We now know what a KMS (Knowledge Management Software) is, what a knowledge base is, why we need knowledge, and how to manage it well. Now we are going to look at how to create and implement a great knowledge base and KMS, as well as what features to look for in a KMS.
When it comes to knowledge management, there are two basic methods of managing your stored knowledge. One is a soft method. This is the actual meeting of people in order to share knowledge. A webcam (or virtual) meeting, phone calls, or face-to-face meetings are all methods of sharing information, but this info isn’t actually recorded.
Other knowledge is shared when it is written down or in a physical form. Video, audio and text are all physical forms of information. An advantage of this sort of info is that you always have access to it later on. A problem with this type of info is that you cannot always record the knowledge as well (in the physical form) as you would be able to if it was in narrative format (such as the retelling of family traditions).
We need to be aware that both types of information are essential for how we make sense of life; we never just use recorded knowledge, or just the knowledge we have in our heads. It is always a combination of the two. However, we are focusing on dealing with recorded information in this article, so let’s look at that now.
What Do You Know, and What Do You Need To Know?
So the first step to implementing a knowledge base, is to assess what your needs are. You need to speak to your employees, and take a look at your current knowledge management strategy to determine what is lacking. What do they seek from a knowledge base? Do they need info organized into projects, or into topics? Are they able to access what they need easily, or do they have connection and sorting problems?
You also have to see what type of content you have. Is most of your knowledge in text, or do you have lots of videos? And which format do your employees find best suits their work style?
Installed or SaaS?
Now we come to a big decision. Do you want to install a software that manages your knowledge, or use a web-based one? Or do you not need software, but simply want to devise a method of storing your company’s info yourself?
If you’re going with the software option, it may be a good idea to look at online software.
The trend today is accessibility from anywhere, with any device, anytime. This means online and mobile friendly. “SaaS” stands for “Software as a Service”, which means you use management software and pay a subscription fee. Anyone will be able to use your knowledge base (although you have the option of limiting some parts to pre-authorized people). One way of limiting the availability of content is to create two knowledge bases, one for your employees and technical experts, and one for the public.
Are You Managing To Keep Your Knowledge?
A very important part of implementing a knowledge base is you need a real-like (not virtual) manager who updates, checks, and helps organize the information. Although a KMS is designed to organize your data, you still need a human to add keywords and SEO terms (in the Local Area Network variety) to articles so that the search feature recognizes them. On a side note, a search feature is an absolute MUST for any Knowledge base! But back to the point, a knowledge manager is needed to -on the odd occasion- manually create folders for specific topics and users, and to make sure that old knowledge is being updated so that your company can “keep up with the times.” This person needs to be familiar with knowledge systems.
However…
All this having been said, you need to remember that your employees play a big role in actually using the online knowledge base and contributing to it, so motivate and reward them to do so. This is an important part in knowledge base management. It also helps if the system you choose is easy and friendly to use.
