According to Delphi Group, employees spend 7 to 20 percent of their time on the job replicating existing solutions for others.
Look at this issue from a customer support team perspective.
Let’s say you use Google Drive for file sharing. It quickly gets messy, especially when new agents come. Newcomers have 30-something files to read and remember, can’t promptly find the answers they need, and keep producing content instead of using existing ones. As a result, you react slowly, and your clients get angry.
How can you leverage knowledge continuity and quickly onboard new employees?
There’s a solution to tackle both these challenges — an internal knowledge base. It is a help center, or an internal wiki, with answers to all possible questions that your employees might have. It is like having an experienced colleague by your side all the time.
Why is an internal knowledge base important?
- Get employees on the same page. When something changes, you need to update it only once — in your KB (knowledge base) software. If you create a new response template, all agents will instantly have access to it.
- Scale the team quickly. Shared knowledge helps you speed up onboarding time and lower its costs. Instead of answering the same questions over and over again, you have a centralized place with the answers. And newbies don’t have to wait for you — the KB is available anytime.
- Improve communication and work efficiency. Having a single place with a company's workflows and procedures facilitates a decision-making process.
- Keep your data safe. An internal knowledge base will supply your employees with this data while keeping it private for everyone else.
If you’ve just realized how an internal KB can be of use in your company, it is the time to dive deeper into the options.
Choosing software to manage an internal knowledge base
There are tons of internal wiki solutions out there, such as Zendesk Guide. If you have yet to decide which internal knowledge base software to choose, we prepared a short checklist to help you make a better choice.
How to choose the best knowledge base software?
- Suitable for your needs. Companies are different, so define what kind of data you need to share with employees.
- Effective search function. Search helps your employees operate fast, for example, using the right tags or keywords. Define user roles, especially if procedures or other data are different for company leaders and most workers.
- Data security. Make sure the software provides a decent level of encryption and safety.
- Compatibility with other tools. If you already use the software, it will be easier to choose the help center option this vendor provides. No extra time and resources to build a knowledge base from scratch.
Now you have a clue about the content and features you will need. Of course, you can build such a system internally, but it will take a lot of time and resources. No wonder that so many software vendors offer ready-made solutions. And probably, your employees are struggling without data — so don’t make them wait for too long.
With a ready-to-use tool, all you need is just to start filling your KB with content. And one of the quickest ways to start is Zendesk Guide with its flexible customization. Zendesk is well-known for its customer service tools.
Why do we recommend Zendesk Guide for an internal knowledge base?
It’s quick to start and easy to customize. Remember, every company is different when it comes to workflows and procedures. Zendesk provides additional apps and services, which makes it so flexible. For example, by choosing a custom design, you define only the details and functions you need. You can make it neat with a ready-made theme and branding, or create a tailor-made solution for enterprises.
An internal knowledge base for Accenture created by Lotus Themes
At Lotus Themes, we will also help you match your internal knowledge base design with your brand identity and make the work experience seamless for your employees.
Want to speed up and improve knowledge sharing? Start the journey with a professional knowledge base theme that will cater to your needs and set the tone for content organization.
