Microsoft SharePoint Guide For Your HR Department: Feedback Workflows

Want to get feedback on a document or file without having to send an email to each and every person from whom you need input? Microsoft SharePoint has a workflow for that — this guide will show you how to use it.

When you need feedback on a document, what’s your process for getting it?

Do you have to attach the document to an email, send it to specific people, and draft a short message asking for feedback? Every single time?

While that may seem simple to some, in today’s modern workplace, it’s actually an extremely inconvenient way of getting feedback. Using a Microsoft SharePoint workflow, you can automate the entire process.

In this installment of our Microsoft SharePoint Guides, we’ll walk you step-by-step through the process of implementing a collect feedback workflow.

What Is A Collect Feedback Workflow And When Should You Use It?

The Microsoft SharePoint Collect Feedback workflow automates the process of sending a file for review to other members in your organization. Instead of having to manually send the document to your coworkers and superiors, you can have Microsoft SharePoint take care of it for you, saving you the time you would have spent personally on the process.

How Do I Create A Collect Feedback Workflow In Microsoft SharePoint?

1. Enable: To activate the feature, go to site settings, select “Site Collection Features” and enable the “Workflows” feature.

2. Create A Document Library: Create a document library and naming it as needed, whether that’s related to a specific project, department, or topic.

3. Upload Documents: Next, add the documents for which you will be seeking feedback.

4. Set Up Your Workflow: Under the “Add a Workflow” page, fill out the following fields:

Workflow: Select the workflow template that suits your purposes — in this case, select “Collect Feedback – SharePoint 2010”
Name: Name your workflow to match your document library.
Task List: Select “New Task List”
History List: Select “Workflow History“, or, if you want to create a new history workflow – select the “New History list“.
Start Options: Configure how the workflow can be started — for a manual start, check “Allow this workflow to be manually started by an authenticated user with Edit item permissions“.

To require permission to start, select “Require Manage Lists Permissions to start the Workflow“. For an automatic start, select “Creating a New Item will start this workflow“.

Click “Next” to proceed.

5. Workflow Settings Page 2: Fill out the following fields to complete your workflow:

1. List Your Reviewers: Here you need to add all personnel from whom you will require feedback for documents in this library. If you choose not to set any, that allows you to select a reviewer each time the workflow is initiated, which many users find to be more convenient if they don’t always have a set team from whom they need feedback.
2. Order: Decide whether the process will be handled serially (one at a time), or in a parallel fashion (all at once) among your reviewers.
3. Request: Set the message that will be sent to assigned personnel in the workflow.
4. Due Date: You can set a due date for all tasks, if you require one.
5. CC: You can configure the workflow to notify associated personnel when the workflow starts/ends.

Completion: Once you click “Save” on the workflow settings, an email will be automatically sent to the person to which the first task is assigned. You can track the process of the documents in the library you set up in step 1.

How Do I Check The Status Of A Collect Feedback Workflow In Microsoft SharePoint?

1. Click the “Files” tab.

2. Click “Workflows” on the ribbon.

3. Select the “In Progress” text, listed under the title of your library & workflow.

4. Under “Feedback Workflow“, you will see the task status of that particular item. It will show you who it is assigned to, as well as the history, detailing who has already seen the document.

How Does A Collect Feedback Workflow In Microsoft SharePoint Work?

Upon receiving the document, reviewers will have four options available to them:

Send Feedback: The reviewer can send feedback, as requested.
Cancel: This will cancel all tasks for the person currently assigned in the workflow, and then move the process to the next person in the order.
Request Change: This creates a new task for the person indicated. After completing the task, an email notification will go to the person whom you are requesting. If the “Request Change Form” field is left blank, then the change request will be sent to the person who started the workflow.

Reassign Task: This assigns the task from one person to another person.

Need Expert Assistance With Microsoft SharePoint?

Setting up an approval workflow doesn’t have to be complicated, but it’s OK if you’re not sure how to take advantage of everything that Microsoft SharePoint has to offer.

Vision Computer Solutions can help: