Blog Why most modern SharePoint intranets fail employees (and how to fix it) Last updated: March 10, 2026 Calculating… You’ve invested in Microsoft 365. You’ve launched your SharePoint communication sites. You’ve followed the “look book” templates. Yet, six months later, engagement is hovering at 10%, and employees are still asking, “Where do I find my payslip?”… Don’t panic. 90% of intranet projects fail to meet their goals, but you’re not going to be in that 90%. Before we fix the problem, we have to admit why a platform as powerful as SharePoint struggles to keep people interested. Many organisations fall into the “feature trap.” They try to launch everything at once to justify the cost, instead of solving the two or three core problems that actually matter to their people. Here is why “native SharePoint” often falls short and how to bridge the gap. SharePoint is built for documents, not people SharePoint’s DNA is in document management. It is a world-class filing cabinet. However, employees don’t visit an intranet because they want to browse a filing cabinet; they visit to feel connected, informed, and supported. In large organizations, there can be an onus on keeping high-classification documents on SharePoint for security reasons, but that doesn’t mean your employees have to live there. The problem: SharePoint news often feels static. It lacks the vibrant, social energy of the modern web. The failure: When an interface feels like a file directory, employees only visit when they absolutely have to. It becomes a ghost town. The solution: Lead with integration. Keep your documents secure in SharePoint, but surface them through a UI that feels like a modern app. Oak sits on top of SharePoint to provide a “front door” your employees actually want to walk through. IT can be a bottleneck and content can quickly become stale In a native SharePoint environment, a simple layout change often requires a ticket to IT or an external consultant. Internal Comms teams aren’t web developers, and if the tools are too complex, content goes stale. The problem: Tools that require web development skills or certain permissions, rather than tools that are self-serving for particular teams. If the tools are too complex to use, content doesn’t get updated. The failure: Stale content is the #1 killer of intranets. If an employee sees the same “Welcome our new CEO” banner from six months ago, they stop checking the site entirely. The solution: Give power back to the Comms team. By integrating Sharepoint with a dedicated intranet with an intuitive drag-and-drop editor, you remove the maintenance burden. You can launch campaigns, update homepages, and change branding in minutes, ensuring your content is always fresh and agile, without a single line of code. Notification fatigue vs meaningful reach SharePoint is part of a noisy, oftentimes disconnected, ecosystem. Between Teams pings, Outlook emails, and Viva Engage alerts, updates in SharePoint can easily get lost. The problem: SharePoint lacks the sophisticated “push” capabilities needed to cut through the noise. The failure: You spend hours writing a critical update, but it’s “pulled” by the employee (if they remember to look) rather than “pushed” to them when it matters. The solution: Use Smart Push Notifications. Like Five Guys, you can create country-specific timelines and localized news feeds. Instead of shouting into the void, Oak can target news based on role, location, or department. We cut through the noise to ensure the right message reaches the right person on the device they use most. The scavenger hunt search Finding a specific policy in SharePoint can feel like a maze of nested folders and broken links. SharePoint search is often restricted to specific “silos,” meaning if you aren’t searching in the right folder or site, the file simply doesn’t exist to the user. The problem: SharePoint returns thousands of results based on file names, but often fails to prioritise the relevant or official version of a document. Employees find themselves digging through “Final_v1,” “Final_v2_edit,” and “OLD_Policy” just to find a simple form. The failure: If an employee can’t find what they need in 30 seconds, they give up and message a colleague, or worse, they use an outdated version of a policy. This “search struggle” is a major productivity killer; research shows the average knowledge worker wastes nearly 20% of their workweek just looking for internal information. The solution: Our Federated Search acts as a single gateway. It doesn’t just search the intranet; it searches through your integrated SharePoint libraries, Teams files, and third-party apps simultaneously. Oak uses intelligent ranking to ensure the “Official Source” is always at the top, delivering one set of results and zero frustration. The hidden costs of using sharepoint Beyond the initial licence, there are a range of hidden costs that come with SharePoint that most businesses fail to account for until it is too late. Here is the breakdown of the