In this guide, we\u2019ll dive into the topic of knowledge management systems for business and discover how they can help solve the problem of harnessing your team\u2019s distributed knowledge. We\u2019ll also consider what you\u2019ll need to implement your own system successfully.<\/p>\n
What we\u2019ll cover:<\/p>\n
- \n
- What is \u201cknowledge management?\u201d<\/a><\/li>\n
- What is a knowledge management system?<\/a><\/li>\n
- The benefits of having a knowledge management system<\/a><\/li>\n
- How to implement a knowledge management system in 6 steps<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Let\u2019s start with some definitions.
\n<\/a><\/p>\nWhat is knowledge management?<\/h2>\n
Knowledge management is the ongoing process of capturing, storing, maintaining, and sharing one of your business\u2019 most valuable assets: information.<\/p>\n
The goal of knowledge management is to make it easy for any one individual to access and apply your wider team\u2019s collective wisdom. It\u2019s all about making sure that any useful knowledge created within your business is available for others to use\u2014whether they\u2019re your employees, customers, or both.<\/p>\n
The task of managing your team knowledge applies just as much to explicit knowledge (the stuff that can be easily written down and documented) as it does to tacit knowledge (the stuff that\u2019s a little harder to articulate, but gained from personal experience). It can involve anything from creating and maintaining a self-service support portal for your customers to making sure that every member of your team is equipped with the right communication tools<\/a> to make collaboration as easy as possible.<\/p>\n
A well-executed knowledge management strategy can completely transform the efficiency and productivity of your business. But you need a system to do that…
\n<\/a><\/p>\nWhat\u2019s a knowledge management system?<\/h2>\n
A knowledge management system (KMS) is basically the infrastructure you put in place to facilitate your knowledge management. It\u2019s a living system designed to help you record and organize useful information, keep your documentation up to date, manage permissions and accessibility, and generally make it quick and easy for people to find the information they need.<\/p>\n
The term KMS is often used when talking about an online help center or knowledge base, but it can also encompass any systems you have in place that make knowledge-sharing and teamwork more efficient\u2014like a CRM platform or a team messaging app<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\n\ud83d\udca1 Pro-tip: <\/b><\/div>\nA knowledge base<\/a> is basically a catalog of resources covering different aspects of your product, customer service, and wider business. These resources may include step-by-step articles, frequently asked questions (FAQs), training programs, webinars<\/a>, case studies, and eBooks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The 2 different types of knowledge management systems<\/h3>\n
A KMS can be used for internal and\/or external knowledge management. Generally, businesses will adopt both types of knowledge management for best results:<\/p>\n
Internal systems<\/h4>\n
An internal KMS is an employee-facing system used to collect and store information for your team members to use. The information may be accessible to some or all employees, and will generally consist of private resources not intended for customer consumption. These may include:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Process guides (like onboarding procedures, how to claim expenses, publishing guidelines, etc.)<\/li>\n
- Standard operating procedures and codes of conduct<\/li>\n
- Policy documents<\/li>\n
- Templates<\/li>\n
- A directory or \u201cwho\u2019s who?\u201d of the company<\/li>\n
- HR documents<\/li>\n
- Employee training material<\/li>\n
- Company news updates<\/li>\n
- Troubleshooting requirements<\/li>\n
- Internal communication channels (like a wiki, an intranet, or even a team messaging platform)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"file](\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/file-sharing-in-ringcentral-app-1024x640.jpg\")
<\/a>RingCentral\u2019s app<\/a>, for instance, has not only team messaging but also the option to upload and share files with each other, pin important files for easy access later, and even task management.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n External systems<\/h4>\n
External knowledge management, on the other hand, is geared towards allowing customers and prospects to find answers to any questions they have about your product or business. This usually consists of a well-curated online knowledge base or self-service portal, as well as the different communication channels<\/a> you offer for customers to get in touch. Here are a few common examples of external KMSs:<\/p>\n
- \n
- How-to articles<\/li>\n
- Product walkthroughs<\/li>\n
- FAQs<\/li>\n
- Tutorial videos<\/li>\n
- Online courses<\/li>\n
- Webinars<\/li>\n
- White papers<\/li>\n
- User forums<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Here\u2019s an example of our own customer-facing KMS at RingCentral, which starts with a hub page from where you can browse information by category or by using the search box:<\/p>\n
![\"ringcentral](\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/ringcentral-kms-1024x472.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
What are the benefits of a knowledge management system?<\/h2>\n
Knowledge management can be a real game-changer for your business.<\/p>\n
The ability to immediately tap into the combined knowledge of your company\u2019s workforce saves your team time, improves their ability to make accurate decisions, and encourages more collaboration and innovation.<\/p>\n
The overall effect is that of a leaner, more creative, and better-performing business. In fact, a culture of knowledge-sharing<\/a> can increase your company\u2019s productivity by as much as 25%.1<\/sup> In fact, failing to implement a system for knowledge sharing could cost you millions: each year, Fortune 500 companies lose around $31.5 because of insufficient knowledge-sharing.2<\/sup><\/p>\n
