In the Faculty of Arts, we rely on accurate, accessible information to support students, advance teaching and research, and coordinate across teams. As the volume of information and work continues to grow, the tools we use can make a major difference in productivity.
To help you save time and boost efficiencies for your day-to-day work, we recommend leveraging Arts Internal Resources (AIR) as your unit-wide central knowledge base and Microsoft 365 (Teams and SharePoint) as your primary platform for internal collaboration, communication, and file storage.
When used together, these tools have been proven to help reduce repeated work, improve consistency, and ensure the right information is available to the right people at the right time, thus improving overall productivity.
Our guides and support are here to help you make the most of AIR and Microsoft 365 in streamlining your daily work.
Use AIR as your central knowledge base
Rather than having important information exist across various tools (or within your own brain), we recommend leveraging a single central knowledge base that contains unit-wide documentation on AIR.
We have found that the use of too many tools for documenting and sharing internal information can cause staff extra time in locating information they need or cause a decrease in confidence that what they are referencing is the most up-to-date version.
For example, you may have thought to yourself: “Was that document in Google Drive, TeamShare, SharePoint, OneDrive, or Outlook? I see there are multiple versions; which one do I reference?”
AIR is a secure, WordPress-based intranet designed within the Faculty of Arts to be the central location for all documentation relevant to your unit’s work. It integrates with AccessUBC roles to automatically provision and deprovision access as staff join or leave UBC, keeping internal information secure and access automatically up to date.
Benefits of a knowledge base
- Centralizes unit knowledge, reducing information silos and keeping documentation accessible
- Prevents duplication of work by establishing a single, reliable source of truth
- Improves efficiency by reducing time spent searching for processes, templates, and past decisions
- Strengthens continuity and onboarding, ensuring new and transitioning staff have the information they need
- Enhances accuracy and consistency through standardized procedures and maintained documentation
- Promotes transparency and shared understanding across teams and units
- Reduces risk and errors by keeping information current and clearly documented
- Supports continuous improvement by making it easier to review, update, and refine processes
Best practices when using a knowledge base
Avoid repeating work
Instead of storing information in your brain or across multiple tools, document them in AIR to ensure that knowledge isn't lost when work is shared by team members or when staff are away. Taking the time to document processes, decisions, etc. will save you time in the long run. You can create your documentation directly on AIR as a page or post, or in a SharePoint file that is linked from an AIR page or post.
Link to an original source, don't duplicate content
To keep information accurate, link to the original source of information whenever possible rather than copying it. This also means that you will only have to update things once, instead of across multiple places and run the risk of having conflicting and out-of-date information.
Use clear titles and naming conventions
Make titles of pages and posts descriptive and consistent to improve search results and to help team members quickly understand what a resource is about.
Organize content intentionally
Use categories, tags, and logical page hierarchies, so information appears where people expect to find it. Consistent organization helps prevent duplicate content and reduces confusion.
Write for future readers, not just today’s team
Include enough context that someone new to the unit could understand the purpose of the page, when it was last updated, and how to use the information. Avoid assuming prior knowledge.
Keep documentation concise
Focus on clarity and readability. Use headings, bullet points, and short paragraphs so staff can quickly scan for what they need.
Don’t store sensitive information in public sections
Use AIR’s privacy settings and groups for confidential information and avoid uploading materials containing personal information to media libraries or public pages.
Keep it current
Everyone on a team is responsible for helping keep the knowledge base up to date, but not everyone needs editing access to your AIR site. Establish a maintenance plan that outlines audit schedules and content owners to ensure your AIR site is accurate and relevant. For example, set periodic check-ins (e.g., quarterly, annually) to review and update key pages, or create an AIR form for all team members to submit revision requests or new page/post requests and assign one person with editing access to make those changes on the actual AIR site.
Use Microsoft Teams and SharePoint for internal collaboration, communication, and file storage
While AIR houses your “how-to” guides, policies, and processes, Microsoft 365 (Teams and SharePoint) is recommended as your primary platform for day‑to‑day communication, collaborative work, and shared file storage.
In alignment with UBC’s strategic plan to enable collaboration across the university and within our greater community, UBC has introduced a suite of Microsoft 365 apps into our technology environment to strengthen security, meet compliance requirements, scale effectively, uphold fiscal responsibility, and advance strategic priorities.
Benefits of Microsoft 365
- Enhanced security through enterprise-grade security and compliance features
- Files stored in SharePoint remain accessible even if staff are away or relocate
- Real-time co-authoring and integrated communication to help improve collaboration
- Seamless connection between Teams, SharePoint, and Office apps, as everything is automatically integrated
Best practices for using Microsoft 365
Use one place for long-term storage
Avoid scattering supporting files across personal drives, chats, or email threads. Store them in the approved shared repository and link them from AIR so the knowledge base remains complete.
Share your files
Create files directly within MS Teams channels or your SharePoint site rather than your personal OneDrive or Google Drive account to enable collaboration and ensure that the team can access documents even if you are away.
Establish a file naming convention
Use a consistent naming convention (e.g., Project-ID_Keyword_Title_Date_Version) to make files searchable and consistent.
Collaborate in your web browser
Open files in your web browser to edit simultaneously with colleagues and prevent conflicting copies.
Use channels and chat appropriately
Use posts in channels for important group discussions you may need to reference later. Use chat only for quick, temporary "virtual hallway chats," as chat histories are automatically deleted after 90 days due to UBC’s retention policies. Common channel types include:
- General — announcements for the whole unit
- Breakroom — informal communications
- File Repository — the central location for shared files
- Team-specific channels — for smaller or restricted groups
Turn on channel notifications
Turn on notifications for specific channels to get the latest updates on new discussions and activities that are most relevant to you by updating your notification settings.
Archive files when they are no longer required
While each Team in MS Teams has 25 TB of space, if files are continuously added over time, the limit will eventually be reached. If you are aware of files that are no longer required by you or others, you can move them to an “Archive” subfolder to ensure relevant files are easy to find, and then periodically review the “Archive” folder and delete any unneeded files (following UBC's retention schedules) to maintain storage space.
Other productivity tips
Small changes in how you use your tools can lead to massive time savings.
Automate your inbox
If you frequently move emails to the same folder or forward them to the same person, set up an Outlook Quick Step to do it in one click
End the scheduling back-and-forth chain
Use Microsoft Bookings to let others book time with you based on your real-time availability and use Outlook Scheduling Polls to find a meeting consensus without a long email chain.
Collaborate on projects
For collaborative tasks and projects that integrate directly into your Microsoft Teams chats, try using Microsoft Loop.
Leverage the appropriate tool for internal communication
Tailor the channel based on what type of communication it is:
- If you need to share an announcement with your unit and would like to keep record of it, use MS Teams channels (e.g., post in the “General” channel)
- If you need to quickly chat to someone and don’t need a record/history of the conversation, use MS Teams chat
- If you need to share more formal or detailed information with multiple people (including people outside of UBC), use MS Outlook
- If you need to provide feedback on a document, use the comment feature in MS Office Online (e.g., Word Online)
- If you would like to have a virtual meeting with others, use MS Teams or Zoom
- If you need to share a project update or have a conversation related to a project, use the comment section in your project management tool (e.g., MS Loop) for future reference (keep everything about a project and/or task in one place)
Enhancing productivity isn’t about doing more—it’s about organizing our information more intentionally, reducing duplication, and using our collaboration tools effectively to help save us time and reduce stress for the whole team.
By embracing AIR as our central knowledge base and Microsoft 365 as our primary platform for collaboration, communication, and file storage, we can create a more efficient, consistent, and connected workplace.
