Electronic Reporting Using Microsoft SharePoint

Interwest provides IT consulting services to public agencies to track and route requests. The IT team uses Microsoft SharePoint to customize a workflow based on each agency’s unique requirements.

For the City of Elk Grove, Interwest created a custom intranet site using SharePoint. The site is a starting point for many workflows including electronic contract routing, insurance requests, graphic design requests, and staff reports. Inter-west’s IT team assessed the needs of each department and created customized forms and workflows for each need to route the request from originator to the employees responsible for completing the task.


STAFF REPORT APPROVALS

A staff report is created each time a request is submitted or ap-proved by the City Council. Interwest met with various depart-ments to assess the needs for this workflow and customized a form and workflow to route the staff report from the originator to each point of review: department head, city attorney, finance, city clerk and city manager.


CONTRACT ROUTING

For the electronic contract routing solution, staff members enter contracts into a web based form and select the appropriate depart-ment head to receive the contract next. The department head re-ceives an email notification with a link back to the form and at-tached contract. The manager reviews the contract and either sends it on to the City Attorney or if changes are needed, back to the originator. After all the changes have been made and reviewed by the staff, manager and attorney, the City Manager receives the electronic contract. Staff and managers are notified of the con-tract’s progress as the status changes.


REQUEST AUTOMATION

When a staff member needs a graphic for a flyer, mailer, t-shirt or other need, the request begins in their intranet site designed using SharePoint. Interwest met with the graphic designer and other staff to customize a form ensuring that the graphic designer received all important information necessary to get started on the project in-cluding the type of project, due date, size, and description. The designer updates the form as progress continues and the original requestor as well has the requestor’s supervisor are updated as the status of the request changes from pre-production to proofing to finished design.

Interwest customizes SharePoint to help public agencies save both time and paper automating tasks electronically. The tailored elec-tronic forms save both time and paper and also ensure that the proper workflow is followed and all the necessary people have re-viewed the requests before it is given to the staff member responsi-ble for the final deliverable.