In our last article, we explained what a workflow is, as well as the basics of how an automated, SharePoint Workflow works. We described using the built-in SharePoint Approval Workflow to move a draft document through an approval process.
We also described how using SharePoint Workflows provides your organization with a variety of benefits. They save you time and effort on repetitive, administrative tasks. SharePoint Workflows also improve efficiency and focus and support team collaboration. And the best benefit is getting these benefits is so easy! SharePoint includes wizards and other tools to help anyone easily create and use a workflow.
And we promised to describe how to use the other, pre-built SharePoint Workflows, so away we go!
Using SharePoint Workflows to Achieve an Outcome
Document approval is just one of the pre-built workflows organizations can easily initiate for automatically managing work. Below, we describe others your organization can use to perform various routine operations.
As we go through these, you’ll notice that the steps within each SharePoint Workflow vary a bit from one to the next but that they possess similar structures.
Use SharePoint Workflows to Collect Feedback
This SharePoint workflow helps to streamline the process of – you guessed it – gathering feedback on a document or other item stored in a list or library. Here’s how it works:
- Initiation: The owner starts the workflow to collect feedback.
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Routing: The SharePoint document or other asset is routed to the individual or individuals the owner is seeking to get feedback from.
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Feedback Collection: The individual(s) offer their feedback, which is compiled by the workflow.
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Consolidation: Once all feedback has been provided, the workflow consolidates it and routes the item back to the owner who initiated the feedback workflow.
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Record Keeping: The workflow makes it easy to track who provided what feedback, as well as any changes that were made as a result. That is, the workflow keeps a record of the entire review process.
Using the Collect Feedback SharePoint Workflow automates the process, ensuring the process is standardized, that all feedback is collected efficiently and systematically, and that no reviewers or steps get overlooked.
Use Workflows to Collect Signatures
The Collect Signatures SharePoint Workflow automates the process of gathering digital signatures by routing a Microsoft Office document to the group of people who need to sign off. Its basic steps follow a pattern similar to the Collect Feedback Workflow.
- Initiation: The workflow is set in motion by the user who needs to collect signatures on a document, such as a Word file, Excel workbook, or InfoPath form.
- Routing: The document is routed to the designated signer(s).
- Notification: Each signer receives an email notification that includes a link to the document.
- Signing: Signers click the link to open the document and add their digital signatures, which can be done directly within the document using tools like Microsoft Word.
- Completion: Once all signatures are collected, the workflow marks the document as complete. It also locks it to prevent further modification.
- Record Keeping: The workflow tracks the progress/workflow status and maintains a history of the signing process, creating a record which can be reviewed later.
As you can see, this workflow also ensures all signatures are collected in a timely and efficient manner, as well as ensuring the document isn’t edited after someone signs off.
Use SharePoint Workflows for Publishing Approval
Once again, the Publishing Approval SharePoint Workflow follows a pattern of steps similar to the two workflows above. This workflow manages the approval process for publishing content, such as website pages and blog posts.
- Initiation: A user submits a page or document for approval, initiating the workflow.
- Routing: The content is automatically routed to the individual or group that needs to approve the content.
- Review Tasks: Approvers receive their requests review the content. They can then approve, reject, or request changes following their content review.
- Notifications: The workflow sends reminders and notifications to approvers to ensure timely
- Approval or Rejection: The reviewers can approve, allowing the content to be published. Alternatively, if one or more reviewers reject the content, it’s sent back to the author for revisions, and the workflow “loops” back to the routing steps once those revisions are made.
- Tracking: The workflow tracks the progress of the approval process and maintains a history of actions taken
This workflow can help organizations maintain the quality and consistency of information they publish by ensuring only reviewed and approved content goes live on their site.
Use Workflows to Track Status Phases: The Three-State
The Three-State Workflow allows organizations to track the status of items through three distinct phases – an initial, middle, and final state. This is particularly useful for managing tasks, issues, or projects that require multiple stages of completion. For example, it can be used for tracking customer support issues, sales leads, or project tasks.
Basically, this workflow automates a process for an organization like a Kanban board, moving the item along a path to completion. The workflow is started on an item in a list that has a Choice column with three or more values. These values represent the states the item must move through.
The three states might be named Not Started, In Progress, and Completed. Alternatively, the Choice column states could be Active, Ready for Review, and Complete.
When the workflow is started on an item in a list, the item begins in the first state (e.g., “Not Started.”). Once the first phase tasks are completed, the item moves to the second state, like “In Progress,” and the workflow assigns a task to a designated user, sending them an email notification. Upon completion of the second state tasks, item then moves to the third state (e.g., “Completed”).
Note that “Three-State” is a bit of a misnomer, as the built-in workflow that contains three phases can be customized to include more than three Choice options.
Use SharePoint Workflows to Streamline Operations
As you can see, using SharePoint Workflows automates repetitive tasks, which can increase productivity while reducing errors and missed steps in a process. And because they’re pre-built and require no customization or coding skills, they’re easy to implement.
Think about where your organization could apply the Approval, Collect Signatures, Collect Feedback, Publishing Approval, or Three-State SharePoint workflow and give it a try.
About enkompas Technology Solutions
enkompas powers your entire technology environment, working closely with your team to provide strategic enterprise technology solutions. With nearly 30 years of experience as a trusted Managed IT Services Provider, our goal is to help you build a secure, scalable organizational roadmap for your IT environment. Contact us for more information about how enkompas Technology Solutions partners with our clients to fully understand your business and provide Sharepoint solutions tailored to your needs – we support your environment, so you don’t have to.