real costs: Maintenance and customisation SharePoint is marketed as a “safe bet” because it’s part of the Microsoft ecosystem. However, top-ranking industry reports show that SharePoint is rarely “plug-and-play” for internal communications. The problem: Configuring permissions, workflows, and role-based dashboards requires specialist IT knowledge. Even small layout tweaks often require a developer or a support ticket. The cost: For every £1 spent on a SharePoint licence, organisations often spend up to £8 on consultancy, customisation, and ongoing support. The solution: Oak Engage is a SaaS-based digital workplace. We manage the updates, the security, and the platform evolution. Your IT team stops being “intranet fixers” and starts being “innovation drivers.” Productivity When an intranet is built like a filing cabinet, finding information becomes a daily struggle. This is the single biggest hidden cost of SharePoint. The problem: SharePoint search often returns thousands of irrelevant document versions. Industry data suggests the average knowledge worker wastes up to 20% of their week just looking for information or switching between fragmented M365 apps. The failure: If an employee takes five minutes to find a simple HR form because of a “scavenger hunt” navigation, and they do this three times a day, you are losing thousands of pounds per employee, per year, in “toggling tax.” The solution: Oak’s federated search acts as a single gateway. It searches SharePoint libraries, Oak news, and third-party tools simultaneously, ensuring the “official” version is always at the top. Storage While SharePoint includes a set amount of storage, enterprise data needs grow faster than most IT managers anticipate. The problem: Microsoft provides 1TB plus 10GB per user. Once you exceed this, additional storage is not cheap—often costing around £0.15 per GB, per month. The failure: For a company with 2TB of data and 50 users, the “extra” storage fees alone can run into hundreds of pounds a month—a cost that is often missed in the initial “it’s free” calculation. The solution: Oak streamlines your data architecture. By surfacing only what is relevant and integrating with your existing storage intelligently, we help you avoid the “data bloat” that leads to massive overage bills. Accessibility Perhaps the most damaging cost is the “digital divide” created when SharePoint excludes deskless workers. The problem: SharePoint typically requires an M365 licence and a corporate identity. For warehouse staff, retail workers, and drivers, this is a massive barrier. Replacing a single frontline worker can cost between £3,000 and £5,000 in recruitment and training. The failure: If 80% of your workforce can’t access the intranet, they feel undervalued and disconnected. This leads to higher turnover—a cost that far outweighs any software subscription. The solution: Oak Engage reaches 100% of your workforce via a mobile-first app that doesn’t require an M365 licence for every user. You save on licences while slashing the cost of employee turnover. Comparison: the hidden cost analysis The “free” SharePoint intranet The Oak Engage investment IT overhead: Requires a dedicated admin (£75k+ salary) Managed service: Maintenance included in the price Storage: High overage fees for large file libraries Optimised: Predictable, transparent costs Training: High (2–5 hours per employee) Intuitive: Consumer-grade UX, zero training needed Frontline reach: Expensive (£8+ per user licence) Inclusive: Low-cost mobile access for all Customisation: £25k – £150k+ for basic functionality Out of the box: All-in-one engagement tools included How to fix a failing SharePoint intranet: Your new strategy The goal isn’t to “delete” SharePoint. As we discussed in our viva engage vs. intranet blog, SharePoint is an essential tool for document security. The fix is to overlay it with a platform designed for humans. The “Oak power-up” checklist: SharePoint limitation The Oak Engage solution Complex navigation A “consumer-grade” UI that feels like an app, not a folder. License requirements Reach frontline workers via a mobile app without M365 licenses. Hard-to-use templates Intuitive “drag-and-drop” editors for comms teams (no IT required). Silent news Smart push notifications that reach employees on their phones. Siloed documents Federated search that finds SharePoint files from within the Oak app. The verdict: Don't blame the tool, change the experience SharePoint isn’t broken, it’s just not been designed around reaching and engaging your people. Focus on solving your communications gaps in line with your business goals, then let your site evolve based on employee feedback. By using Oak Engage as your “front door” to the Microsoft ecosystem, you keep the security and structure of SharePoint while finally giving your employees a reason to log in every morning. Stop struggling with Sharepoint. See how you can enhance what you already have or begin to make the switch to something that connects your people.
