How Does SharePoint Improve Productivity?

Built to improve productivity and enhance collaboration in the workplace, SharePoint is arguably the most intelligent and best “collective” productivity tool in Office 365. SharePoint boasts many easy-to-use features that aid employee & organization productivity, making it a widely used enterprise-level platform adopted by organizations across the globe.

5 ways SharePoint can be used to improve productivity

Here are some ways Microsoft SharePoint can help streamline your business activities in a way that promotes productivity.

1. Document management

Document management is a big challenge for many organizations as they struggle with high document load. Many employees deal with overflowing folders and disorganized documents, which lead to information overload, the loss of critical documents, or difficulty finding them when needed. Microsoft SharePoint can help transform your organization’s compilation, storage, and dissemination of information and documents.

SharePoint stores all organizational information in a central location and provides access through various document and library functionalities for improved document management. These functionalities include:

• Ease in storing and organizing documents
• Simplified and intelligent search for documents, files, and folders
• Unified workflows
• Limited access only as per defined user permissions
• Recall previous versions of a document

2. Collaboration

Another way SharePoint helps to boost employee productivity in the workplace is by promoting collaboration on tasks and projects. Most projects today require employees to work together. In many organizations, employees work on a document and send it to coworkers to review and edit while they wait. Not only does this lead to disorganization and a decline in enthusiasm, but it also wastes precious time, which impacts how much work your employees can deliver.

SharePoint promotes collaboration in different ways. For instance, it allows the team leader to grant different levels of access permission to members of team sites. Also, employees can work together on files from anywhere and on any device via SharePoint Online. At the same time, the co-authoring function makes it possible for multiple members to work on a document or sections while chatting with each other right from within the document.

Another notable benefit is that SharePoint provides the flexibility workers need for productivity, especially with the emergence of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD). Since workers can collaborate online, they won’t have to deal with the frustration of using an unfamiliar device for work, boosting productivity from their end.

3. Project management

Planning and executing projects can be burdensome, but SharePoint has proven to be an effective tool to help organizations better manage their projects. The most notable function that supports project management is the provision of a central location for information and records.

Another critical function is SharePoint lists, which is essentially a feature that lets you create lists and tasks for any of the project processes. For example, you can create an activity list, issue list, and risk log, among others. This can help employees work faster and make informed decisions while at it.

SharePoint also works with other tools like Outlook and Calendar in several impressive ways. One of them is that employees can organize schedules to prioritize their work.

What’s more, SharePoint also supports the management of complex projects. If your organization is running different projects with different project managers overseeing them, SharePoint makes it possible to manage all projects regardless of their divisions or departments, thanks to SharePoint Site Collections. This function logically groups projects in a site collection to make management easier.

4. Integration with Microsoft 365

SharePoint integrates with Microsoft Office 365, which means you can use other Office 365 products like Word, OneDrive, Teams, PowerPoint, Yammer, Delve, Skype for Business, etc., right from within SharePoint. In other words, SharePoint lets you develop a productive workplace since its solutions work hand-in-hand with other Office tools.

For instance, you can leverage SharePoint and Teams for communication or use SharePoint with Planner if you want to manage projects and tasks. Delve, however, allows you to search for all documents employees have worked on or are working on. SharePoint’s ability to concentrate employees’ efforts in one place by providing access to the tools they need for productive work helps save time and stay focused.

5. Internal communication

Good communication is a vital ingredient to improving productivity as it not only serves as the vehicle for the transfer of information but also helps to boost the morale of employees. Many organizations use SharePoint as an internal communication tool because it allows for employee management via information dissemination.

Also, SharePoint allows for remote access, which means workers can receive information no matter where they are. However, SharePoint is mostly built for top-down communications, which doesn’t provide robust communication opportunities. Plus, workers without Office 365 situation will be excluded from internal communication. Because of its limitations, it’s best to try a third-party solution that leverages SharePoint while improving it.

Bottom line

SharePoint helps improve productivity in many ways, but a third-party solution (like Powell Intranet) brings even greater productivity. Why?

• We transform SharePoint into a complete intranet solution.
• We make it easy to design, update, and implement SharePoint sites at scale.
• We make it easier for IT to build, manage, and govern SharePoint.
• We make it easier for communications managers to get information to everyone because we offer customization, personalization & engaging features.
• We make it easier for end users to find the information they need through enhanced search and a more attractive interface.

So, if you’re looking for a solution that addresses productivity bottlenecks and empowers your workplace for greater efficiency, Powell Intranet is the solution to invest in.