SharePoint Document Management Best Practices [A Full Guide]

Using SharePoint document management best practices one can make the most out of SharePoint. Whether you are managing a small team or a large enterprise, SharePoint can help you organize your workflow and improve accessibility.

According to the current organization’s requirements, you need to manage a large SharePoint storage which is a tough task for every administrator. But as per past reports or experiences poorly managed data can lead to compliance, missing, or productivity issues.

But all these issues can be catered by following the best practices for SharePoint document management. This guide explores proven strategies for organizing documents, optimizing libraries, and fostering collaboration within SharePoint.

So, let’s get started.

Why is Document Management in SharePoint Essential?

There are several reasons behind managing the SharePoint document management such as:-

1. Organizations get a centralized source to access their needy data which saves a lot of time to go here and there for the data.
2. Most of the issues such as SharePoint search not working have occurred due to the improper management of the SharePoint storage.
3. In the project audits, the SharePoint version control feature helps to check the changes performed on the particular files by whom.
4. SharePoint document management also fulfill the latest compliance requirements of the organizations.

Essential SharePoint Document Management Best Practices

Let’s start addressing the best practices for SharePoint document management to improve the organization’s workflow one by one.

1. Define Roles and Responsibilities

Enhancing the organization’s workflow by managing the SharePoint documents. Initially, you need to specify the roles and responsibilities to the users. Without a structured approach, document management becomes inefficient and also has security gaps.

So, start by assigning the roles to the individuals, who will manage its settings, meta fields, and approval process.

Also, do not forget to perform regular audits to identify whether the document management protocols are being followed. Creating the role-based access control in SharePoint is crucial to ensure that only authorized individuals can access or modify the sensitive content.

2. Use Metadata for Efficient Organization

Metadata is also a crucial factor in the SharePoint document management best practices. It allows users to find the needy data based on their metadata field. It saved a lot of time and effort for the users. SharePoint also considers metadata while indexing the documents for faster results.

To use this feature efficiently, collaborate with the other users and identify the essential information which should be added to it. Also, make sure to regularly update and maintain this system for data consistency.

3. Implement Version Control Policies

Although SharePoint excels in various areas. Version control is also one of them which manages the document lifecycle. It records the changes performed on the document at every stage. Users can restore the document with any modification if required.

This feature adds transparency to the users about the modifications when multiple users work on the same document. Enabling the version control in the document library helps to roll back and review the document at any stage to identify and fix the errors.

4. Establish Consistent Naming Conventions

SharePoint document management best practices involve the consistent naming convention of files. While finding the particular document in the SharePoint document library, users should be aware of the name of the file. An appropriate naming convention helps users to find the needy file effortlessly.

While assigning names to the files make sure it would be simple, clear, and concise. SharePoint also provides workflows to automatically assign names to the document. For instance, if a new document is added then SharePoint automatically assigns a name based on the metadata or predefined rules.

5. Plan Governance and Compliance

Governance involves the setting of rules and policies on the document creation, storage, and disposal. In contrast, compliance makes sure that your document management practices align with the legalities and industry regulations.

Governance is applied in SharePoint by defining the retention policies. These make sure that documents will be kept before permanent deletion. After that, restore a deleted SharePoint site becomes impossible.

Compliance in SharePoint allows you to use Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policies to halt accidental loss of crucial content.

6. Implementing Subsites

To maintain the SharePoint data cruciality, you can take advantage of subsites feature in SharePoint. It ensures that only the permitted users can access the sensitive information. For instance, if the account departments have some sensitive data that needs to be hidden from the other users, then it can be possible with the subsites by assigning the access permissions to the specified users only.

7. Use the Essential Permissions

For performing the SharePoint document management best practices, use access permissions wisely. Because SharePoint not only provides access to the internal users but also the external stakeholders. There are several permission rights in SharePoint to restrict access. So, to enhance the data security, assign the SharePoint permissions carefully.

You can avoid managing the permissions to the individual user by creating groups and assigning permissions to them. It will reduce the burden of SharePoint administrator as well for managing the individual permissions.
Also, perform a cross-check regularly about the permissions of the external users.

8. Implement View

You can use the Views in SharePoint to avoid handling the large SharePoint lists and libraries. Views help to manage the SharePoint documents, by providing a group of necessary fields.

It also restricts the user from accessing the whole fields of lists and libraries. For instance, if you want to share the Name and Address column except salary to the users from the Employee_Data list. Then you can create a view including the Name and Address columns only.

9. Set Up Alerts in SharePoint

SharePoint document best practices also involve the usage of alerts. By knowing how to set up alerts in SharePoint, you can create and manage notifications in SharePoint. You can also modify them as per requirements. For instance, if you want to get notified when any user performs changes in the document, then you can do so as well.

It helps to save time and effort to cross-check the document’s completeness or integrity. As you get notified, you will remember about the change in the document and also by whom.

10. Optimizing Existing Documents

SharePoint efficient document management demands for removing the unnecessary data files. Storing duplicate and large files can clutter your SharePoint environment. On the other hand, if you remove empty folders in SharePoint and also find and remove duplicate files in SharePoint. Then you can clean up your SharePoint environment and also improve its performance.

In addition, you can also manage the SharePoint documents by transferring them to another location. If you are handling the large document libraries, then use the SysTools SharePoint Migration Software to transfer them to another account. Through this, you can reduce the burden of huge data and manage both accounts efficiently.

Download Now Purchase Now

To do so, you just need to execute the below steps:-

1. Download and Start the Software.
2. Choose platforms from and to for transferring document libraries.
3. Filter the sites based on Date, if required.
4. Complete the required credentials and load the sites.
5. Add Users and Start Migration.

Conclusion

Implementing SharePoint document management best practices is crucial for businesses looking to enhance productivity, ensure compliance, and streamline collaboration. By utilizing the above outlined best practices for SharePoint document management organizations can prevent common pitfalls and maintain a secure and efficient SharePoint environment.