As Safe Families and Home for Good we use Microsoft 365 as one of the key systems that looks after everything from emails, calendars and files. As part of the Microsoft suite of tools there are two tools that we can use to store, share and collaboratively work on files. These are OneDrive and SharePoint.
OneDrive
OneDrive is designed as a personal space to store files. Every user has one set up and it is automatically linked to the documents that you save onto your laptop. It is a cloud-based system which means that the files aren’t stored directly on your computer, instead they are backed up on the cloud. The advantage to this is if your laptop breaks unexpectedly all you need to do is sign into your HfG or SF account and all of your files will be there. This is all set up for you before you get your laptop so there aren't any additional actions you need to take. OneDrive is the best space to save something that only you need to access.
SharePoint
SharePoint works in a similar way to OneDrive, but it has been designed with collaboration in mind. Documents are still stored in the cloud so can be accessed when you are signed in to your work account.
The easiest way to access SharePoint is through your browser. We have two SharePoint Sites which we would recommend saving as a bookmark, Resources and Working Documents. The Resources SharePoint Site is where you will find things like our policies & handbook, messaging guidelines, templates, all staff recordings and other resources that maybe helpful to your role. The Working Documents SharePoint Site is where you and you team can work together on documents. If you need some guidance on navigating the Working Documents SharePoint Site you can find a walkthrough video here.
A SharePoint site is a repository where files are kept. A SharePoint site is then made up of document libraries. This is the level that we set most permissions so you should only be able to see into document libraries that you have access to. If you can't access a folder that you believe you should be able to then please do raise a ticket by clicking the help button at the bottom of this page.
You can sync document libraries to your file explorer by clicking the sync button at the top of the ribbon on that document library. This will then appear in the side bar of your file explorer. There is a video walking through how to do this here.
When you open up a document from SharePoint it will automatically open in in the web browser version of Word/PowerPoint/Excel. You can open it in the app version by either right clicking on the file and choosing [Open in desktop app] or in the web document, going to edit button and select [Open in desktop app].
To create a new document in a folder you can click the [Add] button and choose the type of file you want to create.
To save a new document to the folder from the app you need to make sure you have synced the document library to your file explorer (see above). You can then click [File] and find the folder when you click [Browse].
Working as a team
We have set up document libraries and some folders for different teams, but the organisation of folders is the responsibility of each team to manage. To make sure it is easy to navigate we recommend that you use clear and simple titles for folders. To avoid duplication and confusion, it is best to make sure that you have a folder for each main area of work. From this you can then sub divide this further into sub folders. When creating names for documents they should also be short and clear. We also recommend that you keep and archive for your team so you can move any out of date files to make sure you are working on the most up to date files.
You should try and store as much is appropriate on SharePoint so that if for any reason you are unable to work, you team is then able to access and use the files that you have been working on. Files shouldn’t be save in slack canvases or within Microsoft Teams as the permissions aren’t able to be managed. However there are some things that should never be store on SharePoint which need to be stored on the database.
Don’t store on SharePoint
SharePoint should not be the place that any personal details of stakeholders should live. Our stakeholders include:
- Volunteers
- Families that we support
- Prayer and financial supporters
- Individuals who are part or agencies
- Church contacts
- Enquirers
When we talk about personal details we include:
- Full name
- Date of birth
- Email address
- Phone number
- Postal address
- Gender
- Ethnicity
Anything related to a stakeholder is stored within the database. If there is any reason to track something outside of the database, the only details you should include is the id number and the surname of an individual and then any other details can be crossed reference to the database.