M365 Email Groups, Role Inboxes & Responsibilities
Operational reference for office staff, IT admin, and future volunteers — mailing lists, shared mailboxes, licensing, SOPs, and governance.
Quick Overview
SHHA uses two different patterns for email collaboration:
| Pattern | Technology | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Committee mailing lists | Microsoft Groups | shha-all@, csc@, acc@ |
| Role-based addresses | Shared mailboxes | president@, cscchair@, accchair@ |
Design Principles
- Role continuity over individual ownership — email addresses stay constant when people rotate in/out.
- Least cost for volunteers — external volunteers do not require paid M365 licenses.
- Operational traceability — group membership changes trigger Power Automate notifications.
- Institutional archive —
itadmin@is included in all groups as a permanent archive recipient.
Microsoft Groups (Mailing Lists)
Each committee has a Microsoft Group that acts as its mailing list.
| Group | Address |
|---|---|
| All members | shha-all@sandiahomeowners.org |
| CSC | csc@sandiahomeowners.org |
| ACC | acc@sandiahomeowners.org |
| Others | One group per committee |
Behavior: Sending to the group distributes to all members. Membership is maintained by staff (primary owner: Anna). External participants can be included.
Shared Mailboxes (Role Inboxes)
Chair and executive role addresses are shared mailboxes tied to positions, not people.
| Role | Address |
|---|---|
| CSC Chair | cscchair@sandiahomeowners.org |
| ACC Chair | accchair@sandiahomeowners.org |
| President | president@sandiahomeowners.org |
| Vice President | vicepresident@sandiahomeowners.org |
| Secretary | secretary@sandiahomeowners.org |
| Treasurer | treasurer@sandiahomeowners.org |
Access model
- People do not log in directly as the role mailbox.
- Authorized users open the shared mailbox from their own licensed account.
- Example:
phil.krehbiel@sandiahomeowners.orgcan openaccchair@sandiahomeowners.org.
When leadership changes
- Remove predecessor access.
- Grant successor access.
- Keep the role mailbox address unchanged.
Archive Mailbox (itadmin@)
itadmin@is a member of all groups.- Purpose: permanent archive and continuity.
itadmin@is not actively monitored for normal operations.
Power Automate Membership Notifications
A Power Automate flow sends email notifications whenever group membership changes.
- Provides audit visibility.
- Alerts staff to unexpected changes.
- Supports handoffs and troubleshooting.
Licensing and External Volunteers
| User type | License needed? | Capabilities |
|---|---|---|
| External volunteers | No | Group email delivery, SharePoint guest access |
| Licensed staff / admin | Yes (paid M365) | Group administration, shared mailbox access, full portal |
Responsibilities Matrix
| Responsibility | Primary | Backup | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maintain committee group membership | Anna (staff) | IT admin | Add/remove members, verify accuracy |
| Manage shared mailbox permissions | Anna + IT admin | IT admin | Remove predecessor, add successor |
Ensure itadmin@ in all groups | IT admin | Anna | Required for archive continuity |
| Monitor membership-change notifications | Anna | IT admin | Power Automate emails = operational signal |
| Troubleshoot delivery/access issues | IT admin | Anna | Includes mailbox permissions and group settings |
SOP: Add a Person to a Committee Mailing List
- Confirm committee and target group address.
- Verify whether person is internal staff or external volunteer.
- Add to the correct Microsoft Group membership.
- Confirm
itadmin@remains a member. - Verify Power Automate sends membership-change notification.
- Ask requester to test delivery (or send a test message).
SOP: Remove a Person from a Committee Mailing List
- Confirm removal request and effective date.
- Remove member from the Microsoft Group.
- Verify Power Automate notification is received.
- If person held a role, check related shared mailbox permissions.
SOP: Leadership Transition for Role Inbox
- Identify affected role mailbox (e.g.,
accchair@). - Remove outgoing person's mailbox permissions.
- Grant incoming person's mailbox permissions.
- Validate that incoming person can open the shared mailbox from their own account.
- Keep address and historical content in place for continuity.
SOP: New Committee Creation
- Create new Microsoft Group for the committee.
- Add initial committee members.
- Add
itadmin@as member for archiving. - Ensure membership-change notifications are active.
- Record the group in the committee/group inventory.
Governance Rules
- Every committee must have exactly one official mailing-list group.
- Every committee group must include
itadmin@. - Shared mailbox addresses represent roles and must not be treated as personal identities.
- Access to shared role inboxes must be updated promptly on leadership change.
- Membership changes should be performed by staff owner (Anna) or IT admin only.
Recommended Recordkeeping
Maintain a simple inventory table (in the wiki or internal operations file) with:
- Committee name
- Group email address
- Current chair role mailbox (if applicable)
- Current permission holders
- Last membership review date
- Last updated by
This makes volunteer/staff handoff much easier.
Common Issues and Checks
Person does not receive committee emails
- Member exists in correct Microsoft Group
- Email address is correct
- Sender used the correct group address
- Recent change triggered notification (confirms update happened)
New chair cannot open role mailbox
Missing archive history
itadmin@is still a member of the affected group- Group delivery settings have not been altered
Handoff Checklist (Staff / Volunteer Transition)
- Review all committee group memberships for accuracy.
- Verify all active chairs/executive roles have correct shared mailbox access.
- Remove stale permissions from former role holders.
- Confirm
itadmin@is in every group. - Confirm membership-change notification flow is working.
- Update inventory table and date-stamp the review.
Key Contacts and Ownership
| Role | Contact |
|---|---|
| Group membership owner | Anna (staff) |
| Technical owner / escalation | IT admin |
| Archive mailbox | itadmin@ (not actively monitored) |
If ownership changes, update this section immediately.
Related Resources
- M365 Email Building Blocks — understand the four email patterns (personal mailbox, shared mailbox, mailing list, alias) and when to use each
- SOP: New Users, Mailboxes & Groups — step-by-step admin procedures for creating users, shared mailboxes, groups, and aliases