Work has moved into collaboration platforms — Microsoft Teams, Slack, and similar — and with it, records. Channel conversations, direct messages, shared files, and the decisions captured in chat are records whenever they document business. Yet they often slip through the cracks because they don’t look like “documents.”
Why these platforms are tricky
- Multiple content types in one place. A Team or workspace mixes persistent chat, threaded channels, calls/meetings, and files — each with different capture needs.
- Informal, high-volume, fast. Decisions happen in passing messages that no one thinks to file.
- Content lives in several back-ends. In Microsoft 365, Teams files live in SharePoint/OneDrive while chat lives elsewhere; Slack stores messages and files in its own system. Governing it means reaching all of it.
A content is a record based on what it documents
The format doesn’t decide; the content does. A chat message that documents a decision, approval, or obligation is a record — subject to retention and producible for audits, FOIA, and litigation — just like an email or memo. Courts and regulators have made clear that chat and messaging are discoverable; ignoring them creates real risk (see off-channel communications).
Managing them well
- Define policy: which platforms and channels may be used for business, and what’s off-limits.
- Capture business messages — preserving content along with participants, timestamps, and threading — into retention. Microsoft Purview and Slack’s compliance/export tools support this.
- Apply retention and holds consistently across chat, files, and channels.
- Handle files via the underlying repository’s file plan (e.g., SharePoint for Teams files).
The Capstone lesson applies
As with email and Capstone, the sustainable approach is automated capture and rule-based retention, not relying on individuals to save their own messages. Decide what’s a record, capture it from the platforms where business actually happens, and govern it like any other record. See the email and messaging records hub for more.
Sources & further reading
Authoritative government and non-profit references.
- NARA — guidance on electronic messaging records — National Archives (NARA)
How to cite this page
APA
RM University Editorial Team. (2026). Managing Records in Microsoft Teams and Slack. Records Management University. https://www.recordsmgmt.org/articles/records-in-teams-and-slack/
MLA
RM University Editorial Team. "Managing Records in Microsoft Teams and Slack." Records Management University, 15 June 2026, www.recordsmgmt.org/articles/records-in-teams-and-slack/.