Here are some of the specific benefits a KMS can offer your employees\u2014and customers:<\/p>\n
Employee benefits of knowledge management systems<\/h3>\n
It improves morale<\/h4>\n
An easy-to-use KMS saves employees the time and frustration of having to constantly re-solve the same old problems whenever they come up. Instead of reinventing the wheel each time an issue arises, they can instantly draw upon the wider team\u2019s past experience and apply those pre-existing solutions without overexerting themselves<\/p>\n
Equipping your employees with a repository of verified information doesn\u2019t just free up their time to work on more engaging and productive tasks, it also boosts their decision-making confidence. It\u2019s much easier to take decisive action when you have immediate access to answers from colleagues who\u2019ve faced the same challenges in the past.<\/p>\n
Systems that support and empower employees improve their overall experience, which, in turn, leads to better employee retention<\/a>. It\u2019s estimated that businesses lose $7 trillion a year in lost productivity as a result of disengaged employees.3<\/sup><\/p>\n
It prevents knowledge loss<\/h4>\n
Another major benefit of knowledge management is that it prevents the loss of valuable information during the life cycle of a business. For example, without a robust KMS in place, you risk losing a lot of useful knowledge whenever a long-serving team member leaves your company<\/a>.<\/p>\n
It makes onboarding more efficient<\/h4>\n
A KMS makes the transfer of knowledge from old to new employees much smoother\u2014and reduces the disruption to your business.<\/p>\n
A new hire will inevitably have a lot of information to absorb when they settle into a new role. But if none of that information is documented, it falls to an existing team member to teach the new hire everything they need to know directly. This takes a huge chunk of time out of the existing employee\u2019s schedule and\u2014if they forget to teach some key information\u2014can lead to major gaps in the new hire\u2019s knowledge.<\/p>\n
But if an onboarding guide is available on, say, your team\u2019s KMS, the new hire can learn about key processes and practices on their own. And whenever they have a question, they can simply turn to the KMS before asking someone for help.<\/p>\n
It makes life easier for your customer support team<\/h4>\n
Customer support<\/a> reps often find themselves answering the same questions from customers again and again. This is repetitive work and can make up a large proportion of your incoming support tickets.<\/p>\n
An external KMS can solve (or minimize) this problem by giving your customers the ability to find answers for themselves. This gives your support team the time and space to focus on more pressing customer questions, as well as working on more proactive customer support<\/a> projects.<\/p>\n
This is also why scaling your support team is easier with the help of a KMS. As your business grows, the demand placed on your support team also increases. Instead of increasing your costs by just hiring more people, you can deflect more support tickets by building a comprehensive customer-facing knowledge base.<\/p>\n
Customer benefits of knowledge management systems<\/h3>\n
It lets them help themselves<\/h4>\n
People like to fix problems for themselves, with as much as 72% of customers preferring to find their own answers online as opposed to contacting a support agent.4<\/sup> In fact, 70% of customers expect a company\u2019s website to offer a self-service option.5<\/sup><\/p>\n
When a customer has a quick question about your product or service, it\u2019s often more convenient for them to search the relevant topic in your knowledge base, learn about the answer themselves, and then get back to their day.<\/p>\n
Having to call someone or wait for a response to your email is, believe it or not, not <\/i>how most customers want to spend their day. People don\u2019t like to wait in line to explain their problem if there\u2019s an easier alternative. After all, long waiting times are one of the main causes of poor customer experience<\/a>\u2014and many support teams aren\u2019t available 24\/7:<\/p>\n
![\"annoyances](\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/annoyances-about-calling-companies-1024x536.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
An online knowledge base lets your customers find the information they need whenever they need it. Of course, you\u2019ll still need to have a contact center<\/a> and a support team to deal with more complex queries, but the addition of a self-service option can go a long way toward improving your customer experience<\/a>.<\/p>\n
It allows you to provide in-depth answers using fewer resources<\/h4>\n
Thorough product documentation is essential for helping customers help themselves. Your agents can only go into so much detail on a support call or email, and are sometimes limited in their understanding of the problem by the customer\u2019s ability to explain it.<\/p>\n
A comprehensive knowledge base lets customers absorb all the information they want at their own pace and at whatever level of detail they need. Plus, you\u2019re not restricted to any particular content format within your knowledge base\u2014you can use text, images, and videos to make the learning experience as engaging as possible.<\/p>\n
A well-organized knowledge base also allows your customers to discover answers to questions they didn\u2019t even know they had. This can prevent potential support questions from cropping up in the future (and may even convince some customers to try out new features or upgrades).<\/p>\n
The more useful your external KMS is for customers, the more success they\u2019re likely to experience with your product. This success will contribute to better customer retention<\/a> and, crucially, positive word of mouth.<\/p>\n
\n\ud83d\udcb8 What WFH expenses should you look for when you’re managing your finances? We collaborated with Bench<\/a>, an online bookkeeping service, to create this guide that’ll come in handy as you’re looking through your business expenses.<\/p>\n
- What is a knowledge management system?<\/a><\/li>\n