In today’s volatile economy, organisations are struggling to find new ways to increase efficiency, innovation and productivity, all while keeping IT costs down. SharePoint has the power to revolutionise the way your staff collaborate, enabling connectivity and streamlining teamwork to improve overall performance.
“Microsoft SharePoint is basically an intranet system, which functions as a document management and collaboration tool, and brings an organisation together. It gives you a central place for information, a place for all information and creative ideas” - Director of R&G Technologies, Gordon Tan.
SharePoint’s capabilities help team members in remote offices connect and collaborate more efficiently, producing better outcomes for the business.
Related: What is SharePoint? Why does it matter?
Document Management
If you calculated the time staff waste searching the file directory for documents, you’d probably consider scrapping your electronic system and going back to storing paper scrolls in jars.
To eliminate this problem, look to Microsoft SharePoint. Ordinarily, when you save a file, you need to remember its location in the directory. With SharePoint, you have the option of accessing it through a URL. Documents are contextualised, so you’re able to see information and properties about the file, like when it was last updated and by whom.
“When you use SharePoint, it’s not just some file sitting somewhere in a directory. There’s metadata, or information about the file. For example, in a traditional document storage facility, you don’t see a running version history for each document, so you can’t track versions of the document, or restore to previous versions” - Tan.
SharePoint also has the unique feature of checking-in and checking-out documents, which prevents two people from working on the same document simultaneously, minimising the possibility of conflicting versions. These document managing capabilities simplify storage, organisation and group editing, subsequently reducing employee stress and raising their efficiency level.
Collaboration
SharePoint makes it easy to disseminate, manage and access critical and relevant information, connecting staff and facilitating collaboration in geographically disparate departments or offices.
“SharePoint’s about bringing the organization together and giving them a central place for information and communication. This can range from things like updates for important meetings and events, to the company’s roadmap, to operations manuals, or warnings about particular customers and incidents that everyone needs to be aware of.”
For example, you can create an announcement list to keep teams updated on projects, allowing for short posts with specified expiration dates, to avoid confusion about what time period the post relates to.
Consistent communication assists in the socialisation of new employees into the business culture, creating a social connectedness conducive to a productive team environment. SharePoint’s information and document managing capabilities mean you’re able to collaborate, getting the level of innovation you need from your staff to advance your organisation in leaps and bounds.
“SharePoint gives your staff a platform to communicate, innovate and bring a wide range of experience to the table” - Tan.
Staff with diverse, specialist skills can communicate efficiently, and you’re able to use that wealth of opinion and experience to make more reliable, objective decisions. SharePoint provides you with the means to cultivate a collaborative work culture, which translates over to higher productivity for your organisation.
Related: 3 collaboration tools that can boost your team's productivity
Security
There’s a limit to how much company information you’d like shared, which is why SharePoint lets you manage permission lists, libraries, folders and documents. You can add and remove users, as well as manage permission levels.
You set up SharePoint accounts with appropriate privileges and limitations to ensure sensitive data remains safe from unauthorised access. Here are a couple of tips to help you with your SharePoint security:
- Ensure staff are educated on the dangers of copying and sharing sensitive information, whether that’s to personal devices or for unauthorised users.
- Enforce stringent policies regarding information sharing. Set up administrative accounts to monitor access and enforce policies when they’re disregarded.
- Tailor access rights to ensure privileges are specific and relevant to users. Regularly revise and update access rights accordingly.
- Patch and upgrade software.
Related: 6 ways to improve data security in your organisation
Why Microsoft SharePoint?
Seamless communication and information flows can drive an organisation to greater heights. The software’s user-friendly interface enables connectivity, and provides a platform for innovative practise. When implemented in the right way, SharePoint is a cost-effective way of unifying your organisation and bringing about a positive change.