Collaborative document workflows: best practices for teams using ShareFile

Data has never been more accessible — or more disorganized. U.S. workers spend two hours a day (i.e., 25% of their workweek) looking for the documents, information, and people necessary to do their jobs.

ShareFile helps solve these challenges by providing a secure platform for document collaboration. This article outlines best practices for using ShareFile’s workflows to boost productivity, security, and efficiency within your organization.

Key takeaways

• ShareFile can transform how teams manage and work together on documents, making your operations more organized and efficient.
• ShareFile Projects centralizes task tracking and communication for teams. While functions like templates and file versioning produce consistent, accurate documents.
• Features such as secure file requests and advanced permissions aid safe document exchanges and protect sensitive information.
• ShareFile’s analytics and reporting tools help teams identify inefficiencies and refine workflows through continuous optimization, allowing them to remain agile.

Best practices to optimize document collaboration with ShareFile

Let’s explore how ShareFile can transform how teams manage and work together on documents to make operations more organized and effective.

Prioritize workflows with ShareFile Projects

Successful projects start with great teamwork. With ShareFile Projects, you gain a centralized platform designed to help teams set priorities, track tasks, and maintain visibility across workflows. With all project documents and updates stored in one location, teams can easily access the information they need to stay connected and productive.

Getting started is simple. Create a new project by assigning a title, defining objectives, and outlining deliverables. Use the intuitive interface to set deadlines and assign roles so that everyone knows their responsibilities from the outset. Teams can also update statuses and chat directly within the dashboard to replace scattered email and chat threads.

Related read: 5 reasons you should use ShareFile Projects

Expedite document creation with templates

Repetitive, manual document creation is time-consuming and prone to human error. ShareFile templates automates this process, enabling teams to quickly generate consistent, accurate documents for recurring workflows. Eliminating inefficiencies, such as prolonged creation times and correcting conflicting information, empowers your team to focus on more strategic priorities.

The template library allows you to create pre-designed forms and documents that auto-fill commonly used information, such as invoices or contracts. Simply upload a foundational document, designate fields for auto-filling or manual input, and then save it as a template. Once created, templates are readily accessible to team members.

Maintain version control and transparency with file versioning

Collaborating on shared files can make managing document versions a challenge. ShareFile’s file versioning takes the complexity out of the process by automatically tracking and storing every document update. Ensuring everyone works from the most up-to-date version minimizes confusion and prevents costly errors like lost work.

Each time a file is edited, ShareFile saves a new version, which builds a complete history of changes. Team members can easily review previous versions, identify who made specific edits, and revert to an earlier version if needed.

Leverage real-time collaboration with live co-editing features

Projects often require multiple team members to simultaneously edit documents. ShareFile’s co-editing feature lets teams work together in real time. This eliminates the back-and-forth of exchanging document versions, which reduces delays and improves team alignment.

With live co-editing, team members can make and view tracked updates and leave clarifying comments as they happen, resulting in a more engaging and accelerated workflow.

Improve document accuracy and prevent issues with the auto check-out functionality

When several people work jointly on the same document, issues like overlapping edits and conflicting changes are more likely to occur. ShareFile’s auto check-out functionality prevents these version control problems by allowing only one person to edit at a time. When updates are recorded sequentially, it prevents inconsistencies and safeguards information.

Here’s how it works: when a team member checks out a file, it becomes locked for editing. Others can still view the document but cannot make changes until it is checked back in. This is ideal for instances like law firms editing contracts or medical professionals updating patient records.

Request and receive files securely from clients and partners

Sharing sensitive information with clients and partners requires strong security measures. ShareFile’s secure file request feature addresses this need by enabling teams to exchange documents seamlessly while upholding strict security standards. Plus, a commitment to safety builds trust with external stakeholders so that you can strengthen client and vendor relationships.

Teams can send file requests directly through ShareFile, specifying the required documents and setting deadlines if needed. Recipients receive a secure link to upload files without needing a ShareFile account. All uploads are encrypted and automatically stored in a designated folder so that data security is maintained at every step.

Speed up approvals with built-in workflow management

Document approvals can quickly become a bottleneck when multiple stakeholders are involved. ShareFile's workflow management simplifies processes by implementing structured approval stages that clearly define responsibilities. This eliminates the hassle of constant follow ups and guarantees everyone is aligned on tasks and expectations.

With ShareFile, teams can define a precise sequence of approvers, assign roles, and set deadlines for each stage of the workflow. Approvers are automatically notified when their input is needed, while users can easily track progress as the document advances.

Set clear permissions and access controls

In any workplace, controlling who can view, edit, or share files is essential, especially when handling sensitive information. ShareFile’s advanced permissions and access controls help teams strike the perfect balance between security and collaboration by defining user roles and access levels.

Administrators can assign roles based on responsibilities, such as granting full editing rights to project managers while restricting external partners to view- or comment-only access. Permissions can be tailored at both the folder and file level as a way to verify that only authorized individuals can access documents.

Additionally, ShareFile provides detailed activity logs to monitor file interactions with ease, enhancing accountability and transparency. A robust security framework keeps sensitive documents secure and compliant without compromising productivity.

Periodically review and optimize collaboration workflows

Regularly evaluating and optimizing collaboration workflows is key to staying agile and responsive to both organizational and industry shifts. ShareFile’s analytics and reporting tools offer valuable insights into document sharing, editing, and approval activities, helping teams pinpoint inefficiencies. This knowledge empowers teams to refine workflows and streamline processes. By making data-driven adjustments based on feedback, teams can facilitate continuous improvement while staying aligned with overall business objectives.

Related read: Customer Story - NAEGELI Deposition & Trial

Conclusion

ShareFile offers a powerful suite of tools designed to enhance document collaboration workflows, both internally and with external clients and partners. For example, Projects helps organize workflows while templates streamline document creation. Together, these solutions improve efficiency, security, and accuracy across every interaction.

Embrace these strategies to maximize the full potential of ShareFile and elevate how your team works together — creating a more productive environment for everyone involved.