SharePoint approval workflows solve this. They replace the chaos with a structured process that sits right where your documents live, eliminating the need for endless back-and-forth messages and keeping everyone clear on what's approved, pending or needs action. 

Why it matters 

A well-designed workflow gives you four things: clarity on status, consistency across every document, speed because approvers can act in Teams or SharePoint without switching tools and accountability through an audit trail. When approvals are frictionless, your team stops wasting time chasing people and starts focusing on actual work. 

Your options 

SharePoint offers flexibility. The built-in approval feature works well for straightforward document sign-off—someone submits, approvers respond, status updates automatically. For more formal processes (policies, compliance documents), you can configure structured workflows with sequential or parallel approvals. If your needs are complex—routing based on metadata, automatic reminders, escalations—Power Automate gives you the control. 

The key is matching the approach to your process, not overengineering it. 

What actually makes it work 

Clean metadata, sensible version control, careful permissions and regular reviews. Automation handles the repetitive bits: reminders, routing, escalations. Approvers work where they already are. Everything connects through your intranet so people know exactly where to go. 

The goal isn't fancy, it's reliable. An approval workflow you can trust removes friction and creates clarity. 😊

Let me know, what's your biggest friction point with approvals right now? Are you managing multiple tools or just fighting email overload? 

The instinct then is usually to bolt on another tool. But if your organisation already uses SharePoint, you probably have everything you need right in front of you. 

SharePoint task management works because it does one thing well: it keeps tasks alongside the context that matters. Your project documents live there. Your conversations live there. Your task list lives there. No switching between platforms to understand what's actually happening. 

The real difference is visibility 

When you create a task list in SharePoint, you get flexibility that spreadsheets don't offer. You can filter tasks by owner to see your personal workload in one view. You can switch to a timeline view to spot dependencies. You can set automated reminders so things don't slip quietly past their deadlines. 

But here's the thing that changes how teams actually work: because everyone's looking at the same source, there's no guesswork about priority or progress. A project manager opens the site and sees exactly what's on track and what needs attention. A team member sees just their own tasks without the noise of everything else. Alignment happens naturally, not through endless status update emails. 

Keep it simple first 

The mistake most teams make is over-engineering it. Start with what your team actually needs: owner, due date, priority, status. Add subtasks if a piece of work genuinely needs breaking down. That's usually enough to create real clarity. 

The teams getting the most value from this approach? They're the ones who treat their task list as a reflection of how they already work, not a constraint they have to fit themselves into. 

But when Colleen Labik took on internal communications in 2019, she faced a familiar problem: their SharePoint 2010 intranet had become a decaying archive where content went to die. Information was technically there, but associates couldn't find it. The structure no longer matched how the company actually worked.

The groundwork that made all the difference

Rather than just launching a new platform, Colleen did something smart – she involved leadership and staff from across the business from day one through focus groups to help shape the project.

The content audit was massive: 20,000 pieces of content. She enlisted an army of business champions to tackle it, giving them ownership over deciding what to migrate, update, or delete. These champions became advocates for the new intranet, promoting it day-to-day and receiving early access to new features.

Launch and adoption

The original April 2020 launch was postponed due to COVID, which actually gave them more time for pilots and communications. When MyWawa (their Fresh intranet) finally launched in July, people were ready for it.

Colleen made a deliberate choice not to run formal training: "One of the reasons we chose Fresh as our intranet product was that I didn't think people would need any training – it is so intuitive to work with."

Three months in, the recognition feature was driving the most usage – fitting for a culture that puts people first. The intranet was already overtaking email as the primary source of information sharing.

What worked

The business champions proved invaluable. By involving them early, giving them ownership of the content migration, and building them into the governance structure, Wawa created a network of advocates who helped colleagues adapt and engage.

The bigger lesson? Getting the cultural and change management side right matters as much as the technology. Colleen invested heavily in that groundwork, and it paid off in adoption.

The challenge they're still working on

Interestingly, some associates struggled to trust the excellent search functionality because the old intranet's search had been so poor. Breaking old habits turned out to be harder than building new ones.

For organisations with large deskless workforces

If you're managing internal communications for retail, logistics, healthcare, or any organisation with significant numbers of deskless workers, Wawa's story offers some valuable lessons about involving people early, building advocacy networks, and choosing intuitive platforms that don't require extensive training.

Read the full Wawa case study

What challenges are you facing with reaching deskless or frontline workers in your organisation?

SharePoint gives you the tools to answer that first question with a confident yes. You don't need a design agency or custom development. All you need is a little consistency. 

