The intranet was designed primarily for enhanced communication and publication allowing news, events, documents, and content pages to be shared and displayed. We then developed it into a powerful tool that allowed employees to stay engaged, reduce document version control issues and allowed the organisation as a whole to be agile in internal communication needs.
Now, Forest Products Commission has the ability to manage a workforce remotely and scale the solution as they grow. Using Microsoft SharePoint meant that implementation could take place quickly, leveraging all the benefits of being part of the Microsoft ecosystem.
The integrated one-stop SharePoint online intranet solution was set up in a short time frame and allowed for key tasks to take place, such as regular news posting and document sharing. It’s mobile responsive too, complete with alerts, event posting, staff lists, document management, document search, and online forms with workflows.
Examples of the standard web parts implemented included; Bing maps, Code snippet, Countdown timer, Divider, Document library, Embed, Events, File viewer, Group calendar, Hero, Highlighted content, Image, Image gallery, Kindle instant preview, Link, List, List properties, Markdown, Microsoft Forms, News, Page properties, People, PowerApps, Power BI report, Quick chart, Quick links, Recent documents, Site activity, Sites, Spacer, Stream, Text, Twitter, Weather, Yammer, YouTube.
The SharePoint Modern Search experience was a gamechanger! The Modern search allowed a personalised experience that uses Microsoft Graph to show results that are relevant to each user (they only see results that they have access to). Results included pages, files, sites, news and people at the organisation level.
The Document Library web part is always a favourite as it displays document lists with ease.
Administrators can customise it with their own title, view style, and even size. Users with appropriate permissions can view or edit files directly from the web part, or can go to the full document library by clicking ‘See all’.
A crucial element for any engaging SharePoint is the Hero web part. It gives a modern twist to landing pages and key site areas. We used this to allow Forest Products Commission to bring focus and visual interest to pages on the intranet. They can now display up to five items in the Hero web part and use engaging images, text, and links to draw attention as needed. The Hero web part is included by default on communication sites, but you can also add the Hero web part to many other pages.
Is it time for a coffee?
