A Successful SharePoint solution needs a well-planned user adoption strategy as good user adoption is an indicator of a healthy solution that provides value to its users. Techniques of ensuring SharePoint user adoption include:
- Incremental implementation. Implementation of a SharePoint solution in phases is beneficial for user adoption. A pilot group of users can be selected to engage with a solution and give feedback. Starting with basic functionality facilitates mastering SharePoint for the pilot group, which encourages them to cooperate with an IT team on making it better.
- Refining UX & UI. SharePoint solutions are as valuable as their users find them, so if their usability is poor and design is plain, they will not bring value to users. And, on the contrary, if a solution is easy to use and useful to the company, it will be actively used. To make SharePoint solutions more efficient, companies should see to making interfaces attractive and intuitively navigable and create neat user experience. For example, the Promoted Links Web Part can help to make SharePoint sites more user-friendly.
- Comprehensive training. Many companies use SharePoint mostly as a file share and don’t take advantage of this feature-rich platform, for example, they don’t use metadata to better organize their content. Such features as content personalization, workflows, and reporting services that can help users to facilitate work on their routine tasks and increase productivity are also rarely used. So, companies should arrange comprehensive training to educate users on SharePoint’s capabilities and how to leverage them. As users are not expected to remember everything at once, it’s better to allow them to refresh their knowledge through FAQ, training guides and videos.
- Simplicity in features. Simplicity is the key to user adoption. It’s better to go with out-of-the-box functionality, if it’s enough to cover current business needs. And even some default features may not be needed. For example, basic SharePoint functionality offers many links to web parts, so it’s better to clean up navigation leaving only those links that are actually used.
- Engagement. One of the ways to enhance adoption rates is increasing users’ engagement and motivation to use a SharePoint solution. For example, an intranet’s content should be valuable for users and include KPI dashboards, communities, media gallery, and news. Also, gamification features can help to encourage active using of SharePoint solutions. Thus, a person can be awarded a badge for leaving comments, editing content, etc. Also, to increase engagement managers can show an example and use various intranet tools when they assign tasks for their subordinates, create announcements, share documents.
- Regular monitoring. It’s necessary to analyze SharePoint usage and adoption, for example, which features are used and which aren’t. Surveys can be created for users to leave their feedback on usability issues, new functionality.
You can contact Zelite Solutions if you need SharePoint Consulting Services. The Zlite Solutions company provides SharePoint Development, SharePoint Consulting, and SharePoint Migration services.
