“If HP knew what HP knows, we would be three times more productive.” – Lewis E. Platt, former CEO at Hewlett-Packard
Living in a knowledge economy makes knowledge management one of the modern company’s most valuable assets.
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As per a study, 80% of employees are frustrated at the inability to access a former colleague’s institutional knowledge. Organizations need to develop a knowledge-sharing culture where employees can acquire, compile, and transfer new information. Not only will it facilitate better decision making but also help in increasing productivity.
Let us try and understand the importance of organizational knowledge management.
Introduction to Knowledge Management
Knowledge management helps people in organizations share, access, and update business knowledge information.
Even making a simple checklist is part of organizational knowledge management. However, managing an organization requires much more than making checklists. When there is vast data, there arises the need for knowledge management. Let us have a look at some of the knowledge management solutions.
1. Cross-training Programs
These programs allow employees to gain business knowledge by observing others. For example, new employees of a company work with experienced employees, and new factories employ skilled and new workers.
2. Document Management Systems
Systems like Google Drive and Box help organizations store company documents on the cloud, share them, and also control access permissions. These tools have a system for tagging files that make information easy to access.
3. Content Management Systems
Content Management systems like Bloomfire and SharePoint allow teams and individuals to access, publish, and update information on a company intranet.
Social networking tools like Workplace and Slack allow team communication and collaboration in a shared space. These tools double up as knowledge management systems as they store all conversations and enable employees to search previously discussed information.
5. Chatbots
Chatbots use AI and ML (Machine Learning) to answer employee questions and other requests for information. With chatbots, employees don’t need to search for information in a Content Management System(CMS) or chat history.
Essential Features of Knowledge Management Systems
Knowledge management when rightly done has many benefits. So, businesses adopt knowledge management systems that automate the multi-stage knowledge management process.
So, here is an overview of the common features of knowledge management systems!
1. Content Repository
Knowledge management systems are incomplete without a content repository. Content repository features are tools that enable users to manage and share knowledge content. These include content creation, update, publishing, sharing, storage, and more.
Examples of advanced content repositories that businesses commonly use include content management systems (CMS), document management systems (DMS), enterprise content management (ECM), and cloud content management (CCM).
CMS are robust platforms focused on content repository features. These also include other basic knowledge management tools. These are thus gaining immense popularity; for example, WordPress CMS.
The common features of CMS are content publishing tools, administration tools, built-in search engine optimization (SEO) tools, social media integration, analytics, workflow controls, security features, multi-platform capabilities, help and support features, tiered permissions, content templates, search, and versioning for quick rollback.
Core content repository features:
- CMS features
- Hierarchy and sort order management
- File sharing
- Query and search
- Versioning
- Access control
- Import and export of files
- Locking for security
- Content life-cycle management
- Records management
2. Knowledge Search Features
Knowledge search features constitute an essential part of knowledge management systems. Any knowledge management system is incomplete without search features as these help in retrieval of the required information at the right time. These tools are thus included in content repositories.
All knowledge management software solutions provide search tools; for example, HubSpot knowledge base software.
Search is a complex function that enhances the value of knowledge. If the search tool does not perform well, businesses won’t be able to retrieve and utilize their knowledge base effectively. Search performance also depends on the combination of search functions or features in a system.
Core search features:
- Easy search and retrieval
- Indexing, query assistance, support of different indexation methods
- Selection of the relevant results from the dataset
- Searching across different types of media
- Result ranking and filtering
- Search by keyword or by relevance
- Support for different languages
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) based auto-suggest features based on common searches
3. Knowledge Communication
Knowledge communication features of a knowledge management system help businesses capture and communicate knowledge. Businesses use this for internal team communication and collaboration as well as for external communication with the customers. For example, CallHippo is a virtual phone system and GoogleDocs is a collaboration tool.
Additionally, we have Unified Communications (UC) platforms that integrate multiple communication and collaboration tools into a single platform; for example Google Hangouts.
Core communication features:
- Email facility
- Instant messaging and chat
- Audio and video calling
- Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP)
- Video conferencing
- Team collaboration tools
Socialization of knowledge helps improve knowledge and encourage its use. These enable businesses to socially engage within the organization and with their customers. The most popular knowledge socialization tools include Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software.
