Microsoft Places
Places Team Guidance is Being Retired
As you’ll know, if you’ve been tracking Microsoft Places for a while, there’s a lot of new functionality that’s been released over time and we’re right in the midst of a major new update.
Make sure you subscribe to our Places updates if you’d like to know more…
One thing that drew my attention is that fact that Places Teams Guidance is being retired, becoming read-only on September 29, 2025, and will be fully removed on November 3, 2025.
What was Places Teams Guidance?
Teams Guidance was a subtle but useful feature in the Microsoft Places app. It allowed team leaders and line managers to:
- Create bespoke workgroups (see screen shot below)
- Communicate guidance on when team members were expected to be physically present in the office (see also below)
- Highlight special in-person collaboration events like ‘All Hands’ meetings or pizza Fridays.
You can read more from Microsoft here on the rationale for withdrawing it and how to transition.
Our Take on Why Teams Guidance Being Retired?
According to Microsoft, this change is part of an effort to reduce overlap with other Microsoft 365 capabilities.
This makes total sense to us, as sometimes there are too many ways to achieve the same goals – leading to much confusion.
Microsoft Groups can be a really handy way to maintain team memberships and can feed into so many other systems, such as access rights and role-based learning and development, so why would you want to re-invent the wheel and create ad-hoc groups elsewhere? It’s only one more thing to maintain.
And ultimately, if you’re just sending a missive about when you expect people to come into the office, or informing them of an upcoming ‘in person’ event, why wouldn’t you simply send an email to an existing team distribution list, pop a message on a Teams channel, or send out a calendar invitation?
Another potential side-benefit to line managers of having group oversight integrated with Places was the possibility of seeing who out of your group isn’t showing up ‘in person’.
Imagine being able to follow up with just the team members who are falling short of their ‘in-office’ days remit.
But this will not happen, as Microsoft prioritises individual privacy.
If you’re rethinking how your organisation sets and enforces hybrid work expectations, it might be time to look at other approaches, including:
- Shifting to broader comms channels (e.g., Teams, Viva)
- Focusing on nudges at a culture or policy level, rather than tactical ones
- Making the best use of room and desk booking analytics – which do give you clues around attendance trends
If you’re rolling out Places, our Readiness Service can help ensure your Places configuration and adoption strategy meets your business goals.
Conclusion
While the retirement of Team Guidance may seem a shame, by consolidating guidance into existing Microsoft 365 tools, organisations can reduce confusion and maintain a single source of truth – ultimately supporting a smoother hybrid work experience.
