Unleashing the potential of SharePoint in our workplace

In today's fast-paced world, we all know how crucial effective communication, streamlined processes, and easy access to information are for success. In a volatile and challenging market, the need for this is more critical as businesses look to drive cost savings through efficiencies. If only it was as easy as it sounded!

Getting this right requires the whole business to contribute, with a mindset we adopt and behaviors we demonstrate. Unsurprisingly, the ops team at Revere has been focused on continuing to improve efficiencies across the agency and drive this culture from within. Aligned with this, one of our challenges this year was streamlining access to information.??

To address this, earlier this year we unleashed the power of SharePoint using it to create our very own intranet, "Connect." This article isn’t about intranets, because these aren’t new, it’s about reflecting on how we approached the operational challenges. And a challenge like this can be daunting, or overwhelming, particularly when we think about the world of information that is needed for each department to work efficiently, and how different people like to consume content.??

Six months on, I'm thrilled, and really proud, to share our journey on how we shook things up to continue to make our workplace more efficient and simplify our team’s day-to-day activity.???

Operational objectives: the why??

Our main goal was to make life easier for our employees. With Connect, we wanted to create a one-stop shop where they could find everything they needed without jumping through hoops. No more connecting to external servers to hunt for documents, policies, tools, or updates—just a simple way of working to help us towards increased productivity.??

We wanted something that would be easy to use, needed minimal input from our teams, and was cost effective. We explored multiple options early on, and many of the solutions found would have worked perfectly for our needs. However, we’re big advocates of making the tech we have work hard for us, so with existing Microsoft licences across the business, it made perfect sense to leverage Microsoft SharePoint. It ticked all the boxes, including no ongoing additional license costs—improving efficiency, and freeing up budget to invest in other areas of the business.?

Constant Evolution?

Connect was introduced knowing that it couldn’t just be a static intranet for documentation, we always planned to have something that could evolve and change with our needs. Since launching, we've already expanded Connect with the introduction of ‘hubs’, to help with access to some of our learning and development material, our sales and marketing tools, and to support our teams with information about our key accounts.??

We also didn't stop at the intranet. With a mishmash of Teams channels that caused confusion, we wanted to make our communication channels clearer for everyone, and it wasn’t always clear where to post or how to find the latest news. So, as part of this evolution, we also polished up our team channels, making it easier to find latest company news, collaborate between teams and build stronger relationships with channels dedicated to sharing non-work related fun and personal updates.??

The result: efficiency and engagement?

Connect has slashed the time our teams used to spend hunting for information all over the place. Now, everything's (well almost everything!) is searchable, and just a few clicks away. No more wasted hours.???

Usually, no news is good news, but since launching Connect, we’ve actually had news, and it’s been great news from our teams. It’s always difficult when a company changes ways of working, especially when it’s something that’s engrained in everything we do. However it’s amazing to see our employees embrace the change, and share that it’s given them the power to make faster decisions and work more efficiently, wherever they are.?

It’s safe to say that (so far!) Connect is a hit. With over 50,000 site visits already, 4 new spin off hubs for specific areas of the business, and the engagement and positive comments we've received from our employees, tells us we're on the right track. We’ll be staying close to feedback and adapting and adding to Connect when needed, as it continues to be an ever-evolving part of our tech stack.??

Part of Our Everyday?

Personally, I really love my first coffee of the day, it’s embedded in my routine, and that was our aim with Connect. A tool that our teams use without having to think. It’s just there as part of your day to day.??

Connect has become the conduit between our teams and key company information. It’s given everyone access to information they didn’t have before, saved us precious time, and helped connect our employees with the most up to date resources. Our journey with SharePoint and Connect has proven that technology can be a game-changer when it's used right, and we’re really pleased!?

My learnings??

One?

It’s unlikely that a project like this will ever be ‘finished’, it develops and grows with your business. So, approach it in smaller phases, it’s ok if it’s not perfect too, if it is already offering a solution to a problem, no matter how small, this is progress and can be built on as you go.?

Two?

Seeking input from a variety of stakeholders is key, different people offer different perspectives, and combining these or finding a solution that works for the majority, will ensure you have a tool that is well received. Bring your teams on the journey too, let them help shape solutions where possible, after all it is their challenges that you're trying to solve.?

Three?

Don’t take it personally, remember you’re going to be looking at this a lot as you work through it, so you’re going to notice things that don’t feel right, or you might be unhappy with. However, the likelihood is, you’re the only one seeing it, and the solution is working just fine, if in doubt, check in with someone, but often, you’ll find that it’s doing what it should be doing.?

Taking a few small steps will create big gains in time, just get it off the ground and build as you go, be agile.?

#DigitalWorkplaceTransformation #SharePointMagic?