1. Start with the basics. Your official brand colours applied thoughtfully across the site. Your logo positioned prominently but not so large it blocks the entire header. A readable font that actually works on screen—because plenty of beautiful brand fonts look terrible when rendered in 12pt on a browser. These aren't nice-to-haves; they're proof that someone cares about the experience. 
2. Then extend it everywhere. Most people never see your homepage. They live in department pages, document libraries and news articles. Your branding needs to feel like it belongs in all of those places, not just the landing page. Templates are your friend here. Build them for the content your team creates regularly (i.e. news, announcements, department pages). New pages start branded automatically. Nobody has to remember anything. It just works. 
3. Don't overlook the practical stuff. Colour contrast actually matters, especially for accessibility. Mobile responsiveness matters because your workforce isn't all sitting at desks. Clear navigation matters because employees should know where they are and how to get where they're going without playing a guessing game. 

SharePoint's native theming tools handle all of this without needing IT to intervene on every change. Your communicators can own the visual consistency. 

The real payoff? When your intranet feels like it belongs to your organisation, people actually engage with it. That's not vanity, that's ROI. 💁‍♀️

SharePoint search is genuinely capable. It can find documents, pages, news and people across your entire organisation. But like any sophisticated tool, it works best when you understand what it needs from you. 

The fundamentals matter 

Start with the basics. Most people never venture beyond a simple keyword search, but SharePoint supports advanced operators that make a real difference. Quotation marks find exact phrases. The minus sign excludes terms. You can filter by file type, date or author. A quick guide to these techniques—shared during onboarding or via your intranet—pays dividends in how effectively your teams can search. 

But here's the thing: advanced search only helps if your content is organised properly in the first place. 

Content is the foundation 

If search isn't returning what you expect, look at your content, not the tool. Descriptive file names matter. "Document1.docx" tells search nothing; "2026-Q1-Marketing-Budget.xlsx" is immediately findable. Metadata does the work too. When you tag documents consistently with clear categories, you're creating multiple pathways to the same content. Search can find that budget spreadsheet whether someone searches by file name, department or time period. 

Keep your content current as well. When employees find outdated information in search results, they stop trusting search. They start creating workarounds. Outdated documents should be archived, not buried in your site. 

Configuration and training 

Administrators can configure promoted results for common searches, set up acronyms and bookmarks, and define which properties get indexed. It requires some effort, but for frequently sought content (like your expense policy, benefits guide, org chart, etc.) it's worth the investment. 

The real unlock comes from training. Most search frustration stems from not knowing what's possible. When your teams understand what SharePoint search can do, they actually use it. 

That's when your intranet transforms from somewhere content sits, to somewhere it gets found! 🤓

The good news? A few intentional decisions made upfront solve most of these problems for good. 

Keep it simple, really simple. Deep folder structures feel safe at first, but they slow people down. Three levels maximum. Beyond that, use metadata (tagging documents with labels like "2025," "Marketing" and "Policy") and let people sort as needed. One location, infinite organisation. 

Clarify permissions from day one. SharePoint's permission system is powerful, but it becomes a nightmare when you customise it ad hoc. Stick to the default security groups (visitor, member and owner), use groups instead of individual permissions and document the approach. It takes 20 minutes now; it saves months of confusion later. 

Define where news actually lives. One of the biggest sources of frustration? Authors don't know where to publish. Define three to five approved publishing locations and make them obvious. When people know exactly where to post, content reaches the right audience without friction. 

Embrace regular maintenance as a feature, not a chore. Archive old content quarterly. Review your homepage twice a year. Assign clear ownership to major content areas. SharePoint doesn't decay by accident — it decays by neglect. 

The real insight? SharePoint best practices aren't about becoming technical. They're about removing friction so your team can focus on what actually matters: keeping people informed. 

What's been your biggest SharePoint headache? Curious what the community's dealing with. 

🔎At a glance

• International sustainability organisation
• Offices in the UK, US, India, and Singapore
• 80+ staff worldwide
• 54,000 files migrated

🚨The challenge

The organisation had already adopted Microsoft 365 but still relied on a legacy Dropbox environment for document storage.

This created challenges including:

• Fragmented collaboration tools
• Data stored outside Microsoft 365 governance
• Increasing costs for duplicate systems
• Limited visibility and control over documents

The goal was to consolidate collaboration and simplify document management.

💡The approach

Advania worked closely with the organisation’s IT team to plan and execute a structured migration.

