Simply put, knowledge management is “the process of identifying, organizing, storing and disseminating information within an organization” (IBM)
This may sound like it’s only something for big corporations and bureaucracies – all that paperwork and policy would just slow down a small, fast-moving business. Right?
Wrong. Effective management of knowledge is the foundation that helps small organizations get big. It’s what gets important instutional knowledge out of peoples’ heads, and into a format that everyone can access and use.
For small organizations, this can look like:
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documenting common inquiries and their responses
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developing checklists and templates
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instituting guidelines to ensure shared files are named and organized in a consistent way
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providing an onboarding package to new team members, and keeping relevant training materials accessible to all team members
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making as much information as you can available, up-todate and searchable on your website
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organizing this into a knowledge base, where team members can always find the information they need
This can benefit your business by:
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reducing customer wait times, and providing more effective and consistent assistance
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improving efficiency and reducing wasted time among team members
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preventing knowledge loss and maintaining organizational continuity
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allowing more seamless onboarding and scaling of teams
