How do I manage Microsoft Teams and Slack messages as records?

Collaboration platforms like Microsoft Teams and Slack generate records — and managing them means capturing the business content from the platform into a managed repository, then applying retention and holds. Relying on users to file messages, or on the platform to preserve them, doesn’t work.

What counts as a record

Content, not format, decides. A chat message, channel post, or shared file that documents a business activity, decision, or obligation is a record — subject to retention and discoverable for audits, FOIA, and litigation, just like email.

Practical steps

1. Set policy. Define which platforms/channels may be used for business and what’s prohibited; make clear that business messages are records.
2. Capture from the platform. Use the platform’s compliance/export tooling — Microsoft Purview for Teams, Slack’s compliance exports/APIs — to capture messages with context (participants, timestamps, threading), not screenshots.
3. Handle files separately. In Teams, files live in SharePoint/OneDrive — govern them via your file plan; Slack files via its export.
4. Apply retention and holds. Bring captured content under your retention schedule and ensure litigation holds reach it.
5. Automate. Use auto-capture and rule-based retention rather than individual discretion — the same lesson as Capstone for email.

Why not just rely on the platform?

Platforms can change terms, delete content, or be discontinued, and their default retention may not match your obligations. The platform is where records are created; it shouldn’t be your only system of record. Capture business messages into governed storage so you can find, retain, hold, and dispose of them defensibly.