Producing, storing, and responding to information in SharePoint is viewed as webinizing the information so it is accessible to a group of people or a team. Information is stored in a user-friendly format (text), and it can be task driven. There is much more to SharePoint than uploading documents to a site. Quick wins to this process include version control, workflow approvals, and check in/out processes, which provide team activity tracking.
We recognize that there is an information overload in the workplace. Everyone knows this and end users have found ways to work with information in the following ways:
- Read it
- Glance at it
- File it
- Ignore it (filter)
Despite the different approaches to reading, managing, and storing this information, we format and produce it in the same way—with a one-size-fits-all-approach, usually in Word and then e-mail, or we upload it into a SharePoint list. So why doesn't this approach work? Aren't Word documents and e-mail information 'communicating tools', just like the phone?
Given the four stated approaches to information, let us try to understand why these approaches (with existing desktop tools) do not provide the most efficient productivity gains.
Despite popular belief, most people do not fully read most information that is sent to them, particularly if it is more than five pages or sent as an attachment. Yet we spend a lot of time writing and formatting documents only for them to sit in other people's inboxes and remain unread.
This is because in order for people to actually read the information, they have to take time out of their already busy day to detach it, digest the information, and then be ready to act on it, all of which requires time and attention. This is an unspoken activity in the workplace today. How many times have you been on the phone with co-workers and they have said, "Just remind me what was in that document that you sent over to me?" What the person is really saying is, "I know you spent a lot of time writing up the document, I haven't read it, so just tell me what I need to know."
Typically, the recipient of the document has to perform the following tasks: download it, open it up (in hopefully the correct version of Word), mark up, save it, store it, and when necessary, reply to the e-mail by attaching the corrected document. And back and forth this goes. So, time is wasted in producing the document with additional formatting and re-editing of the original document. The additional steps can add up to hours or even days for the end user, especially if there are multiple users all editing.
Unlike at school, where you can hide away in the library and be isolated from interruptions from instant messengers, e-mail, and the phone, today it is very difficult for workers to dedicate large amounts of time to read information. People generally skim through text and look for activities attached to their names, which may require steps to be taken. So, having information as a text in a straight e-mail, which can be read and replied to with few mouse clicks (and which can be read on a mobile-friendly device) is a very effective way of writing, reading, and replying to the information. This is how the majority of people use information, so we need to ensure that our information is formatted to take advantage of its real world use.
Storage behavior is where people don't even bother to read the information. They know that there is value with it so they will save it to their desktop or drag it into a folder in Outlook for future reference.
This activity does have some benefit if the information saved has value, but given the storage location, it is only of value to the individual who stores the information, not to the group or a team. There is no one source of the truth that you can achieve by storing information in a central, controlled location and eliminating the need for users to perform the same actions. When information is reliant on multiple people filing information in their e-mail inbox and the folder system has become your filing cabinet, any documentation related to projects or teamwork will cause a problem as there is a strong chance that team members will be viewing and acting on wrong versions of information, with unproductive consequences. E-mail is certainly still useful, but when it comes to teamwork, SharePoint's collaborative features such as wikis and document repositories provide a superior set of tools for working together and being able to keep track of the latest version of that work.
A question such as, Who's got the most current version of this document we're working on? is an all too common question in offices, as well as I never got that e-mail, can lead to a black hole of communication.
By contrast, SharePoint allows you to cut the time needed to reach consensus on a document against a deadline by providing a single, easy-to-manage environment, and may just be your best hope for escaping the e-mail hell that people live in. And, as you know, faster decision-making means faster action and a quicker ROI that ultimately can translate directly to the bottom line
This is done either intentionally or unintentionally. What is clear, however, is that information is ineffective when someone writes it up, sends it to an end user, and then it is ignored. It is not uncommon for developers to ignore e-mails knowing that if it is important, someone may phone them to discuss it. So, why spend time and effort responding to an e-mail when you know the phone will ring anyway?
The four stated responses to information are limited in terms of individual productivity and organizational effectiveness, and this is an inevitable outcome of e-mail being used as the main communication tool, or when documents are stored in Outlook. The result of a lack of transparency and sharing of information that Word and e-mail promotes does limit organizational and individual effectiveness.
Note
E-mail was invented as an electronic replacement to a memo pad, which was normally addressed to an individual rather than a group of people (someone did not read the instruction manual with their Outlook). We are using e-mail in a way that it was not designed for—bulk communications, storage, virtual management meeting, contact sheets, you name it. Yet we carry on using this tool, even though we know it is not the best option in the toolbox.
Remember, no one was ever employed to read and respond to information, yet we are filling up our work day with these activities. This is why SharePoint is not a solution looking for a problem, it is a solution to a problem.
The aim of this book is to educate the end user on how to manage information in a collaborative, structured, and task-driven way with SharePoint.