Creating A Knowledge Base To Open Up Access To Organizational Knowledge
Most issues faced by founder-dependent businesses stem from the lack of accessible knowledge for employees. In fact, critical processes, historical insights, and operational know-how are rarely documented, often living in the founder's head, making them the only source of information. Therefore, the most important step in building a self-sufficient organization is to create a knowledge base where every important piece of information is easily accessible to those who need it. In this article, we'll guide you through the steps to develop a well-structured knowledge base that will support your workforce's growth and lay the foundation for an agile and successful organization.
Why Do You Need A Knowledge Base?
Creating a knowledge base is essentially a way to document, organize, and share information, ultimately making it easily accessible to the entire organization. But why is that important? In founder-dependent companies, which often lack an effective process of sharing information among various teams, it can make the difference between a thriving and failing organization. Here are some of the many reasons why you should seriously consider building a knowledge base for your organization:
- It makes information readily available at the moment of need.
- It distributes decision-making beyond the founder.
- It helps standardize critical processes, minimizing mistakes and oversights.
- It facilitates learning and collaboration across different teams.
- It reduces onboarding time for new hires.
- It prevents knowledge loss due to employee exits, organizational changes, or the founder's absence.
6 Steps To Create Your Own Knowledge Base
1. Identify Your Knowledge Base Goals
When deciding to build a knowledge base for your organization, it is crucial to understand the ultimate goals behind this initiative. Failing to set clear goals early on can lead to poor information collection and documentation or result in a knowledge management tool that is rarely used by employees, even if everything is done correctly.
The process of setting your ultimate goals starts with identifying current challenges. Consider the ways in which your organization is currently underperforming. Are employees frequently wasting time searching for information? Are mistakes repeated due to a lack of established processes? Once you know what you are struggling with, it will be easier to zero in on what you want to achieve, whether it's minimizing mistakes, reducing time to productivity for new hires, driving innovation, or enhancing learning efforts.
2. Decide What Knowledge Should Be Captured
Not all information is equally important or worth documenting. Therefore, the next step is to create an inventory of all existing knowledge assets, whether they are already documented or only exist in the founder's mind. The following are the principal categories you should focus on:
- Operational knowledge (processes, checklists, templates, tools, workflows, quality standards, etc.)
- Strategic knowledge (vision, mission, overarching objectives, KPIs, success criteria, etc.)
- Relational knowledge (high-value partnerships, stakeholder and client history, relationship management unwritten standard procedures, etc.)
- Cultural knowledge (communication expectations, unofficial rituals, team structures, and collaboration habits, etc.)
- Product and service knowledge (information on features, benefits, key selling points, common customer issues, etc.)
Once you have completed this inventory, it is crucial to pinpoint where all this information currently lives, if and how it flows between employees, and who is responsible for each process. Moreover, you should highlight knowledge gaps or redundancies, as well as important procedures that have not been documented at all.
3. Choose The Right Tools
At this point, you are ready to choose the right tool to ensure you effectively store, manage, update, and share information within your organization. Businesses use a wide variety of knowledge management tools, from simple knowledge bases and document management systems to more complex Learning Management Systems, collaboration tools, and AI-powered knowledge management systems.
Whatever you choose, it is essential to take a few factors into consideration. The ideal tool for achieving widespread adoption and maximum results must provide features such as searchability, straightforward editing and collaboration, integration with communication and project management tools, as well as multi-device accessibility. By carefully identifying the right solution for your business's needs, you can significantly enhance knowledge sharing and employee development.
4. Structure And Format Knowledge For Maximum Efficiency
The way you structure a knowledge base is crucial, especially given the vast amount of information it will contain. Establishing a logical and intuitive taxonomy will help employees easily find what they need, thereby making the knowledge base an integral part of their daily routines. To achieve this, you must establish clear categories and subcategories, tag consistently, decide on naming conventions for all files, and create links between related content.
Moreover, don't overlook how you will format information in the knowledge base. Employees should be able to get answers to their questions quickly, without having to sift through large blocks of text. Therefore, it is best to utilize microlearning articles, video tutorials, visual maps, checklists, playbooks, or scenario-based guides. You can also create templates for the most frequently used formats to streamline the development process. By following these steps, you can ensure that employees will consistently return to the knowledge base.
5. Establish A Knowledge Management System
It is not enough to simply create the knowledge base and then expect people to know how to use, maintain, and update it effectively. You must establish clear workflows and assign specific responsibilities for all processes related to your organization's knowledge documentation strategy. Specifically, it must be clear what type of knowledge must be captured, who will conduct regular content reviews, how quality is assured, how sensitive information will be handled, whether there will be a permissioning system, and how knowledge will be transferred after an employee's exit. Addressing all of these questions will help you transform knowledge management from a sporadic activity into a continuous process.
6. Drive Participation And Engagement
At this stage, the knowledge base has been created, those responsible for it understand their roles, and a process of continuous refinement has been put in place. All that is left is for employees to begin using it. But how can you foster engagement? Convincing employees about the benefits of establishing a knowledge-sharing culture goes beyond a technological upgrade; it also requires a cultural shift. For this reason, it is essential to involve managers and leaders in encouraging employees to not only use the knowledge base but also report back with feedback, both positive and negative. Reward employees who contribute to the knowledge base and highlight improvements that have come as a result of it. Additionally, incorporate the knowledge base into essential processes, such as onboarding, employee training, and decision-making. Finally, encourage leadership to set a good example by utilizing the knowledge base themselves.
Continuously Improving Your Knowledge Base
A comprehensive knowledge base can help you leave founder-dependency in the past and embrace a future of agility and self-sufficiency. However, to ensure the success of your knowledge base, it is essential to continuously evaluate and improve it. Collect feedback from employees to identify areas for enhancing usability, refining taxonomy, or determining which information can be added in the future. Updating and replacing content will be a common occurrence, so staying on top of your knowledge management system is essential. You can also evaluate the progress you have made so far and compare it with the goals you set at the beginning of the process. By following these steps, you can ensure that your knowledge base grows and evolves with your organization, remaining as valuable as it was when it was first created.