CRMs enable businesses to track customer interaction and share this customer information within their organization. This information helps businesses to make better decisions for improving services and customer relationships. For example, Salesforce CRM.
Core socialization features:
- Contact management
- Interaction tracking
- Lead management
- Sales pipeline management
- Email integration
- Workflow automation
- Quotes and proposal management.
5. Visualization
People understand and analyze things better when knowledge is communicated visually through charts, infographics, storyboards, videos, 3D models, etc. So, businesses leverage visualization tools to visually communicate knowledge within their team as well as with customers.
Knowledge visualization tools include 2D representation tools like PowerPoint presentations and 3D representation tools like 3D modeling and rendering.
Core visualization features:
- Customizable dashboard
- Data management, data import/export, data mining
- Interactive data visualization reporting
- Geographical Information System (GIS) based location intelligence
- Real-time access and mobility
- Filtered views
- Online analytical processing (OLAP)
- Relational display
- Reporting and analytics
- Simulation models
- Visual discovery
6. Decision Support
The decision support process in knowledge management involves the collection, storage, analysis, and presentation of data. Decision support tools help businesses convert data into useful insights.
Analytics and reporting tools are common decision support tools businesses leverage. Decision support systems generally offer all core features of the knowledge management systems discussed above.
Core decision support features:
- Key performance indicators
- Strategic planning problem indicators
- Workflow collaboration
- Benchmarking
- Budgeting and forecasting
- Customizable dashboard
- Data visualization
- Predictive analytics
- Profitability analysis
- Automated reports
- Data source connectors
- Financial, marketing, and sales reports
- Visual analysis
How Knowledge Management Benefits Businesses?
Effective knowledge management makes it convenient to find and use relevant information and resources at the right time. It offers numerous benefits as listed here.
- Better communication
- Better and faster decision making
- Quicker problem-solving
- Re-use of existing skills
- Sharing of expertise
- Effective collaboration
- Development of better strategies
- Enhanced operational efficiency and productivity
- Streamlining of business processes
- Improved products and services
- Increased profitability
Employees quit and retire, taking with them decades or maybe years of company knowledge, as per the survey results in the book “Critical Knowledge Transfer,” knowledge-related costs of losing employees fall between $50-299k per employee.
Hard drives can get corrupt and stolen. Moreover, there is also significant risk involved in storing knowledge in email threads, and local drives, and the data is not available to others who need it.
The need for knowledge management arises as these situations are inevitable. Also, workers spend 30% of their time recreating information. Easy knowledge sharing can lead to a significant reduction in search time and improve productivity.
A knowledge management system reduces these inefficiencies by making company knowledge accessible and accurate. Let us try and understand the importance of knowledge management.
1. Helps Employees
When information is easy to access, coworkers don’t need to interrupt each other with emails, chats, and support tickets. Moreover, support teams spend less time answering repetitive questions. This helps them focus on other important tasks.
Many times employees send emails asking for information and do not get the answers. When employees don’t share information they tend to repeat the mistakes others have made. However, it is avoidable when the lessons learned from mistakes are accessible to everyone.
2. Helps Organizations
When employees share their lessons learned on a knowledge system, others can easily access that info. Moreover, it is easy to make sure that everyone is on the same page and on the right track with documented and shared processes. This helps organizations streamline their operations and enhance productivity.
3. Helps Customers
Effective knowledge management allows support teams to quickly and correctly resolve customer requests. When customer concerns are addressed, they are more likely to place their trust in the company and purchase products from the organization.
It is critical that organizations form a strategy and also encourage employees to opt for one. To achieve efficiency, organizations should work towards a company culture that prioritizes knowledge sharing.
An organizational knowledge management program’s ultimate goal is that it drives positive outcomes for both- employees and organizations. When employees understand the system’s positives, an organization is much likely to roll out a knowledge management program.
Did we miss out on key aspects? Let us know in the comments section below!
A Backpacker with keen interest in Digital marketing. Responsible and passionate for building a digital culture at SoftwareSuggest. Grabber to implement new competitive ideas to analyze and boost online presence. Could be found in mountains and solo traveler by birth.
