SharePoint has been a pioneer of collaborative work culture and has been dubbed as one of the most successful products by Microsoft for enterprise businesses. With the recent SharePoint Online version, the platform has become increasingly accessible. The real potential of the tools and features can only be realized if they are accepted and implemented uniformly throughout the organization.
Most SharePoint consultants agree that for companies who are implementing SharePoint for the first time, this part of digital transformation will require a cultural shift in the working style of the organization. As simple as it may sound, it will not be possible unless employees are convinced the platform is useful and see first-hand evidence of how this new application is better than their legacy systems.
In this article, we will discuss the top 5 features of SharePoint that will help you gain your organization’s confidence in the application, and how to implement them into your business processes.
1. Manage folders and visually navigate through them
SharePoint Solutions provides excellent tools that give your organization access to navigate through large amounts of data and information within your systems. Folders and subfolders are especially difficult to manage on a large scale, even if one has a shared Cloud structure in place.
It is interesting to note how Cloud is thought of as the ultimate solution to all the collaborative problems of an organization. In reality, it only addresses the surface of the problem. To understand the real potential of the cloud system, ease of use and user acceptability plays a major role towards its success.
Steps towards ease of search & navigation through folders and sub-folders on SharePoint:
# Metadata mapping
While most SharePoint consultants will easily ignore the significance of SharePoint, it can prove to be a very potent tool in mapping folders and subfolders, making searches through them as easy as you do it on Google.
We all know how metadata forms the backbone of Google searches. The same mechanism can be applied in the case of SharePoint. This feature is only available on SharePoint's On-premise version and has the provision of editing the metadata on the left side of the document library. With the help of your SharePoint team, one can easily develop a system within the organization where it becomes easy to navigate and search through an enormous amount of data.
# Implementing Filters
Most modern search tools like those of e-commerce websites tend to have a data structure in place mapped as a tree structure based on the categories and subcategories which makes it extremely easy to search. It takes the user experience to the next level once the users can visually see the categories and gradually pinpoint what they want based on the structure.
Once the metadata mapping has been implemented, the next step towards ease of navigation includes putting in place this visual structure in place using the filter option in SharePoint. The filter option can be implemented in SharePoint in the document library and gives a much better UX as compared to the "view" option with a column header.
2. Collaborative tools have a deep impact on organizational structure:
One of the main reasons why your employees will love the SharePoint solution is that work will be fun and exciting with tools like Yammer and Team. While Team is a tool used more for it-team interaction, Yammer brings the whole organization into a platform.
Community sites act as a forum for employees to brainstorm, find solutions and generate ideas while having all of it documented as an organizational learning repository for future use. Many sites, on the other hand, let members access documents and sites on an access basis if they are following it.
These collaborative platforms can be considered part of the social networks within the organization. It not only has an impact on the organizational functioning but also the organisational structure. These tools have a greater impact in:
- Reinforcing the horizontal structure of organizations as they feel empowered to interact directly with the hierarchies and hear directly from them.
- Increases transparency with the work progress making the team members and teams at large more responsible for their work output as it is now under the direct view of the rest of the organization or other team members.
- Increases meritocracy and immediate gratification for value added by the employees.
3. Automated Workflow
Workflow is the series of activities that are necessary to complete a task. It may also be noted that each activity will have an individual outcome and may be required to start the next activity. In other words, any project or process in your organization can be depicted in the form of workflow that needs to be successfully completed at each step, in a given time.
On Microsoft SharePoint, workflows are automated within the system to streamline the cost and time required by coordinating the tasks.
The document library forms an integral part of this workflow automation, as your employees will now be able to start workflows in the form of documents that need the intervention of different participants in order for them to be completed. This could be in the form of approvals, signatures or feedback taken from the stakeholders, ensuring its completion in the most transparent way possible. It is clear to point out where the task is stuck, and the owner of which task has not responded yet. The process for workflow automation includes:
- Creates document approval tasks
- Assigns these tasks to the workflow participants
- Sends e-mail alerts to the participants with task instructions
- Link to the document to be approved
Built-in and customizable workflows provide an all-inclusive provision to design the workflows according to company and process needs. A SharePoint site includes several built-in workflows that address common business problems:
- Approval
- Collect Feedback
- Collect Signatures
- Publishing Approval
4. Seamless Integration with Microsoft Office Suite
Sharepoint integration with the Microsoft Office suite, which is widely used in many organizations. This integration allows employees to work with familiar tools such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook directly within the SharePoint environment.
They can create, edit, and collaborate on documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and emails in real-time, without the need to download or upload files back and forth between different applications.
This integration enhances productivity and efficiency by centralizing all relevant files and data in one platform. Employees can easily access and work on their documents without having to switch between multiple applications. They can also leverage the advanced features of the Office suite within SharePoint, such as co-authoring, version control, and commenting, to streamline collaboration and ensure that everyone is working on the latest version of a document. This tight integration with Microsoft Office makes SharePoint a powerful tool for content creation, Collaboration , and document management.
5. Mobile Accessibility and Remote Collaboration
In today's fast-paced work environment, mobility is crucial for employees who are constantly on the move or working remotely. SharePoint provides excellent mobile accessibility, allowing employees to access and collaborate on documents and content from anywhere, at any time, using their mobile devices.
With the SharePoint mobile app, users can view, edit, and share files, participate in discussions, and stay connected with their teams, even when they are not physically present in the office. Whether they are in a client meeting, travelling, or working from home, employees can stay productive and engaged by accessing important information and collaborating with colleagues on the go.
The mobile app provides a responsive and intuitive interface optimized for mobile devices, ensuring a seamless user experience. Employees can easily search for documents, contribute to discussions, receive notifications, and perform various tasks using their smartphones or tablets.
This flexibility and freedom to work remotely contribute to employee satisfaction and work-life balance, as they can maintain productivity and collaborate effectively regardless of their physical location.
By offering mobile accessibility and enabling remote collaboration, SharePoint empowers employees to work flexibly and efficiently, enabling organizations to adapt to the evolving demands of a modern workforce.
Conclusion
SharePoint has earned its reputation as a beloved platform among employees for several compelling reasons. Its ability to manage folders and navigate through large amounts of data provides a solution to the complex challenges of information organization. By implementing metadata mapping and filters, SharePoint enhances searchability and ease of navigation, leading to improved user experience.
SharePoint's automated workflow capabilities streamline processes and enhance task coordination. With built-in and customizable workflows, employees can efficiently manage approvals, feedback, and document processing, ensuring transparency and accountability at every step. This level of automation allows for seamless collaboration and reduces administrative burden, ultimately boosting productivity
SharePoint's integration with the Microsoft Office suite and its mobile accessibility provide employees with the flexibility to work efficiently from anywhere, at any time. This integration eliminates the need to switch between multiple applications and enables real-time collaboration, enhancing productivity and work-life balance.
Although the built-in workflows can be customized somewhat to meet different needs, your organization may choose to design and develop workflows that are unique to the business processes in the organization.
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