Key activities included:

• Migration readiness assessment
• Data structure design and information architecture
• Dropbox to SharePoint migration planning
• Collaboration with internal IT and service providers
• Secure transfer of 54,000 files

☑️The outcome

• Improved data governance and security
• Simplified collaboration across global teams
• Reduced operational costs
• Enhanced accessibility through SharePoint Online

⚡️Why this matters

Many organisations adopt Microsoft 365 while still relying on legacy storage platforms. Consolidating collaboration tools reduces complexity, improves governance, and helps teams work more effectively.

👉 Read the full case study

Last year, we were one of just six solutions to earn ClearBox's "Intranet Choices" award. This year, their 2026 report has highlighted Fresh as one of the highest-performing SharePoint-native platforms, with particular strengths in communications management, AI capabilities, and platform control.

For those who aren't familiar with ClearBox, they're genuinely independent experts who spend their days evaluating digital workplace platforms (with no vendor money influences their findings).

Why this matters

Two years of recognition from the same independent source? That means something.

Not because we need another badge for the website (though it does look nice, to be fair) but because it suggests we're consistently solving real problems for real people. That's what we care about.

The ClearBox Report is properly comprehensive. This year they evaluated 37 platforms across eight different business scenarios - everything from how well you can communicate with employees to whether the search actually finds things.

For organisations trying to wade through the intranet market, it's genuinely helpful. Which is why we're making both the full 900+ page report and our dedicated 37-page review available for you to download.

What ClearBox said about us

Here's what stood out in their evaluation:

On our overall approach:

"Fresh is a compelling choice for organisations seeking a powerful intranet in-a-box solution that addresses the common complaints and limitations of a standard SharePoint experience."

On our communications tools:

"Fresh provides a comprehensive suite of tools that significantly enhance SharePoint's default capabilities at every stage of the communication publishing lifecycle."

The bit that really made our day

ClearBox collected loads of customer feedback as part of their evaluation. They talked to people who actually use Fresh day-to-day, and here's what stood out:

They noted zero negative comments about working with us. Not one. And that matters more to us than any score ever could.

Here's what some of you told them:

"Fresh allowed us to start over with a fresh adoption of SharePoint and staff don't feel or know that they're still using SharePoint!"

This is the dream, really. Making SharePoint so pleasant to use that people forget it's SharePoint.

"When content production is not technically difficult, energy can be devoted to higher-quality content."

"There is real care in helping you get the most from Fresh and that is so helpful in the often resource poor world of intranet / knowledge management at most firms."

"I truly love the Fresh team."

Right back at you. ❤️

What's been recognised this year

ClearBox highlighted several areas where Fresh performs particularly well:

Communications management

Our Editorial Calendar, Content Creation Wizard, and built-in Newsletter capabilities. Basically, the tools we've built to make internal comms teams' lives less chaotic. ClearBox noted these scored highly, which is brilliant because they've taken ages to get right.

Platform management

The ability to manage templates, navigation, and branding centrally across multiple sites - solving what ClearBox called "the site-by-site problem that has frustrated SharePoint users for years."

FreshMind AI

Our AI assistant earned high marks for natural language search and people finding. But here's the thing: we didn't build FreshMind to jump on the AI bandwagon. We built it to solve specific problems:

• Finding the person who actually knows about that thing
• Getting answers from official documents (not random emails)
• Helping publishers create content without the faff
• Keeping everything secure and controlled

ClearBox put it nicely: FreshMind provides "a controlled AI experience focused on authoritative content."

We reckon that just means it's useful AI, not just AI for the sake of it.

Content management

Comprehensive metadata management, Topic Explorer, and content lifecycle tools. The slightly boring but absolutely essential stuff that helps you actually stay on top of your intranet content.

The two-year Journey

So what's changed between 2025 and 2026? Quite a bit, actually.

In 2025, ClearBox recognised us for beautiful design, intuitive navigation, and smart search. We were made up.

In 2026, they're highlighting our communications tools, platform management, and how FreshMind has evolved. Even better.

Between those two points, we've:

• Launched the Content Creation Wizard (publishers actually enjoy using it - who knew?)
• Beefed up the Editorial Calendar (comms teams needed proper oversight)
• Made FreshMind even more useful (whilst keeping it sensible)
• Fixed loads of the things that annoyed people (you told us, we listened)
• Added features we didn't even know we needed until customers asked for them

What hasn't changed? Our approach: solve real problems, listen to customers, don't overcomplicate things, be honest about limitations.

