SharePoint: 4 Workflows You Should Use

Key insights

• Built-in workflows in SharePoint Online let site owners automate approvals, reminders, and governance without Power Automate, custom code, or third-party tools.


• Document Approval provides a ready-made sign-off process for files in libraries, enforces version control, and helps teams track who approved what and when.


• Page Approval controls page publishing with a simple review step so content only goes live after an assigned reviewer signs off.


• Reminder Workflow sends automated notifications for deadlines and important document dates to reduce missed tasks and speed up follow-up.


• Hub Site Association Workflow alerts site owners when a site joins a hub and can trigger governance steps, improving policy compliance and owner awareness.


• AI Autofill and No-code AI workflows add modern capabilities like auto-populating metadata, building workflows with natural language, and integrating actions into Teams and Power Automate for richer automation.

Overview: A practical look at a SharePoint Maven video

SharePoint Maven Inc published a YouTube video that highlights four built-in workflows you can use in SharePoint Online without using Power Automate, code, or third-party tools. The clip targets site owners and business users who want straightforward automation to speed up approvals, publishing, and reminders. Importantly, the video frames these workflows as quick wins that improve governance and communication. For editorial purposes, this article summarizes the video’s core points and examines tradeoffs and practical challenges.

The four built-in workflows explained

First, the presenter covers the Document Approval or sign-off workflow designed for files in libraries, which routes documents to reviewers for formal approval. Second, the video explains Page Approval, a simple review process that controls when site pages go live and who can publish them. Third, the presenter demonstrates a Reminder Workflow that sends automated prompts about deadlines and key dates so content owners don’t miss renewals. Finally, the clip shows a Hub Site Association Workflow that alerts hub owners and kicks off governance steps when a site connects to a hub.

Why these workflows matter for business users

Because these tools are built into the platform, they remove the need for complex setup and reduce dependency on IT, which helps teams move faster. In addition, using out-of-the-box workflows lowers the learning curve for site owners who lack technical skills, and therefore promotes wider adoption. Moreover, these workflows can standardize common processes such as approvals and reminders, which improves consistency across a tenant. As a result, organizations can enforce basic policies without major investment.

Tradeoffs when choosing out-of-the-box automation

However, there are tradeoffs between simplicity and flexibility when you choose built-in workflows instead of custom solutions. On the one hand, native workflows are easy to deploy and maintain, but on the other hand they may lack advanced routing, conditional logic, or integrations that heavier tools provide. Furthermore, while these workflows cover many common use cases, organizations with complex compliance or multi-step processes may still need to use Power Automate or third-party tools to meet their requirements. Therefore, teams must balance immediate ease against long-term scalability and feature needs.

Implementation challenges and considerations

Implementers should expect practical challenges, such as ensuring metadata quality so reminders and approvals trigger correctly and consistently. In addition, governance becomes critical because poorly configured workflows can create notification fatigue or approval bottlenecks, and so administrators must set sensible defaults and limits. Another challenge involves change management: users need clear instructions and training so they understand when to rely on native workflows and when to escalate to more advanced tools. Consequently, planning and communication are essential to realize the promised efficiency gains.

Governance, monitoring, and future-proofing

To manage risk, organizations should pair these workflows with basic governance: defined owners, documented steps, and regular reviews of workflow outcomes. Next, monitoring and simple reporting can reveal where processes stall or where reminders are ignored, allowing teams to tune rules. Also, it helps to build a clear escalation path that moves complex cases into more capable automation platforms when necessary. Finally, given ongoing enhancements to the platform, teams should review their automation strategy periodically to take advantage of new capabilities like AI-assisted workflow creation and metadata suggestions.

Practical recommendations for teams

Start with a pilot that uses the built-in workflows for a single site or department to learn how the feature behaves in your environment. Then, refine permissions, metadata, and notification settings before scaling the workflows more broadly so you limit surprises and user frustration. Moreover, document the process and assign owners who can act when exceptions occur, which helps maintain trust in automation. Ultimately, these steps make it easier to expand automation while avoiding common pitfalls.

Conclusion: Simple automation with a cautious approach

SharePoint Maven Inc’s video offers a clear, accessible tour of four practical, out-of-the-box workflows that many organizations can use immediately to improve approvals, publishing, and reminders. While these workflows reduce complexity and speed deployment, they are not a universal solution; teams must weigh the benefits of speed and simplicity against the need for flexibility, integration, and scale. Therefore, adopting these tools works best when paired with governance, monitoring, and a plan for moving complex scenarios to more advanced automation when necessary.

Keywords

SharePoint workflows, SharePoint built-in workflows, SharePoint approval workflow, SharePoint automation, SharePoint Designer workflows, SharePoint Online workflows, document approval SharePoint, automate SharePoint processes