10 Best Features for an Internal Knowledge Management Software
Milton Herman
In the Information Age, a person’s expertise is a type of intellectual capital. As a result, more businesses are investing in platforms to categorize and preserve internal knowledge.
What is an Internal Knowledge Management Tool?
Knowledge management refers to the processes used to deal with the knowledge found within a company. It deals with two types of knowledge: formal and tacit.
- Formal knowledge is knowledge that can be understood in a straightforward manner As a result, it can be transferred to others with ease. It includes anything that can be shared in written form, such as a manual, instructions, etc.
- Tacit knowledge is difficult to express and challenging to share with others. These kinds of abilities include innovative thinking, art appreciation, and interpreting body language.
Internal knowledge management software is used as a virtual library to store a company’s proprietary information, policies, procedures and more. Users can access the information on an as-needed basis. They can also distribute it to their work group. An internal knowledge base’s contents are not meant to be shared with those who are not employed by or associated with the company.
The company’s internal knowledge management system is a great place for the company to store its best practices, handbooks and guidelines. As a collaboration tool, it can also store information shared between departments to boost productivity.
Benefits of an Internal Company Knowledge Base System:
Why would you invest in knowledge management software? Here are a few reasons:
- A searchable online library makes it easy for employees to find information and is an effective way to share information within the company
- A centralized hub is a logical choice to encourage team collaboration
- A knowledge base also helps with onboarding new employees by giving them a virtual point of access to everything needed
- Finally, an internal system can lead to better governance of company data and internal intellectual capital
Knowledge Sharing – Insights, Applications & Best Practices
Knowledge Sharing: Collaborate, Innovate and Scale
10 Key Internal Knowledge Base Software Features
1. Fast-loading Information
According to a study conducted by Microsoft Corp., an individual’s attention span starts to wander after the eight-second mark. This is just shy of the nine-second attention span attributed to a goldfish! Internet users are accustomed to pages loading quickly and if the page with relevant information is slow to load, the viewer is likely to not have actionable insight. This defeats the purpose of trying to deploy a knowledge management system for team members to access.
Someone looking for a form, a manual, an in-house expert, or the answer to a question does not have minutes to wait. A team member working in customer service who needs to provide an answer to a question or a concern quickly is expected to have the required information at their fingertips – literally.
2. A Highly-effective Search Engine
A search engine’s effectiveness can be measured using its speed and the quality of its results.
The knowledge base solution’s search engine must perform well using misspelled words, two-word search terms instead of three, inexact phrases for search terms and more. It must sort through these types of partial search terms to produce the desired results rapidly. In other words, its algorithm must be sophisticated enough to make the connection between what the user types into the search box and what they are looking for.
3. Measure User Analytics and Provide Feedback
Unless the knowledge base software can measure user experience, executives and managers will be left in the dark without knowing who is using the company intranet, how often they are accessing it, and which pages they find most relevant. Even though the intranet is used for internal communication, it is helpful to think of team members as customers. What do they need to have a positive user experience?
- Content should be updated regularly.
- It should be easy for users to contact IT support directly from the knowledge base system.
- Company knowledge stored in the system should always be relevant and up-to-date.
Failing to provide these essentials means low “customer” satisfaction levels from users. Bounce rates for content will jump. Productivity may drop, too.
4. Employee Learning Center
The learning center can be used for multiple purposes. It can provide a single stop for documents, videos, and other resources to be used for onboarding new employees. Trainees can access everything they need to get started in one convenient place, including information about where to seek help, if needed.
This is also a place for posting training opportunities from different departments for employees. It can also be used to share information about educational and professional development opportunities for all staff. Post articles and information about the importance of continuing education to keep this topic on the minds of your team in the Learning Center. It’s often critical for employees to know that the company supports ongoing training, both from internal and external sources.
LumApps, the Employee Experience Platform
5. Communities of Practice
Communities of Practice allow team members to access the specific expertise their colleagues possess. This customizable community makes knowledge sharing among team members and across departments a much easier process.
The community can be focused on specific functions or areas of interest. It gives experts at your company a chance to showcase their various areas of expertise and mentor others.
Team members can access the Communities of Practice to collaborate with experts from all departments. They can ask questions about projects they are working on, share their experiences, and get help in solving issues. The experts are available to provide valuable feedback and support.
6. Video Center
A video can get a message across to a viewer in an interesting and entertaining manner. It can often be more effective than asking someone to read a block of text. A video grabs a viewer’s attention and holds it in a way that reading may fail to do. Consider using videos for onboarding and training tools, making announcements, and for educational purposes.
The Video Center keeps all of a company’s videos in one place. They can be hosted internally or you can link to them externally. To make the content easy to find for users, thumbnails or a list format can help.
7. Ideation Corner
The Ideation Corner is a place where a company can start its next change initiative. Team members can become part of the process by providing their thoughts and opinions. It is also a place for the following:
- Brainstorming for ideas around solving problems, better processes, or new products.
- Including opportunities for voting on and refining ideas currently under consideration.
By providing access to the Ideation Corner across devices, team members can share their ideas easily.
Knowledge Sharing – Insights, Applications & Best Practices
Knowledge Sharing: Collaborate, Innovate and Scale
9. User-friendly Text Editor
Not everyone is confident about their writing abilities and they may find it challenging to face a blank screen when asked to contribute something to share with others. To encourage participation, a text editor that is easy for them to use is important. The goal is to make this process comfortable for employees so they can focus on sharing their thoughts.
10. Security Protocols
It’s a given that companies must have stringent security in place for an internal knowledge base, since it is one of a company’s most valuable assets. The information it contains allows a team to work more independently, interact more meaningfully, and provide top-notch customer support.
Setting appropriate authentication and permissions for each team member so that they can access the documents and information they need to do their jobs is important, as is limiting access to sensitive information that should only be shared with authorized personnel.
Knowledge Sharing – Insights, Applications & Best Practices
Knowledge Sharing: Collaborate, Innovate and Scale
Internal knowledge management software is used as a virtual library to store a company’s proprietary information, policies, procedures and more. Users can access the information on an as-needed basis. They can also distribute it to their work group. An internal knowledge base’s contents are not meant to be shared with those who are not employed by or associated with the company.
- Fast-loading Information
- A Highly-effective Search Engine
- Measure User Analytics and Provide Feedback
- Employee Learning Center
- Communities of Practice
8. Social Employee Advocacy Platform
Employees can become valuable advocates for a business by sharing positive posts about the company on social media. Over time, they may want to write their own social media posts to share with their own followers. Their content becomes a way to promote your brand that feels natural and organic, since it comes from the “mouths” of employees.
When team members are encouraged to share what makes a company stand out from others, it is an effective strategy for boosting employee engagement. Team members also feel empowered, since they are doing something outside of the usual scope of their duties that influences the company’s operations, and ultimately its well-being.