You’ve invested in Microsoft 365. You’ve launched your SharePoint communication sites. You’ve followed the “look book” templates. Yet, six months later, engagement is hovering at 10%, and employees are still asking, “Where do I find my payslip?”… Don’t panic. 90% of intranet projects fail to meet their goals, but you’re not going to be in that 90%. Before we fix the problem, we have to admit why a platform as powerful as SharePoint struggles to keep people interested. Many organisations fall into the “feature trap.” They try to launch everything at once to justify the cost, instead of solving the two or three core problems that actually matter to their people. Here is why “native SharePoint” often falls short and how to bridge the gap.
SharePoint is built for documents, not people SharePoint’s DNA is in document management. It is a world-class filing cabinet. However, employees don’t visit an intranet because they want to browse a filing cabinet; they visit to feel connected, informed, and supported. In large organizations, there can be an onus on keeping high-classification documents on SharePoint for security reasons, but that doesn’t mean your employees have to live there. The problem: SharePoint news often feels static. It lacks the vibrant, social energy of the modern web. The failure: When an interface feels like a file directory, employees only visit when they absolutely have to. It becomes a ghost town. The solution: Lead with integration. Keep your documents secure in SharePoint, but surface them through a UI that feels like a modern app. Oak sits on top of SharePoint to provide a “front door” your employees actually want to walk through.
IT can be a bottleneck and content can quickly become stale In a native SharePoint environment, a simple layout change often requires a ticket to IT or an external consultant. Internal Comms teams aren’t web developers, and if the tools are too complex, content goes stale. The problem: Tools that require web development skills or certain permissions, rather than tools that are self-serving for particular teams. If the tools are too complex to use, content doesn’t get updated. The failure: Stale content is the #1 killer of intranets. If an employee sees the same “Welcome our new CEO” banner from six months ago, they stop checking the site entirely. The solution: Give power back to the Comms team. By integrating Sharepoint with a dedicated intranet with an intuitive drag-and-drop editor, you remove the maintenance burden. You can launch campaigns, update homepages, and change branding in minutes, ensuring your content is always fresh and agile, without a single line of code.
Notification fatigue vs meaningful reach SharePoint is part of a noisy, oftentimes disconnected, ecosystem. Between Teams pings, Outlook emails, and Viva Engage alerts, updates in SharePoint can easily get lost. The problem: SharePoint lacks the sophisticated “push” capabilities needed to cut through the noise. The failure: You spend hours writing a critical update, but it’s “pulled” by the employee (if they remember to look) rather than “pushed” to them when it matters. The solution: Use Smart Push Notifications. Like Five Guys, you can create country-specific timelines and localized news feeds. Instead of shouting into the void, Oak can target news based on role, location, or department. We cut through the noise to ensure the right message reaches the right person on the device they use most.
The scavenger hunt search Finding a specific policy in SharePoint can feel like a maze of nested folders and broken links. SharePoint search is often restricted to specific “silos,” meaning if you aren’t searching in the right folder or site, the file simply doesn’t exist to the user. The problem: SharePoint returns thousands of results based on file names, but often fails to prioritise the relevant or official version of a document. Employees find themselves digging through “Final_v1,” “Final_v2_edit,” and “OLD_Policy” just to find a simple form. The failure: If an employee can’t find what they need in 30 seconds, they give up and message a colleague, or worse, they use an outdated version of a policy. This “search struggle” is a major productivity killer; research shows the average knowledge worker wastes nearly 20% of their workweek just looking for internal information. The solution: Our Federated Search acts as a single gateway. It doesn’t just search the intranet; it searches through your integrated SharePoint libraries, Teams files, and third-party apps simultaneously. Oak uses intelligent ranking to ensure the “Official Source” is always at the top, delivering one set of results and zero frustration.
