft.com; CRL accounts live in the GCC High cloud and won’t sign in there.

Step 2 — Sign in

Enter your CRL email address, then your password. Approve the DUO push on your phone (or enter a passcode from your THALES token) exactly as you do for Outlook and the Microsoft 365 portal. When asked whether to stay signed in, click Yes on your CRL device.

Step 3 — Find your way around

The app bar runs down the left side of the window. The four you’ll use most:

Activity

Your notification feed — @mentions, replies, and missed calls all collect here. Check it first thing to see what needs your attention.

Chat

One-on-one and group conversations. Best for quick, informal back-and-forth that doesn’t need to live in a shared team.

Teams & channels

A team is a shared workspace for a group or project; each team is divided into channels by topic. Conversations here are visible to everyone on the team, so this is where project discussion and files belong. You’ll be added to the teams you need.

Calendar

The same meetings you see in Outlook. Join, schedule, and start meetings from here.

Step 4 — Send a chat

Click Chat, then the New chat (pencil) icon. Start typing a coworker’s name and pick them from the list, type your message, and press Enter to send. Add more than one name to start a group chat.

Use the icons under the message box to attach a file, add an emoji, or start a call with the person you’re chatting with. Press Shift + Enter for a new line without sending.

Step 5 — Join and run a meeting

To join: open Calendar, find the meeting, and click Join. (You can also click Join in the Outlook invitation.) On the pre-join screen, set your camera and microphone, then click Join now.

To start one now: in Calendar, click Meet now. To schedule ahead, click New meeting, add people and a time, and send — it lands on their Teams and Outlook calendars.

During a meeting, the toolbar lets you mute/unmute, turn your camera on or off, Share your screen, open Chat, see People, and Raise hand. Click Leave to exit.

Tip: a headset gives noticeably clearer audio than your laptop’s built-in mic and speakers, and prevents echo for everyone else on the call.

Teams calls vs. your desk phone

Teams can place audio and video calls to other CRL people over the internet — handy for a quick voice chat with someone you’re already messaging. That’s different from your business phone line.

For regular phone calls, use Zultys ZAC — that’s CRL’s phone system for calling outside numbers, your extension, voicemail, and conference calls. Teams is not connected to the phone network, so use it for internal chat, meetings, and quick person-to-person calls only. See the Zultys ZAC articles in this knowledge base to get set up.

Working with people outside CRL

Because CRL runs in the GCC High government cloud, collaborating with people outside the company works differently than it does on personal or commercial accounts, and some of it is intentionally restricted.

Compliance note — external collaboration is limited by design. Casual chats and meetings with people on personal or commercial (non-government) Teams accounts are not available in GCC High. External access is only possible with organizations IT has specifically approved. Do not attempt to route CRL data through a personal Teams account or an outside file-sharing tool. If you need to chat, meet, or share files with a customer, partner, or subcontractor, contact IT first so access can be set up the compliant way — and never place CUI or other controlled information in a chat, channel, or meeting unless that space has been approved for it.

Next steps

For a broader tour of your CRL Microsoft 365 tools, see the CRL Account Training Guide. For phone setup, see the Zultys ZAC articles in this knowledge base.

© CRL Technologies, Inc. — Internal IT Knowledge Base. For CRL staff use only.