There is no denying that the nature of the workplace is changing. In many companies, “niceties” that were formerly regarded as just that – niceties – have become the new normal. Companies are moving away from the traditional office structure of cubicles, filing cabinets, and fear-based leadership in favour of benefits like office snacks, casual dress, and leadership that tries to empower rather than subdue employees.
SharePoint communications and team sites can play a vital role in reinforcing how companies communicate amongst themselves and how they do business. After all, for a company to function flawlessly, it is crucial to prioritise corporate communication needs in cross-departmental information exchange.
Why SharePoint can be the right choice for your company
The majority of internal communication problems happen because employees are kept in the dark about a wide variety of things happening in a workplace, such as
- Recent policy modifications that affect workplace behaviour
- Reorienting stakeholders’ priorities toward product development
- Important notifications or urgent messages from other departments
This is where SharePoint comes into play.
By integrating SharePoint with Microsoft Teams, you can address a bulk of these issues plaguing your organisation. Any files you submit through Teams will be automatically added to your SharePoint document library, where you can access all files using a quick, in-depth search. Moreover, by creating a SharePoint Intranet Site, you and your team may share files, assign tasks, and efficiently work together on modifications.
You can customise SharePoint to meet the needs of every department in your organisation, enabling every team to prioritise issues that matter the most at a given moment in time. For instance, your HR department can work together on official documents like a summary of health benefits or a new sick leave policy for the company. This can clear up any ambiguity and make tracking changes much more straightforward.
Therefore, by eliminating any needless delays, SharePoint’s collaboration technology will help you save time when setting up groups and assigning duties.
Let’s explore how SharePoint can enhance corporate communication and collaboration, i.e. SharePoint Team Site and SharePoint Communication Site.
SharePoint Team Site
As the name implies, we build a SharePoint team site for a particular team. For instance, different teams working on projects may exist within your organisation. A project team or workgroup can have a dedicated team site created for them to work together on the project, schedule tasks, keep track of progress, share ideas, etc. Users can create, edit, or read documents on the team site depending on their permissions. Other teams won’t have access to the SharePoint team site except those otherwise explicitly permitted.
Your team will find it simpler to handle permissions because each team site will have one or more SharePoint site owners. For instance, the site owner should revoke the user’s permissions from that SharePoint team site if they leave the organisation or the project.
Here are a few SharePoint team site examples for your understanding:
- Creating specific team sites for your marketing, HR, finance, training, and other departments.
- You may even develop separate team websites, for example, HR USA, HR Canada, HR UAE, etc., if your team is vast and has operations worldwide.
- There can also be a unique team site for each project your team is working on. You may, for instance, designate various team websites for Projects A, B, C, etc., as required.
SharePoint Communication Sites
A SharePoint communication site can help you broadcast information throughout the entire organisation at once. It provides all the tools necessary to convey company news, recent business developments, a humorous anecdote to engage your employees and more. It also functions as a group dashboard where you can manage every site related to a particular project. The communication site serves as a feed where users can submit critical documents or post pertinent news regarding their department.
For instance, setting up a website for HR personnel to communicate. The entire organisation can access the information to stay current with all the latest updates and specifics of the company’s HR policy.
Here are some scenarios of SharePoint communication sites for your understanding:
- Sharing your company’s news and events on a communication website.
- Informing your organisation of the specifics of the company’s HR policies.
- Requests for IT equipment, etc.
SharePoint Team Site vs Communication Site
SharePoint Team Site
SharePoint Communication Sites
- Only teams or workgroups can access team sites.
- All members of a team site can add and edit the content.
A team site is private by default. A user requires access before he can share or edit any content.
External sharing is available by default.
It is possible to create subsites.
A team site comes with a planner, shared calendar, Office 365 group, OneNote notebook, shared mailbox, and the ability to connect to Microsoft Teams.
- Serves the entire organisation rather than being specialised to just one team.
A small number of people will produce and publish the information on a communication site, but a sizable audience will read it without being able to reply.
A communication site, by default, is public.
External sharing is not available by default. However, the SharePoint admin can enable it.
It is not possible to create subsites.
A communication site comes with no additional features or tools.
How to create a basic SharePoint Team Site and Communication Site using SharePoint.
a) Setting up a SharePoint Team Site:
- Open your SharePoint site.
- Click + Create site at the top of your page, and select Team site from the menu. A creation wizard will open, and you can enter the necessary details to build your team site.
- If available, choose the design you want to use from the available options.
- Give your team site a name.
- Include language describing the site’s purpose in the Site description box.
- To limit who may access a site, go to the Privacy settings and, if available, select either Public (everyone in the organisation can access this site) or Private (only members can access this site).
- If possible, select a site categorisation by going to the Site classification section.
- Choose a language for the site
- In the Add additional owners box, enter the names or email addresses of everyone you want to be able to manage the website.
- Add the names or email addresses of everyone you wish to be a member of your site in the Add members box, then click Finish. The site’s connected Microsoft 365 group will automatically add new members.
- Click Finish once done, and your basic SharePoint team site is ready for use.
b) Setting up a SharePoint Communication Site:
- Log in to your SharePoint site.
- Click + Create site at the top of the home page, then select the Communication site option.
- Choose one of the Topic, Showcase or Blank site designs.
- Give your communication site a name, then fill the Site description box with a description.
- You can add a site classification in the Site classifications section if your admin has enabled it.
- Click Finish to complete the setup.
Please note that the above steps only help you create a basic site with no customisation. Contact us to create a feature-rich team or communication site fully customised and optimised to your organisation’s business needs.
Conclusion:
We hope this article has demonstrated how SharePoint is an excellent tool for showcasing and disseminating information within your company. With the help of team or communication sites, you can communicate with your teams or the entire organisation efficiently and effectively. However, keeping your company’s needs, employee preferences, and work habits while building communication solutions is essential.
Get in touch with us today to talk to our SharePoint experts and learn more about SharePoint sites and how your organisation can benefit from your Office 365. We will access your current infrastructure and create a SharePoint team or communication site that will enhance the flow of information within your organisation and ultimately help you achieve your business objectives.
