Why Sharepoint is not a good option for your volunteer board

When it comes to managing documents and organizing workflows, Sharepoint often pops up as a go-to solution. It’s pitched as an all-in-one platform that integrates with Microsoft tools, promising to make collaboration seamless. At first glance, it might seem like the perfect fit for your volunteer board’s needs. But here’s the catch: just because it *can* do a lot doesn’t mean it’s the *right* choice. For volunteer boards juggling specific responsibilities and limited time, Sharepoint’s complexity and lack of tailored features can quickly become more of a headache than a help.

In this post, we’ll break down why Sharepoint might not be the best match — and explore a smarter alternative designed with boards like yours in mind.

Why Sharepoint seems like a good idea

Perhaps the primary reason that people believe that Sharepoint is a good idea is because that’s what representatives for the product will tell you. Sharepoint works with Microsoft products. That can be enticing because everyone uses them. The company promotes Sharepoint as a platform, rather than a product, where users can build a set-up to get it to perform the functions that you want it to do. It comes with a big set of tools that unifies people, processes and productivity.

It’s one portal with an unlimited capability for document storage. Using one platform, users can monitor schedules, create workflows, submit reports and document procedures. The platform makes it easy to search for documents and to organize and share them.

Yet, for all its good points, Sharepoint has its share of downsides.

Why Sharepoint isn’t the best tool for board directors

Sharepoint was designed for general business and personal use. For those applications, it does a fair job.

In its effort to be one product that performs many operations, Sharepoint falls short of user expectations in many areas. The fact that users can employ it as a base platform to build the user-ability they need also makes it a very complex product.

Sharepoint is complicated and time-consuming to set up, and it’s even more complicated to maintain. Most users find the program difficult to use without a lot of training.

While Sharepoint is loaded with fancy features, many people feel overwhelmed by learning how to use them, so they’re stuck with many features they don’t even use. Even if you want to use many of the features, they may not come with the free version. Some reviewers have complained that the options for features are very confusing, and when they get what they need, the price rises to a point such that many people find it out of their budget’s reach.

Software solutions nearly always have periodic updates to keep them working well and free from viruses. Microsoft hasn’t been very consistent in offering updates on its products.

After using the platform for a while, some people have likened it to a black box where they simply can’t find their way.

But one of the key points about Sharepoint is that it wasn’t designed with the necessary security features that boards need to ensure the confidential nature of their work.

What BoardEffect does that Sharepoint doesn’t

In the end, a software program doesn’t help very much if it doesn’t do the things you need it to do most and it has a host of features that mean nothing to you.

The work that volunteer boards of directors do is very important. Board directors need digital solutions that were designed with their needs in mind. They need platforms with a high level of security built into them. And leaders and administrators in nonprofits are too busy to waste time building solutions and then having to take hours of training to learn how to use them.

BoardEffect was designed with the exact needs of board director activities in mind. It offers unlimited cloud-based document storage and customized user permissions just like Sharepoint. But the similarities stop there. In fact, BoardEffect’s platform can be used as a rich resource library for board education and training.

BoardEffect also has a highly secure communications tool called Messenger that integrates seamlessly with the board portal so board directors never have to leave the platform.

Administrators can create online board books in far less time than doing them manually. In addition, board directors can annotate board meeting materials using mobile devices as and when suits their busy lifestyles. Last-minute updates and changes can be added so that the board always has the latest information at their fingertips at all times. No more hunting around Sharepoint to find the latest version of a document! As well as the drag-and-drop agenda builder with easy linking to documents, annotations and follow-ups.

The built-in survey feature also allows administrators to conduct annual board evaluations using various question-and-answer formats. Surveys and the results can be stored right on the platform for the next year’s review.

When board meetings are over, Smart Minutes automates much of the work of taking meeting minutes. The online template is easy to modify and to use. In short order, boards can use the Minutes program to complete the appropriate rounds of approvals and set up post-meeting tasks with automated reminders for follow-up.

Workrooms allows admins to easily manage multiple boards or committees, and assign roles with the right access and visibility settings. 

The best news is that boards get all these programs and features without having to set any of them up on their own. That means there is little training involved and new users can get up to speed using all of the features of BoardEffect’s software very quickly.

Unlike Sharepoint, which requires many hours and months of training, BoardEffect’s programs are intuitive and easy to use.

BoardEffect is designed with the unique needs of volunteer boards in mind. It offers a robust and user-friendly solution that enhances communication, supports secure data handling and drives greater board engagement.

BoardEffect provides many valuable benefits for nonprofit organizations, from secure communications, easy access to key documents, streamlined agenda and meeting management plus peace of mind against many risks and potential costs. Request a demo today to find out more.