Who Fresh is actually for

ClearBox's analysis is pretty clear on this, and we'd agree with them:

Fresh works best for medium to large organisations (typically 1,000+ employees) who:

• Are committed to Microsoft 365 and want to get more value from it
• Need to manage multiple sites, brands, or languages
• Have proper internal communications requirements
• Care about knowledge management and search
• Work in regulated sectors where governance matters

We're trusted by organisations like Brown & Brown, Metropolitan Police, TD Bank, KPMG, Bristol Airport, McCann WorldGroup, M&G, and DLA Piper. Over a 1.5 million employees across 26 countries use Fresh every day.

But here's the honest bit: we're not right for everyone. If you're a small team, or you need something super simple, or you're not on Microsoft 365 - there are probably better options for you.

What comes next

This recognition from ClearBox isn't a finish line. It's confirmation we're heading in the right direction.

Our plans for the year ahead include:

• Enhanced AI capabilities that build on FreshMind's foundation
• Deeper analytics to help content owners and communicators measure impact
• Continued innovation in mobile, integrations, and content management
• Tighter Microsoft 365 integration as Microsoft keeps evolving their platform

But mostly, we'll keep doing what's worked so far: listening to customers, solving real problems, and making SharePoint intranets better.

Take a proper look

We've made the complete Fresh section of the ClearBox 2026 Report available for download. It's 37 pages and includes:

• Detailed analysis of all eight evaluation scenarios
• Loads of screenshots showing Fresh capabilities
• Direct customer testimonials (including the lovely ones above)
• Technical specifications and company details
• How we compare to other solutions
• ClearBox's expert take on when Fresh is the right choice

You can also download the full 900+ page ClearBox report if you want to see how everyone else fared. We think that's only fair.

Thank you

To our customers: thank you for your partnership, your feedback, and your trust. This recognition reflects not just what we've built, but how we've worked together to make your intranets successful. And thanks especially to those who took the time to speak with ClearBox, your words mean the world to us.

To those evaluating options: we hope this independent validation helps your decision-making. If you'd like to see Fresh in action, we'd be delighted to show you around. No pressure.

View a Fresh Intranet demo

To everyone in the Fresh community: here's to continuing to build something good together. Cheers. 💟

Our focus: Algorithm vs Message

We're sponsoring the event with a campaign that's sparking conversation: Algorithm vs Message.

As AI agents increasingly become the interface between your content and your employees, we're asking: what happens to internal communications when discovery is mediated by algorithms rather than channels? When employees interact with AI assistants instead of navigating your carefully structured intranet?

These aren't hypothetical questions, they're challenges that internal comms and digital workplace teams are starting to face right now.

Leadership roundtable: The Employee Attention Recession

Fresh Product Director David Bowman will be hosting a roundtable for senior IC leaders exploring what he's calling "The Employee Attention Recession" – examining how attention scarcity, AI-mediated content consumption, and changing workplace dynamics are reshaping internal communications.

Topics include where traditional channel strategies break down, where human judgment still matters most, and what content can (or should) be mediated by AI versus what needs to remain explicit and structured.

Why this matters

At Fresh, we're constantly thinking about how intranets need to evolve – not just to keep pace with technology, but to genuinely serve the needs of internal communicators and the employees they're trying to reach.

If these topics resonate with challenges you're facing in your organisation, we'd love to hear from you. What's your take on algorithm vs message?

In the latest episode of Fresh Perspectives, Abby shares how TD Bank flipped the script by putting employee experience at the heart of their digital transformation. The result? TD Central, a SharePoint-based platform that now handles over 1 million daily visits and serves 95,000 employees across multiple countries.

🔑 Key Takeaways

• End users first: TD Bank prioritised the needs of employees over the convenience of content editors. “The maintenance piece is a few people managing the site. The end user is the majority,” Abby explains.
• Conversations over complaints: Instead of just collecting feedback, Abby’s team asked deeper questions like “What does your day look like?” to understand the real context behind frustrations.
• Smart budgeting: Rather than requesting new funds, TD Bank redirected existing upgrade budgets to support their cloud migration, positioning the project as modernisation, not expense.
• Automated personalisation: Using nightly HR feeds, the platform dynamically adjusts content based on location and role changes, no manual group maintenance required.
• Build vs Buy validation: TD Bank prototyped their own SharePoint intranet before committing to a vendor, ensuring they understood the complexity and could negotiate effectively.
• Phased rollout strategy: The team used existing landing pages to segment the rollout, reducing risk and allowing for targeted communication.
• Celebrate small wins: Even minor improvements were shared widely, reinforcing momentum and showing employees that their feedback mattered.

