The Challenge
Bridge Housing faced significant challenges in knowledge sharing and management, particularly around key processes like housing and property management. Their existing SharePoint environment contained hundreds of pages of information, documents, and links but lacked the necessary structure to easily find what users were looking for.
Sarah Barclay, Director, Information Systems and Transformation, from Bridge Housing, described the old system as “a bit old school and archaic.” She highlighted that it was difficult for users to search and find information in an organised way.
Solution with Sprocket 365
Bridge Housing implemented Sprocket 365 to create a centralised knowledge base designed to streamline critical processes like tenancy management. This new system offered a structured and user-friendly way to access information, drastically improving the sharing and accessibility of information between their teams.
The knowledge base utilised Sprocket 365’s wiki-style menu to create a logical and organised journey of various processes. For tenancy management, a visual journey and tree structure guided housing managers through each step, making it easier for them to find and use relevant information – all in one central location.
"The beauty of the housing manager knowledge base is the ability to shape and demonstrate a journey to users. Using the tree structure and visual aids helps housing managers easily understand and navigate the process, finding the necessary documents and information quickly."
- Sarah Barclay, Director, Information Systems and Transformation, Bridge Housing
Additionally, the knowledge base now serves as a comprehensive policy library, a single location where all policy documents are up-to-date and easily accessible. The new system streamlined document updates, compliance tracking and policy management, ensuring that staff could easily find the latest versions of necessary documents.
"The most important thing that Sprocket 365 does is help us keep our environment up-to-date. Our users are happy, our access is secure and we’re achieving that with a lot less frustration."
- Sarah Barclay, Director, Information Systems and Transformation, Bridge Housing
Use Cases
Sprocket Wiki
The Sprocket wiki menu provides a structured journey through the tenancy management process, enabling housing managers to easily navigate each step and access relevant information. Visual aids and a tree structure help managers quickly locate specific sections, reducing time spent searching for information and documents.
Word Doc to Page Converters
Bridge Housing leveraged Sprocket’s Word document converters to populate their knowledge base with existing approved policy Word documents. This feature, exclusive to Sprocket 365, allowed them to convert documents with a single click, saving IT admins like Sarah countless hours of manual work.
Page Customisation (Documents Web Part)
To enhance access to related documents within the tenancy management knowledge base, Bridge Housing utilised Sprocket’s custom Documents Web Part. This unique feature allows for listing and connecting documents from any library across SharePoint sites, making it especially useful for displaying related policies and procedures.
Custom Branding
Bridge Housing also utilised Sprocket 365’s custom branding features, including the Sprocket 365 Header, to create a unified central navigation in SharePoint and update the colours and themes of their Knowledge Base.
Outcome
Following the implementation of Sprocket 365, staff at Bridge Housing can now quickly find business knowledge, search efficiently, and rely on a single system for all their needs. The new system has improved productivity, reduced frustration, and provided quicker access to information for the Housing staff. IT admins are now free to focus on more valuable tasks.
"We've saved a huge amount of time by being able to access information in a different way. It's been transformational for our team."
- Sarah Barclay, Director, Information Systems and Transformation, Bridge Housing