Every company eventually hits a point where the influx of new hires rises, while the experienced “old hands” leave at the least opportune time. Fortunately, with ongoing knowledge transfer processes and training opportunities, a company can scale smoothly and maintain its workflow no matter the unexpected staff changes. In contrast, struggling to communicate critical information across teams and maintain a culture of knowledge sharing can seriously impact the efficiency of entire departments.
In this article, we’ll explore how learning and development (L&D) professionals can prioritize knowledge sharing opportunities to enhance team collaboration, boost productivity, and ensure valuable insights are accessible across the organization.
What Makes Knowledge Sharing a Key Priority for L&D?
Knowledge sharing is the organized process of exchanging training materials, checklists, instructions, and best practices within a company that ensures that valuable insights are documented and available to everyone who needs them. According to a Nintex study on the corporate processes in the U.S., almost one-half of employees face problems with locating and sharing documents, while 55% of new hires find it difficult to access the tools and documents that enable good job performance.
In business, the true power of knowledge can only be harnessed if it’s shared effectively. Yet, critical expertise is often locked away in the minds of a few long-tenured employees, and when they leave, so does the knowledge. Having a centralized knowledge base can bring numerous benefits to both employees and their organizations. These benefits can include:
1. Improved employee productivity.
Companies can lose a lot in cost and productivity when employees spend valuable working hours searching for essential information and documents needed to complete their tasks, ending up feeling frustrated. A strong knowledge-sharing culture makes processes more effective.
With instant access to a well-organized knowledge base, employees can focus more on their core responsibilities. Additionally, they can easily troubleshoot issues on their own without getting stuck waiting for peer help, which keeps work moving forward and can reduce project delays.
2. Smooth new hire onboarding experience.
The biggest stress for new hires is usually associated with navigating unfamiliar processes and the lack of support during the first few months. A single knowledge base can alleviate much of this initial uncertainty and stress by providing easy access to all the information they need from day one.
Instead of relying solely on overburdened managers or colleagues for information, new employees can self-serve to find the answers they need. This autonomy not only increases their confidence but also accelerates their learning process, making them productive members of the team faster.
3. Information consistency across the company.
When information is communicated verbally or stored in local repositories by individual employees, maintaining consistency across the company becomes nearly impossible. Imagine the sales team using outdated product information in client meetings while the marketing team has the most recent updates.
Such inconsistencies can cause confusion and misunderstandings and damage the company’s credibility. With a knowledge base, you can make sure that everyone, from sales to marketing to customer support, has access to the same accurate and up-to-date information. This reduces the risk of errors and helps align team efforts.
4 Steps To Creating an Internal Company Knowledge Base
To break away from information silos, check out these four simple steps that will help you promote knowledge sharing culture and strengthen team collaboration in your company:
1. Gather frequently used resources.
Start by compiling materials various departments frequently use. The key is to avoid documenting everything, as this can lead to unnecessary work and overwhelm employees with excessive guidelines, making it harder to find the essential ones. Interview employees across different teams to understand which processes typically cause confusion and identify those that aren’t documented yet.
For example, talking with sales reps might reveal the need for a guide on handling common client objections, which can help them close deals faster. Gather existing documents and guides and create additional instructions as needed. This initial step will help you create a purpose-driven, relevant knowledge base that employees will actually use.
2. Find the optimal storage solution.
Once you’ve gathered all the essential resources, the next step is to decide where you’re going to store them. Technically, any cloud service that allows you to share files can act as a knowledge base. While it may seem easiest initially, storing all materials in tools like Google Drive will inevitably lead to difficulties with file organization, navigation and access permissions.
That’s why it’s better to invest in specialized software like a learning management system (LMS) that can provide secure, 24/7 access to all resources employees may need right at their fingertips.
Some LMSs allow you to create an easy-to-use content hierarchy, for example, by organizing materials into spaces dedicated to a particular department, project or topic. Within spaces, you can create folders and upload PDF, DOCX, XLS, and PPT files that employees can find by key terms using a convenient search bar. There’s also an opportunity to attach links to other content items or web resources.
Also, with an LMS, you can set up flexible access permissions to not only prevent the public from accessing your company’s confidential information, but also choose which employees will be able to view or edit a specific space, folder, or document.
3. Encourage internal SMEs to share their expertise.
Make populating the internal knowledge base a shared responsibility. Every department or team has knowledge owners — seasoned employees who possess in-depth expertise in their specific areas. Ask them to contribute at least one piece of instruction they’d like to share with their peers.
To support quick knowledge sharing, some LMSs include built-in tools that allow SMEs to create well-structured, visually appealing articles directly on the platform. This way, you’ll encourage a healthy exchange of ideas, break down the barriers that lead to employees’ reluctance to share knowledge and recognize and reward your internal contributors.
4. Ensure your knowledge base is always up-to-date.
Creating and maintaining a knowledge base is an ongoing activity rather than a one-time project. Having outdated instructions can be worse than not having them at all, as they can lead to mistakes and confusion.
Devote time to regularly review the content to ensure it stays relevant and accurate. Often, the easiest and most effective way is to assign someone to own this process — a responsible person in each department or team who will manage their space or a specific folder in the knowledge base.
Regular updates will help you ensure the knowledge base remains a dynamic, evolving tool that meets the changing needs of your organization, keeping employees informed and effective in their roles.
Final Thoughts
Every team member possesses unique knowledge that, collectively, forms your company’s most valuable asset. The biggest challenge is transforming this scattered knowledge into a well-organized, centralized system that supports entire teams in their daily tasks.