🎧 Why It Matters

TD Bank’s transformation is a masterclass in user-centred design at enterprise scale. By listening deeply, planning strategically, and communicating relentlessly, they turned a frustrating legacy system into a beloved productivity tool.

Whether you're leading a digital workplace initiative or rethinking your intranet strategy, this episode offers practical insights you can apply today.

👉 Listen to the full episode here: Podcast - How to build a people-first intranet in SharePoint

• How TD Bank rebuilt their intranet for 95,000 employees
  Abby Webster shares how they transformed a 150,000-page mess into a streamlined, social, and loved platform.
• Storytelling at scale with DLA Piper
  Alex Peers reveals how turning corporate comms into human stories boosted engagement across 7,000 employees.
• The evolution of SharePoint with Mark Kashman
  From Microsoft insider to independent consultant, Mark breaks down how SharePoint became the backbone of modern collaboration—and what’s next.
• Mission: Possible! Intranets with Daniel Amaro
  Klarinet’s Daniel Amaro shares 27 years of lessons on what makes intranet projects succeed (hint: it’s not just the tech).

Why listen?

• Real stories from real organisations using Fresh + SharePoint
• Honest conversations with intranet pros and Microsoft veterans
• Practical takeaways for anyone building or managing digital workplaces
• A few laughs and behind-the-scenes moments with our hosts David Bowman and Jarbas Horst

Where to tune in

You can find Fresh Perspectives on your favourite podcast app: Spotify, Apple Podcasts or YouTube.

Whether you’re deep in SharePoint or just curious about what makes a people-first intranet work, these episodes are worth a listen.

Take a listen and let us know what you think!

So if you're stuck with SharePoint, we help you make the most of it and our hosts, David Bowman, Fresh Product Director, and Jarbas Horst, Fresh Senior Product Manager, are back for Season 2 . Kicking things off with sharp insights and honest commentary on SharePoint, Microsoft’s evolving ecosystem, and the realities of intranet innovation.

In this season opener, they cover:

🔄 Microsoft’s page template rollback: A redesign buried custom templates and sparked community backlash, highlighting the power of user feedback.

🤖 AI quick actions & integration challenges: A new floating Copilot button offers quick access to AI tools but raises questions about third-party compatibility. David sees potential for Fresh to extend the experience.

🧠 ChatGPT-5 simplifies the AI landscape: Now integrated into both ChatGPT and Copilot, GPT-5 adapts to user prompts automatically, making AI more intuitive than ever.

💼 Advania UK’s recent successful acquisitions: A major milestone, with Fresh playing a key role in the group’s commercial strategy.

📣 SharePoint’s reputation & room for growth: Jarbas shares feedback from a recent conference… SharePoint still frustrates users but there’s growing interest in improving the experience.

🎯 Season 2 focus is balanced, real-world perspectives: David and Jarbas aim to bridge the gap between overly technical content and negative takes, sharing client stories that reflect both challenges and possibilities.

Upcoming episodes feature guests from our clients TD Bank and DLA Piper, exploring people-first intranet strategies and storytelling beyond migration.

🎙️ Listen to Episode 1 now and join the conversation - The reality of SharePoint intranets: Season 1 Wrapped

If you're new to Fresh, it's Advania’s award-winning AI-powered intranet solution, built on SharePoint and designed to work seamlessly within your Microsoft 365 environment to help your people connect, communicate, and find what they need.

Here’s what’s new in the Q3 2025 release:

Newsletter design gets a boost

Crafting standout newsletters is now easier than ever. Fresh introduces:

• Custom image headers and footers
• A new “Letter” layout for longer-form messages
• Grouping and headings for better structure

These updates help teams align content with brand identity and deliver messages with clarity and style.

Analytics that matter

Fresh now offers built-in newsletter analytics, giving you visibility into:

• Open and click rates
• Individual newsletter performance
• Engagement vs. delivery metrics

It’s a simple way to refine your strategy and demonstrate impact.

Intranet access via Microsoft Teams

No Viva Connections? No problem. The new Fresh Teams Intranet App lets users:

• Access intranet content directly in Teams
• Enjoy personalized landing pages
• Navigate multi-intranet setups with ease

It’s a flexible solution for organizations aiming to centralize the employee experience inside Teams.

What’s next?

This release is designed to help you communicate more effectively and bring your digital workplace closer to where work happens. More enhancements are on the horizon, stay tuned!

Existing Fresh customers can expect a deeper dive with their Customer Success Manager soon.

Discover Fresh’s Q3 2025 release