If you’re managing SharePoint for a mid-size or large organization, you’ve probably experienced that sinking feeling when someone asks, “Who has access to what?” and you realize you don’t have a clear answer. Or you’ve discovered that your supposedly organized document libraries have devolved into digital filing cabinets where important files go to die. Sound familiar?
SharePoint governance failures are widespread, and they’re not just inconvenient—they can expose your organization to serious compliance risks and operational inefficiencies. After working with hundreds of organizations struggling with these challenges, we’ve identified the five most critical mistakes that repeatedly trip up even the most well-intentioned IT teams.
Mistake #1: Flying Without a Sharepoint Governance Charter
The biggest mistake organizations make is jumping into a SharePoint deployment without taking time to define information governance upfront. We often see this with mid-sized companies that are growing rapidly—they’re so focused on getting SharePoint up and running that they skip the foundational step of establishing clear governance policies.
Here’s the problem: without defined governance principles, every department creates its approach to managing content. Marketing builds sites one way, Finance does it another, and HR develops its system in an entirely different way. Six months later, you have a digital Wild West where nobody knows what standards to follow.
The solution is surprisingly straightforward, though it requires some upfront discipline. Before rolling out SharePoint broadly, bring together representatives from IT, legal, HR, and key business units to create a governance charter. This document should clearly define information governance for your organization, including what it entails, who is responsible for what, and how the organization makes governance decisions. Most importantly, it should explain why information governance is essential to your specific business objectives and compliance requirements.
Mistake #2: The “Set It and Forget It” Approach to SharePoint Privileges
Large organizations are particularly vulnerable to this mistake because they often have complex organizational structures with frequent personnel changes. Someone sets up SharePoint privileges during initial deployment, but then those permissions take on a life of their own. Another person adds new employees to groups without anyone considering whether they need access. People change roles but keep their old permissions. Contractors come and go, but their access lingers indefinitely.
The result? You end up with what security professionals call “permission bloat”—a tangled web of SharePoint privileges that nobody fully understands. This tangled web isn’t just a security risk; it’s a compliance nightmare in the making. When auditors come knocking, you can’t explain who has access to sensitive data or why.
The fix requires implementing regular permission audits—not just annual reviews, but quarterly or even monthly checks for high-sensitivity content. Assign specific people to own this process, and make it part of their regular responsibilities rather than an afterthought. Modern tools can automate much of this work, but human oversight is still necessary to make informed judgment calls about appropriate access levels.
Mistake #3: Treating All Content Like It’s the Same
This mistake stems from a fundamental misunderstanding of what effective information governance entails. Many organizations approach SharePoint as if every document carries the same level of importance and risk. The quarterly board presentation gets the same treatment as someone’s lunch order spreadsheet.
Innovative governance recognizes that different types of content require different handling. Financial records need strict retention policies and limited access. Collaborative working documents need broader sharing capabilities but shorter retention periods. Marketing materials might need to be widely accessible but carefully version-controlled.
The solution involves implementing content classification systems that automatically apply the appropriate governance policies based on the type of information. Effective information governance doesn’t mean creating dozens of complicated categories—start with three or four basic classifications and build from there based on your actual business needs.
Mistake #4: Ignoring the Human Element
Technology teams often focus on configuring SharePoint’s technical capabilities while forgetting that governance is ultimately about people and processes. You can build the most sophisticated information management system in the world, but if users don’t understand how to use it properly, your governance efforts will fail.
Large organizations face additional challenges because they deal with multiple generations of workers, varying technical comfort levels, and different departmental cultures. The accounting team’s relationship with technology differs significantly from that of the marketing team, which in turn differs from the legal department’s approach.
Successful governance requires ongoing training and communication, not just a one-time rollout presentation. Users need to understand not only how to use SharePoint features, but also why those features are essential to their daily work and the organization’s broader objectives. They need to understand why information governance is vital to compliance, efficiency, and risk management.
Mistake #5: Building SharePoint Governance in Isolation
The final major mistake involves treating SharePoint governance as an IT-only initiative. This approach misses the fundamental reality that effective information governance touches every aspect of how an organization operates. Legal teams must meet compliance requirements. HR departments must manage personnel records effectively. Business units need workflows that improve (rather than hinder) their productivity.
When IT teams attempt to define information governance without broad organizational input, they often create policies that appear effective on paper but fail in practice. Users frequently find workarounds that bypass governance controls entirely, thereby defeating the purpose of having those controls in place.
The solution requires creating cross-functional governance committees that include representatives from all major stakeholders. These teams should meet regularly to review policies, address emerging challenges, and adapt governance approaches as the organization evolves. Make governance a collaborative effort rather than something imposed from above.
Getting SharePoint governance right isn’t easy, especially for larger organizations with complex needs and multiple stakeholders. But the cost of getting it wrong—in terms of compliance risks, operational inefficiencies, and security exposures—far exceeds the effort required to implement proper governance from the start. The key is recognizing that governance isn’t a one-time project but an ongoing commitment to managing information as the strategic asset it truly is.
[Created by a human with the assistance of ClaudeAI.]