One of the best things about SharePoint is that you don’t need heavy customisation or code to solve real business problems. Out-of-the-box features, when combined the right way, can create powerful, scalable solutions that transform how teams work.
Let’s look at a project I recently worked on — creating a Policy and Procedure Hub that became the single source of truth for the entire organisation, while still surfacing department-specific content directly on their intranet pages.
The Challenge
Every department had its own way of managing policies and procedures. Some lived on personal drives, others were buried in old SharePoint subsites and many were still being emailed around. The result? Staff had no idea which version of a policy was current — or even where to find it.
We needed:
- A central hub where all policies, procedures, and related work instructions could be searched and accessed.
- Department intranet pages that automatically displayed only relevant content.
- A clear lifecycle process for drafting, reviewing, and publishing policies.
- A consistent metadata model that could bring order to the chaos and make everything findable.
The Design
We built the entire solution using standard SharePoint functionality — content types, approval workflows and metadata. No custom code, no complex Power Automate flows. Just clean, well-structured configuration.
Content Types
We began by creating three core content types:
- Policy
- Procedure
- Work Instruction
Each included standard metadata fields such as:
- Title
- Owner
- Approval Date
- Review Date
- Department
- Document Type
The Department and Document Type fields became the anchors of the entire system — used to group and filter content everywhere across the intranet.
The Document Lifecycle
Two libraries supported the policy management process:
- Working Documents Library – for drafts and in-progress items.
- Published Documents Library – for final, approved PDFs visible across the organisation.
Once a draft was approved, a simple workflow converted the document to PDF and pushed it to the Published library. This ensured that staff always accessed the approved version — not random working drafts or out-of-date files.
Metadata: The Glue That Holds It All Together
Metadata did more than just describe documents — it connected them.
We used metadata to group related content together, such as linking each Policy to its corresponding Procedure and Work Instructions. This created a natural hierarchy and gave users an intuitive way to explore information without drilling through deep folder structures.
For example:
- Selecting a Safety Policy automatically surfaced its related Procedures and Work Instructions.
- Clicking a Procedure displayed its supporting documents — all dynamically connected by metadata, not folders.
The Search Centre
To make the most of this structure, we built a dedicated Search Centre using the PnP Modern Search web parts.
This search experience pulled metadata from across the entire solution — allowing users to filter by Department, Document Type, Owner, Review Date, or any other metadata field.
It meant that anyone could type a keyword or select a filter and instantly find the exact document they needed — whether it was a live policy, a supporting procedure, or a work instruction.
Instead of searching by “guess and hope,” staff could now search with confidence.
Surfacing Department Content Automatically
Each department intranet page used a Highlighted Content web part filtered by the Department metadata.
That meant HR saw HR policies, Finance saw Finance procedures and Operations saw only the work instructions relevant to them — all automatically, with no manual updates or page maintenance required.
Everything came from the same central library, but was dynamically surfaced where it belonged. No duplication, no conflicting versions — just clean, consistent content delivery.
The Result
The new Policy & Procedure Hub transformed the way staff interacted with business documentation:
- One version of the truth – everyone accessed the same published, approved file.
- Department-specific relevance – each team’s intranet page displayed only its content.
- Powerful search – PnP Modern Search utilised all metadata fields for precision results.
- Linked relationships – policies, procedures, and work instructions were intelligently grouped.
- Governed lifecycle – clear roles for authors, approvers, and end users.
The solution wasn’t flashy — it was thoughtful. And that’s what made it sustainable.
Why This Works
This approach succeeded because it focused on SharePoint fundamentals done well:
- Content types standardised structure and behaviour.
- Metadata drove grouping, relationships, and discoverability.
- Approval workflows enforced quality and control.
- Modern web parts surfaced content dynamically and intelligently.
When you use these features strategically, SharePoint’s out-of-the-box functionality becomes incredibly powerful — no code required.
The Hidden Bonus: Copilot Readiness
What started as a content governance project also set the organisation up for success with Microsoft Copilot.
Because here’s the truth: Copilot can’t give intelligent answers if your content is messy. AI isn’t the problem — the content underneath is.
When your SharePoint environment is structured, tagged, and governed properly, Copilot finally has the clarity it needs to deliver useful, accurate responses.
That’s why I created my latest mini-course: Fix the Mess™ – SharePoint for Copilot Readiness Course.
In just 60 minutes, it shows you how to:
- Assess your SharePoint for AI readiness
- Identify metadata and structure issues
- Implement quick wins that improve Copilot results immediately
- Build sustainable content frameworks that scale with your organisation
If your Copilot isn’t delivering what you hoped for — this is where you start.
What’s Next
Next week, I’ll be diving deeper into how I set up metadata and information architecture from scratch when building new SharePoint solutions. I’ll share my best practices, my go-to metadata structure, and the solution patterns I use on every project to keep SharePoint clean, scalable and Copilot-ready.
Final Thoughts
Sometimes the smartest SharePoint solutions are also the simplest. By combining strong information architecture, metadata, and out-of-the-box web parts, you can create powerful, low-maintenance solutions that truly support modern work.
Because at the end of the day: the fix isn’t more AI. It’s better organisation.