The hidden costs of using sharepoint Beyond the initial licence, there are a range of hidden costs that come with SharePoint that most businesses fail to account for until it is too late. Here is the breakdown of the real costs: Maintenance and customisation SharePoint is marketed as a “safe bet” because it’s part of the Microsoft ecosystem. However, top-ranking industry reports show that SharePoint is rarely “plug-and-play” for internal communications. The problem: Configuring permissions, workflows, and role-based dashboards requires specialist IT knowledge. Even small layout tweaks often require a developer or a support ticket. The cost: For every £1 spent on a SharePoint licence, organisations often spend up to £8 on consultancy, customisation, and ongoing support. The solution: Oak Engage is a SaaS-based digital workplace. We manage the updates, the security, and the platform evolution. Your IT team stops being “intranet fixers” and starts being “innovation drivers.” Productivity When an intranet is built like a filing cabinet, finding information becomes a daily struggle. This is the single biggest hidden cost of SharePoint. The problem: SharePoint search often returns thousands of irrelevant document versions. Industry data suggests the average knowledge worker wastes up to 20% of their week just looking for information or switching between fragmented M365 apps. The failure: If an employee takes five minutes to find a simple HR form because of a “scavenger hunt” navigation, and they do this three times a day, you are losing thousands of pounds per employee, per year, in “toggling tax.” The solution: Oak’s federated search acts as a single gateway. It searches SharePoint libraries, Oak news, and third-party tools simultaneously, ensuring the “official” version is always at the top. Storage While SharePoint includes a set amount of storage, enterprise data needs grow faster than most IT managers anticipate. The problem: Microsoft provides 1TB plus 10GB per user. Once you exceed this, additional storage is not cheap—often costing around £0.15 per GB, per month. The failure: For a company with 2TB of data and 50 users, the “extra” storage fees alone can run into hundreds of pounds a month—a cost that is often missed in the initial “it’s free” calculation. The solution: Oak streamlines your data architecture. By surfacing only what is relevant and integrating with your existing storage intelligently, we help you avoid the “data bloat” that leads to massive overage bills. Accessibility Perhaps the most damaging cost is the “digital divide” created when SharePoint excludes deskless workers. The problem: SharePoint typically requires an M365 licence and a corporate identity. For warehouse staff, retail workers, and drivers, this is a massive barrier. Replacing a single frontline worker can cost between £3,000 and £5,000 in recruitment and training. The failure: If 80% of your workforce can’t access the intranet, they feel undervalued and disconnected. This leads to higher turnover—a cost that far outweighs any software subscription. The solution: Oak Engage reaches 100% of your workforce via a mobile-first app that doesn’t require an M365 licence for every user. You save on licences while slashing the cost of employee turnover. Comparison: the hidden cost analysis The “free” SharePoint intranet The Oak Engage investment IT overhead: Requires a dedicated admin (£75k+ salary) Managed service: Maintenance included in the price Storage: High overage fees for large file libraries Optimised: Predictable, transparent costs Training: High (2–5 hours per employee) Intuitive: Consumer-grade UX, zero training needed Frontline reach: Expensive (£8+ per user licence) Inclusive: Low-cost mobile access for all Customisation: £25k – £150k+ for basic functionality Out of the box: All-in-one engagement tools included
How to fix a failing SharePoint intranet: Your new strategy The goal isn’t to “delete” SharePoint. As we discussed in our viva engage vs. intranet blog, SharePoint is an essential tool for document security. The fix is to overlay it with a platform designed for humans. The “Oak power-up” checklist: SharePoint limitation The Oak Engage solution Complex navigation A “consumer-grade” UI that feels like an app, not a folder. License requirements Reach frontline workers via a mobile app without M365 licenses. Hard-to-use templates Intuitive “drag-and-drop” editors for comms teams (no IT required). Silent news Smart push notifications that reach employees on their phones. Siloed documents Federated search that finds SharePoint files from within the Oak app.
The verdict: Don't blame the tool, change the experience SharePoint isn’t broken, it’s just not been designed around reaching and engaging your people. Focus on solving your communications gaps in line with your business goals, then let your site evolve based on employee feedback. By using Oak Engage as your “front door” to the Microsoft ecosystem, you keep the security and structure of SharePoint while finally giving your employees a reason to log in every morning. Stop struggling with Sharepoint. See how you can enhance what you already have or begin to make the switch to something that connects your people.
