Using SharePoint? Take these steps to customize it

Gauge your resources and company objectives, then develop a hybrid communications matrix

Microsoft’s SharePoint offers a “supersized” vision of employee communications: Web-based collaboration, social media, and the ability to integrate instant messaging, video, file sharing, and more.

You might even order a large fries and a jumbo soda along with that.

But what happens if your vision for employee communication doesn’t align with Microsoft’s? There are plenty of tools that come right out of the box, but how do you customize them to meet your needs?

How you approach SharePoint depends entirely on your own internal resources and goals. After participating in two separate Intranet launches using SharePoint 2007, my Web team and I noticed a few things to keep in mind to make your experience as smooth as possible.

1. Stay disciplined. Be mindful of your company’s internal culture before launching blogs, wikis, and MySites. Such cutting-edge technologies naturally appeal to some employees; other staffers are too busy or disinclined to incorporate new communications tools if they are comfortable with what they have.