SharePoint Tutorial

Hello World! Why we Started SharePoint Tutorials

 

We may not be the first to tell you that SharePoint Tutorial is a platform, not a ready tool. It’s strength can be its greatness weakness. What do we mean by that?

Usually when a company has adopted Microsoft as their go to set of software, somewhere, or sometime, somebody has dropped in SharePoint hoping that by installing it, it will drive collaboration between teams, and streamline business processes.

Unfortunately SharePoint can become that tool. The one that nobody uses. Why? For a few reasons. 3 of which we’ll cover here:

Its a platform

When you log into LinkedIn, you can update your business profile, search for jobs and connect with colleagues. When you use Xero, you manage your company accounts, transactions, purchase orders and invoices. When you log into Facebook, you connect with friends, post news and perhaps upload photos.

These are all tools with a limited set of functionality. SharePoint was designed to be different. SharePoint is a blank slate of power. Sure it has a default set of functionality which teams can use to collaborate. A default set of functionality to create and view reports or streamline business processes. However does one size fit all? Unfortunately not. And that can be SharePoint’s greatest weakness. Why?

Every team is different

The default set of functionality will not fit all teams. We all work and think and collaborate differently and thus to effectively do this, we need to setup an environment which fosters that innovation. And that is where SharePoint acquires its real strength: through the ways innovative users adapt and build useful tools and applications with it – from document repositories for those unique teams teams, to large-scale systems that manage sophisticated business processes between teams. Every company is different and every team functions differently. So if they are all different, and SharePoint is a blank slate, then what is one to do?

One needs to configure. And this doesn’t mean with code necessarily. One needs to invest time to make it work for these different teams. This usually means investing in SharePoint professionals and partners to hand-hold you through the process.

Most organisations know this and are happy to invest in this.

But here’s where it gets very interesting… and I think where a lot of “implementers”, Microsoft partners and consultants get it wrong. They invoice for a bright and shiny new intranet with all the bells and whistles, fulfilling all the needs and requirements set out in those lengthy site workshops. Yet 2 years down the track, the intranet is a barren wasteland of 1 item announcement lists… Why?

Lack of Training and Change Management

For us, the key element. Ongoing training and Change Management is key to a successful SharePoint implementation.

According to research, 52% of SharePoint users have no formal training or communication plan to drive internal adoption. And usually are part of the companies that end up with a barren intranet. They struggle with adoption. They struggle with engagement. Because users are just expected to use and adopt a tool that has been made for them, but never communicated to them. They’re dumped in the deep end with a new power tool of collaboration. And because most of us don’t enjoy change, they go back to collaborating by sending emails with attachments and creating new versions of documents on our personal computers by appending ‘_v1’ instead of embracing the magic of SharePoint.

And the other 48%? Those are the companies that try to improve user adoption can spend thousands bringing in training or sending employees to conferences. The problem is, even with all that forethought and training, people forget things.

Everyone is different and everyone learns in a different way. That’s why it is very important to provide training for the suits the individual and their style and pace of learning. And because we do forget things, it should be easily accessible as a resource whenever it is needed. That is a tall order…

So what to do?

We love SharePoint and love to see it help companies collaborate. And we have seen countless companies invest in ongoing training and support to foster that collaboration. And it works.

Yet with an ever changing landscape of company processes, new employees, restructures and new directions, no intranet or SharePoint environment stays the same. Which means that the ongoing change and training bill becomes lengthier and larger all the time.

So we decided to create a tool to help companies minimize their training and support bill but keep engagement and adoption rates high. We did this by providing in-context and on demand, SharePoint Tutorials; to help users when and where they need it.

Instead of phoning the support desk or training users to navigate to an out-of-date help site, we allow users to help themselves.

Like a “live chat” window, users instinctively know to click the tab in the bottom right corner of the screen and ask the question that is preventing them from collaborating.

How do I upload a document?

How do I add a colleague to my site?

How do I change that news article?

Or, custom questions for that site… How do I start the [Insert Company Name] expense claim process?

The result? 

A step by step, self managed walk through on how to solve the problem.

The benefits?

Lower support and training costs. Higher adoption Quicker problem resolutions Happier and highly engaged used users.

Let us know what you think!

 

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SharePoint Tutorial