SharePoint document management involves storing, organizing, and managing digital documents within a centralized system. Users can search for documents, track changes, and ensure document security through controlled access. Still, SharePoint document management best practices are needed to do all of that effectively.
“SharePoint document management involves building a system that boosts productivity, enhances collaboration, and strengthens security.” – Julio Aversa, Vice President of Operations, Tenecom.
Typically, these processes occur in a SharePoint library. Libraries support various file types, such as documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. They also offer metadata tagging and search capabilities to improve file organization and retrieval.
Therefore, best practices for document management also include SharePoint document library best practices. That’s why this article will look at both. We’ll discuss key best practices for managing documents in SharePoint and how to handle your libraries.
Key SharePoint Library Best Practices
1. Plan Your Library Structure Carefully
Store documents by planning the structure with clear, logical organization. Consider your information architecture, including the types of documents you’ll store, how users will search for them, and how you want the information to be grouped. A well-thought-out structure ensures that users can easily navigate and locate documents.
2. Implement Permissions at the Library Level
Setting permissions at the library level is considered a best practice over setting permission at the folder level. This is because, by default, SharePoint uses an inheritance model where permissions set at the library level cascade down to all folders and documents within the library.
Therefore, setting permissions at the library level is easier to manage and ensures consistency. Additionally, frequently setting permissions at the folder level introduces the risk of “permission sprawl.” Permission sprawl refers to the gradual expansion of permissions within a system that leads to more user access than intended.
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3. Utilize Version Control
Version control allows users to track changes on any specific document and restore previous versions. Always enable version control to avoid losing important information due to accidental overwrites or corruption.
Although, it’s also important to always set appropriate versioning limits to manage storage. That’s because each version of a document is stored separately, which can quickly add up in terms of storage usage. Versioning limits specify how many versions of a document your library may hold at a time.
4. Optimize Large Libraries
For large libraries, optimizing performance is crucial to prevent slow load times and ensure a smooth user experience. Breaking up large libraries into smaller, more manageable sections can improve performance. In fact, splitting your SharePoint site into smaller bundles can reduce load times by 59%.
Indexing columns and using filtered views can also help you manage large datasets efficiently. Indexed columns help the system quickly locate and retrieve data without having to scan every item in a list or library. Filtered views reduce the load on SharePoint by displaying only a small subset of items.
5. Leverage Automation Tools
Automation tools, such as Power Automate, can streamline routine tasks like document approvals, notifications, and archiving. Microsoft advocates for the use of these tools to reduce manual work and ensure that processes are consistently followed.
Additionally, automating processes is simply a wise business move. 88% of small business owners report that automation helps them compete with larger companies.
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Key SharePoint Best Practices for Document Management
1. Use Content Types & Metadata Effectively
Use content types and metadata to enhance document organization and retrieval. Content types allow you to apply consistent document templates, while metadata enables advanced search and filtering options.
Define content types based on your business processes. This ensures that all documents related to a specific process follow the same format and can be managed uniformly. Here are some examples of content types that you can define for specific processes.
| Business Process | Ideal Content Type | Why? |
| Contract Management | Contract Document | Includes metadata for contract ID, client name, start/end dates, and renewal terms. Automates approval workflows and retention policies. |
| Project Management | Project Plan | Contains fields for project name, manager, start/end dates, milestones, and status. Supports document templates for project plans and status reports. |
| Financial Reporting | Financial Statement | Metadata includes report type, fiscal year, quarter, and department. Supports versioning for audit purposes and secure access control. |
| Customer Support | Case File | Includes fields for case ID, customer name, issue type, and resolution date. Automates escalation processes and tracks case history. |
| IT Incident Management | Incident Report | Tracks incident type, severity, resolution time, and responsible team. Links to knowledge base for common resolutions and triggers notifications. |
2. Implement a Governance Plan
38% of organizations lack a SharePoint governance policy, which is a huge misstep. A governance plan outlines the policies, roles, and responsibilities for managing your SharePoint environment. Implementing this ensures that everyone knows how to use the platform correctly. Clear guidelines reduce the risk of mismanagement and ensure consistency.
3. Design for Collaboration
SharePoint is a powerful tool for collaboration when designed with that purpose in mind. Encourage collaboration by setting up shared libraries, using co-authoring features, and making sure permissions are set to allow team members to work together.
As beneficial as it is to be able to work on documents together, it’s also a good idea to set up alerts for changes in documents to keep everyone informed. This way, everyone who is working on that document will be aware of changes being made.
4. Regularly Review & Archive
Regularly review your documents to ensure they are up to date and relevant. Archiving outdated documents keeps your SharePoint environment clean and efficient. Regularly reviewing SharePoint documents helps ensure that only current and useful information is readily accessible to users.
Archiving should be done systematically. You can use predefined criteria such as document age, relevance, usage frequency, and number of documents in the library. SharePoint allows you to set up automatic retention policies that move documents to an archive location after a certain period.
5. Ensure Security & Compliance
Tag documents using sensitivity labels to protect confidential data. Once a sensitivity label is applied, it can enforce protection settings such as encryption, watermarking, and rights management. Apply these labels accordingly to meet your information security strategy and any compliance standards you must follow.
Sensitivity labels also support auditing. Administrators use these labels to track how documents are being used and shared. This capability is crucial for demonstrating compliance during audits.
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Outsource Microsoft 365 Experts For Your Document Management in SharePoint
Once you’ve planned your document management solution, your next step is maintaining your SharePoint organization best practices. There’s a lot to keep up with and standards can quickly change, which is why you need dedicated experts who can manage your environment.
Tenecom can provide experts who can help. Whether you’re using SharePoint Online or SharePoint Server, we can help you plan, implement, and manage best practices. With our help, your SharePoint document repository will consistently remain organized, user-friendly, and secure.
Contact us today to find out how.