How is Knowledge Management Software used?
Knowledge management software enables organizations to store and share the knowledge that employees have acquired over the years and based on their experience. Below is a list of reasons why the use of such software is beneficial:
Improved employee training: The solution helps companies document information such as industry knowledge, employee skills and best practices. By storing this information on a self-service portal, employees can easily learn from colleagues and industry leaders at their convenience. The tool can also be used as an available training resource for training new employees.
Faster access to information: The comprehensive knowledge base allows employees to get answers to their questions quickly and easily. The database can also be made available to customers and clients as a kind of FAQ portal. The software ensures that answers are consistent and accurate and response times are short.
More efficient troubleshooting of questions: The software makes it possible to track and monitor trends in customer and employee concerns/questions. These trends can be used to resolve issues, saving time and money in the long run.
Typical functions of Knowledge Management Software:
- Knowledge base management: Creation and storage of documents in a centralised database that acts as an organised repository for knowledge retrieval.
- Full text search: Search for specific keywords in entire documents, not just in limited sections.
- Access controls: Specification of access levels for various files and folders. Assign different permissions to users within the organization.
- Cataloging: Organize documents based on similar tags and keywords.
- Collaboration: Collaborate on projects by sharing information with colleagues in real time.
- Content management: Create, share and manage information in different formats in a collaborative environment.
- Discussion Forums: Allow users to ask questions and exchange ideas via online forums or groups.
- Self-service portal: Access a knowledge base, discussion forums, and supporting tools, such as a news service and ticket tracking, on a single platform.
- Text editor: Allows users to edit text from within the application using an integrated editor.
Who will Benefit from Knowledge Base Software?
More and more companies are realizing how much truth there is in this sentence – and that knowledge cannot simply be acquired and then left to its own devices. Knowledge must also be sorted, managed, passed on and maintained. Knowledge must be lived. Innovative knowledge management is therefore a decisive success factor for companies.
Operational knowledge management software systems comprise of seven modules:
The knowledge identification
What knowledge is already available in the company or what can you access?
The acquisition of knowledge
How can you gain new knowledge from outside?
The development of knowledge
How can internal competences and skills be further developed and improved?
The distribution of knowledge
Who needs to know what and when? Which means can you use to share and use knowledge in the company systematically and efficiently?
The use of knowledge
How do you use your knowledge in a way that benefits the company?
The preservation of knowledge
How do you protect yourself against knowledge leaving the company?
The knowledge assessment
Has the use of your knowledge led to more success?
What does Knowledge Management mean?
The knowledge relevant for a company should be used productively. Knowledge is therefore a resource that every company should make use of. The goal is to make knowledge in a company transparent and accessible for employees and other companies. The task of knowledge management is therefore to organize the knowledge base and the handling of knowledge.
According to a KPMG survey, 80% of entrepreneurs consider knowledge management important – but only 21% have already installed it.
The advantages are obvious.
Successful processes and good work results become visible and can be secured for future projects
New employees can be trained faster
The knowledge of departing employees remains with the company
Existing competencies in the company become transparent
Processes are constantly being improved
But why then are so few companies seriously considering the introduction of structured knowledge management? Especially in small and medium sized companies unfortunately some problems arise. At the very beginning there is the recruitment of personnel. For SMEs it is usually difficult to find employees with their own valuable store of knowledge and who are willing to deal with the topic of knowledge management. In addition, there are often less specialists and instead more generalists who have more or less the same knowledge.
Tips For Buying The Best Knowledge Management Software
Alignment of business objectives: Each software provides different functionality for different business needs. Some solutions are designed as a customer helpdesk, while others are designed as collaborative tools for managing ideas and projects. Before purchasing a solution, you should list your business requirements and match them with the features of the software. You should also create a strategic plan for integrating the software into your processes and information systems.
Ensure data security and privacy: This is critical, so consider where your data is hosted and what security measures are in place to protect it. You can choose to deploy in the cloud (where the data is hosted on third-party/provider servers) or on-premise (hosted on your own servers). Both options should be considered. Then you should assess which option is right for your business. The security vendor’s certificates of compliance should also be reviewed.
Assessing the total software cost: Software costs can vary from free to a few hundred dollars. To avoid excessive costs or under-utilization of the software, it is important to ensure that the price plan chosen has the features that meet the essential requirements. You may not need all the advanced features or not the full suite, which will reduce the software cost. Free trials or demos should also be used to better evaluate the shortlisted solutions.
What are The Best Knowledge Management Systems?
Best knowledge management systems include:
Confluence is an open and shared workspace that connects people with the ideas and information they need to get the job done. Group related pages into a dedicated area for your work, team or cross-functional projects so information is easy to find. Confluence’s powerful search engine and site structures make sure you always find the right content when you need it most. You have the right knowledge at your fingertips, so you can create, collaborate, revise and finish work in one place
SABIO is a knowledge management SaaS solution specifically designed for customer service organizations. The software enables a new quality of information management and provides each individual customer service employee with the knowledge of all departments. SABIO stands for complex information management needs. No more information monopoly for individual employees. Simple, fast and accessible for everyone.
And also one of the best knowledge management systems – Freshdesk.
Relevant Trends in Knowledge Management Software
Increasing use of AI to filter information: Knowledge management software providers use AI (artificial intelligence) to automatically tag content by category, making search indexing more efficient. AI is also used to automatically recommend content when users enter questions in an integrated search bar, ask questions via live chat or send them by e-mail. This allows them to retrieve relevant information at the right time.
Mobile device compatibility: 60% of employees use mobile apps for work-related tasks, and 71% spend more than two hours a week accessing company information on their mobile phones. Based on this trend, knowledge management software has mobile apps for Android and iOS devices. This ensures that users can access information from their smartphone without compromising the user experience.
In times of ever faster developments and many short-lived trends, knowledge management is becoming increasingly important. Therefore, there are numerous providers of electronic tools and services that support companies in this area.
These include, on the one hand, the so-called discovery tools, which serve primarily to (re)find and organize knowledge. On the other hand, collaboration tools that simplify the exchange between individual knowledge carriers. Some things should be taken for granted. These include shared calendars (e.g. via Outlook) and a company wiki in which every employee can quickly find basic, non-project-related information.
Computer support of the WM is conceivable in various forms: starting with the explication of knowledge, through the collection, administration, automated evaluation and preparation of knowledge, to the distribution and mediation of content. Many different systems are or would be suitable to offer corresponding functionality; for example, financial accounting: accounting is undoubtedly an important source of knowledge about a company and its environment. Similarly, systems to support customer relationship management or even e-mail, cooperatively managed appointment calendars or personal directories can be used sensibly for WM.
