SharePoint 2010, 2013, 2016
Custom web parts, custom workflows
Automotive, Banking & Finance, Pharmaceuticals, Rail Transportation
Canada, Ireland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Cayman Islands, Jersey, Bermuda, Singapore, the UK
3 MMs
SOPs, or Standard Operating Procedures, are sets of policies used internally within corporate organizations.
They are meant to guide employees towards achieving appropriate results in their work. Because these organizations have to comply with international legislation, the guidance offered in these SOPs is specifically structured to take into account these legal requirements. A client asked us to digitize this process and implement several key features. These digital document management solutions were intended to streamline existing manual processes of creating and updating company policies, as well as managing their approval lifecycle. But that's not all; other than creating and updating rules, the client also wanted the software to publicize them. Thus, the requested implementation had to include a notification system that would allow managers to directly inform employees about new policies - and to track their adoption.
Our process started with understanding the client's specific needs - we took time to learn about the company's internal processes related to corporate compliance, and about their work on the preparation and publication of new policies. Armed with all this knowledge, we were finally ready to implement our enterprise content management system. This allowed us to design a new, fully digital workflow for policy creation and updating. The resulting dedicated SOPs application (functioning within the SharePoint environment) replicated and improved on the client's original work processes. We later engineered a second part of our solution that integrated an essential feature - this essential feature enabled the client company to track the adoption of new policies by its employees.
It was important for us to make sure that our implementation was not only powerful but also convenient. That's why our Microsoft developers added a public user-friendly SharePoint design for end users, along with an equally user-friendly private section for managers and approvers. The UI isn't the only convenient aspect of our solution. The application's automatic email notification system makes it easy for employees to remember what needs to be done by sending them key information. (This is made possible by the software's integration with the HR master data.) This feature is also helpful in other ways; its key benefit is that it saves managers precious time. There is no need to constantly notify workers of new tasks, or remind them to complete unfinished ones - the software takes care of it, and can be expanded to do even more.
To cover all of our client's policy management needs, we've developed a complex solution that includes the following features:
An application that allows companies to efficiently create and manage internal policies
Digitalization of policy approval processes that used to be fully dependent on paperwork
Support for collaboration on policy approval and adoption that involves colleagues from multiple departments using SharePoint for document management
Controlled dating of documents within the policy lifecycle
Centralized and easily searchable storage of all published policies
Simplification of policy tracking, all conveniently available in one place
Automatic generation of tasks and notifications - based on the list of involved users
Our customers were very pleased with the way our application has significantly simplified their policy management workflow. They particularly appreciate its potential for advanced collaboration. The software has made it much easier for multiple employees - all coming from different departments and locations - to work together on a single policy. Those who don't participate in policy management are also thrilled with the application. It makes their workday much more pleasant, as they no longer have to spend time and effort on gathering information about the company's policies. Instead, they quickly and easily access it from one single point. Powerful features are certainly impressive, but they can't be sustained without quality support. To ensure the long-term viability of the implementation, our SharePoint Team stays in close touch with the customers to update the software and provide professional support. This means that when the organization's workflow changes due to new legislation or internal regulations, the new processes are integrated into the digital solution.