Different Ways to Manage M 365 Groups (outside of Microsoft Admin Centre)

Question

Hello,

Need some clarity. I created a M 365 Group specifically to use the audience targeting feature across multiple SharePoint Sites. I discovered that when I'm the M 365 Group Owner, I cannot see the audience targeting webparts for that group. I solved this by going into the Microsoft Admin Centre and also adding myself as a Member, too. As a result, when I checked the SharePoint site with audience targeting webparts, I could now see these items.

So here's the issue, for others who are M 365 Group Owners, that won't have access to the Microsoft Admin Centre, how can they add themselves as Members to the M 365 Groups, too?

I tried adding Owners as Members, too, via:

1. Group Settings in Outlook
2. Manage Team Settings in Teams
3. My Access / My Groups

But couldn't find a solution.

The only workaround I came across was going to the M 365 Group's (Modern-Teams) SharePoint Site and adding Site Owners as Site Members, too, and this seems to update the M 365 Group in the Microsoft Admin Centre.

However, where I'm tripping up is, where do I exactly add Owners as Members to update the M 365 Group, cause, there are three areas in its SharePoint Site that seem to work different:

1. From the Homepage - Group membership menu (screenshot 1)
2. From the Settings / Site permissions menu (screenshot 2)
3. From the Settings / Site permissions / Advance permission settings / SharePoint Group / Members OR Owners (screenshots 3 and 4)

With the above, I noticed that the Site Owners + Member on the Group membership menu (screenshot 1) are not showing in the Site owners + Site members on the Permissions menu (screenshot 2) and none of us are automatically showing up in the (system generated) Owners + Members on the SharePoint People and Groups sections (screenshots 3 and 4).

So what’s the different between adding Owners/Members via the Homepage Group membership menu (screenshot 1) vs Site permissions menu (screenshot 2) vs SharePoint system generated Groups (screenshots 3 and 4)?

And which of these 3 areas will update the M 365 Group?

Thanks,

Yasmeen

Answer 1

The simplest, shortest direction I can point you in would be to look deeper into what "audience targeting" offers and delivers. It's less a case of "lowest/highest necessary permission" and more "these specific people with this context need to see this".

I speak under correction, but I'm pretty sure you'll have better luck if you try configure your ideal scenarios using the "audience targeting" settings/config as well.

SharePoint sites, M365 Groups and Teams are 3 similar objects, which can carry continuity for a specific set of user parameters across the ecosystem, but they're all pretty independent or exclusive. Changes you make to a group in SharePoint's Admin center or site settings are far more likely to affect change on SharePoint than changes made anywhere else. In your case, i'd suggest setting up a Teams channel that ties all three together, and mayb try use tags as an audience marker.