Top Essential Features for Staff Directory  

A business’s success hinges on effective communication and Covid time has proved the importance of inter-departmental communication. Reaching out to the correct people at the right time marks the successful completion of any project within the deadline. As a result, the most sought product in the digital workplace is a Staff Directory, which improves staff collaboration without requiring much effort.  

This article is about the essential features of a Staff Directory, but before heading to that, let us learn what a Staff Directory is all about and why it is important for your business.   

 What is Staff Directory?  

 A Staff Directory is a consolidated source of employee information that contains an organization’s employees’ contact information as well as an image of each of them.  

It also keeps track of an employee’s department, where they work, and who they report to, which makes it a lot easier to figure out who belongs where in the organizational hierarchy. Also, rather than mailing the entire department and wasting time, you will clearly understand whom to seek a solution.  

 Staff Directory, like humans, has a variety of names attached to it. It can be referred to as a Staff Directory, Employee Directory, Company Address Book, SharePoint Directory, or Organizational Chart. People also refer to it as their company’s map. Whatever the name, it is the most significant product for allowing your employees to connect with one another instantly.  

Do you really need a Staff Directory?  

 It may appear that your business is running smoothly without a Staff Directory and that you do not require one. But think this way, why not use technological advancements to make our jobs easier and communication stronger and faster? It is evident that poor communication is the primary cause of missed deadlines, thus the correct solution could help you increase efficiency and deliver projects on time.  

 According to McKinsey, the average employee spends 20% of their time hunting for coworkers who can help them with a certain task. This means that on average, one day out of a five-day week is spent looking for the right individuals. Now, this duration is large, and it should be put to better use in more vital activities, which can only be accomplished with the help of an intelligent Employee Directory.  

Staff Directory Features  

A SharePoint Staff Directory assists you with smooth onboarding processes, identifying the right experts at the right moment, and creating a social environment in your organization. There are several other  SharePoint Directory benefits that help businesses run smoothly, efficiently, and affordably.  

• View Employee Information  

The key characteristic of an Employee Directory is the ability to view the employee’s contact information. You can see all the information in one place, such as the name, email address, phone number, department, and who they report to. This makes it simple for colleagues to locate one another.  

Apart from the basic contact information, you may go a step further by including birthdays, languages, profile pictures, hire dates, work anniversary, interests, skills, nicknames, about me, social profiles, and so on to make a profile stronger and more communicable. These details allow employees to get to know each other better, making the workplace a more pleasant place to work.  

• Seamless Integration with User and Data Source  

SharePoint Employee Directory allows you to access information using your SharePoint user profile. It is easy to customize and allows you to add new fields to the cards as needed. You can also choose between list view and card view as your chosen display option.  

A SharePoint Employee Directory’s biggest feature is its connectivity with Microsoft 365 and related products. You can use Microsoft Team, Skype, chat, or email to communicate with your team. As a result, it aids in boosting staff communication.  

• Advance Filter and Search Option  

SharePoint Directory includes several features that make it an excellent listing solution. Advanced Filters make it simple to locate employees using filters such as department, job title, manager, location, employee id, and so on, saving time and effort.  

The search tool makes it easier to find an employee by typing their name, department, or any other information into the search area. This capability allows staff to be traced in the blink of an eye, leaving enough time for you to focus on other tasks.  

• Export Employee Details  

You may need your employees’ information at any point in time, especially when there is an event and you need to invite them, or you want to send them a gift, or it could be anything else. It would be tiresome if you had to make a list of such information if the number exceeds a hundred. But, with a Staff Directory, you can export your employee details on the go.   

Employee information in SharePoint Directory can be exported in your preferred format, such as pdf or excel. You can also select which user properties from the SharePoint Directory you want to export, as well as the employees’ names. If you wish to alter the name of the user properties after the data is exported, you can utilize a Staff Directory.  

• Exclude Employee Options  

Employee directories built on SharePoint are integrated with Microsoft 365, so it pulls off all licensed, unlicensed, and blocked users, as well as all accounts configured as user accounts. This clutters your workstation with a lot of useless information. It can be time-consuming to manually filter the data from this pool. However, you may virtually exclude several employees with just a few clicks using the exclude employee options.  

In a Staff Directory, you can choose to exclude users based on specific characters in their names, and exclude employees based on domains, departments, job titles, locations, and so on. You can also opt to exclude the users who have been blocked. This function aids in the narrowing of your search for the best matches.  

Beyond Intranet’s Staff Directory Additional Features  

 Some of the most frequent Staff Directory features are included in the article above. However, Beyond Intranet offers several unique features in our Staff Directory that set it apart from the competition and give value to your company. 

• Organization Chart 

Our Staff Directory provides employees with an organizational chart that allows them to better comprehend the organization’s hierarchy. It allows you to look at a specific individual and see where he fits into the organization.  

You may learn more about every employee’s role in their department, including who they report to and who they supervise. This organization chart allows you to quickly locate the employee you need to speak with about a specific issue. With easy syncing of information from the SharePoint user profile, highly advanced profile cards are being created. Also, it supports department mapping and user-based access, ensuring that not everyone has access to all the data. In addition, you may phone, chat, or email right from the app, which sets us apart from the competitors.  

• Multi-Language Support  

Unlike other directories that only support one language, our Staff Directory allows employees to communicate in the language of their choice. The multilingual support system makes your staff feel at ease and improves the workplace atmosphere.  

English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Swedish, and Dutch are the default languages in our Staff Directory. It does, however, support over 50 languages, from which you can select the one that is most appropriate for you.  

• Birthday and Work Anniversary Reminder  

Our Employee Directory cards allow you to add a birthday and joining date, so you may use them to commemorate employees’ birthdays and work anniversaries. Our Staff Directory contains a built-in birthday and works anniversary reminder that displays all employee cards with birthdays and work anniversaries in chronological order.  

Along with the cards, there is a greetings option that you can use to send auto-generated wishes to the celebrating employee. You can also view birthday alerts on the screen, so you do not have to open the app to wish your friends. This tool instills in your employees a sense of worth and respect.  

• Mobile Application  

Beyond Intranet offers a mobile application for Staff Directory, allowing your employees to communicate effectively at any point in time. The mobile software runs as smoothly as the desktop version and is compatible with both Android and iOS devices.  

It enhances mobility because you can work from anywhere in the world. Another significant benefit is that it can be used offline, making it a perfect option for your hands.  

• SharePoint Azure AD Connect  

 Beyond Intranet aims to give its users with the finest solution possible, and SharePoint Azure AD Connect is one of the technologies that helps us fulfill that promise. This utility assists you in mapping your Azure Active Directory user profiles to SharePoint Online user profiles. It also synchronizes Azure AD fields with SharePoint user profile information regularly. As a result, rather than worrying about user profiles, you can devote your attention to other vital duties.  

 Conclusion  

In the end, we just want to say that a SharePoint Directory should be your next thing on the path of digitization of your workplace. If you want to explore more about how a Staff Directory will add value to your business, contact us. As always, we are available to help you with the best services.