Starting a business or your own company comes with its own set of struggles. It's not just about having the right equipment and employees only.
To keep the wheels turning, you need strategies, employee training, workflows, and SOPs to ensure consistency and a smooth operation of all business activities. That means your processes and workflows must be uniform and smooth, so your employees can work at their maximum potential.
That's where the knowledge management portal comes in. Let's find out what it is and how it helps organizations streamline their SOPs and the workforce.
What is a Knowledge Management Portal?
A knowledge management portal is a tool that converts data and information into action. It is a web-based program that centralizes organizational knowledge so employees can work efficiently and access the same information across the board.
The portal benefits both internal and external stakeholders of a company:
Internal Stakeholders: Customer support team, knowledge managers, content creators, etc.
External Stakeholders: Board members, users, prospective clients, etc.
Types of Knowledge Management Portal
Photo by Syd Wachs on Unsplash
The distinction between the types of KMP is based on the kind of people it helps or supports. So, there's an external knowledge base for the external stakeholders of the business and an internal base for the employees and managers, etc.
1. External Knowledge Base
An external knowledge base can be accessed by customers, board members, or prospects. It usually has how-to guides about the company's products and services or other issues that users may have with the product.
Thus, it works as a customer support platform and troubleshoots their problems without having them contact the support staff for help. So, it's a way to make the process more efficient and saves time for both the customers and the support staff.
2. Internal Knowledge Base
The internal knowledge management portal benefits the employees, management, and internal teams. It works as a platform for knowledge exchange and access, so the employees have updated information readily accessible when needed.
Senior management can also use the same information to make decisions. In addition, most KMP software can be accessed via phones too.
3. Hybrid Knowledge Management Portal
Some systems serve both external as well as internal stakeholders of a company. The platform has two sides; one set is for internal use, while the other is for external users.
How to Create the Best Knowledge Management Portal?
Photo by Eli Francis on Unsplash
A successful knowledge management system should support the following:
Collaboration
Powerful search
Integration
All these factors should align with the company's systems and improve the overall business operations.
Next, you need good software. Some of the best software include:
Document360
ProProfs Knowledge Base
Zendesk
Scribe
Minerva Knows
HelpSpace
Here's how you can build the best knowledge management portal.
Knowledge Base Template
Many knowledge base templates come with built-in headers, tables of contents, subheaders, etc. You can change the categories per your requirements and add other information for your employees and stakeholders.
If you want to customize the template, you can add your brand logo, image, and name. These templates are usually quite flexible and can be updated later on as well easily.
Content/Data
Next, you need to put the content or data in the template. First, make broad categories in the template and add related content. Then, you can type it in yourself or save time and import documents and presentations where possible.
User Roles
Remember that creating a knowledge management portal is not a job for a single person or department. You need input from all departments and all teams. However, that doesn't mean letting everyone work on the portal at once.
You need to define roles and responsibilities, so everyone knows what they must do. Otherwise, it'll become a hotchpotch of data that wouldn't benefit anyone.
Say, some members can be given the role of data collectors. They can be responsible for research, collection, and for making entries. The top tier can be the administrator(s) for overseeing the activities of your knowledge management portal.
This way, only the senior management will be allowed to make entries and changes in the system, and the whole process will be streamlined and efficient.
Information Review
For the system to work its best, you must ensure that all the information entered is correct and reliable. Since you will have customers on board, too, the slightest error on your part (including spelling and grammatical mistakes) could change the way they view your company.
Create an information review strategy and assign the role to specific members of the organization. For instance, every department can have a review team that checks the accuracy of the contents in the knowledge management portal periodically.
Feedback
Feedback from your customers and in-house team is crucial to see how your portal is doing. Is it beneficial for the stakeholders? Are there any glitches that need to be fixed?
Be open to suggestions and feedback. Allow them to speak and suggest ways to improve the system via your knowledge management portal feedback forms.
Update
The thing about the knowledge management portal is that it constantly needs to be updated. Review and update it regularly so employees and customers can get current and reliable information that's useful for them.
Challenges in Creating a Knowledge Management Portal
You might come across some challenges when creating a knowledge management portal. Here are some of them.
Getting your team on board with the new technology and promoting adaptability across the board
Getting rid of the outdated systems, you no longer need
Factoring in customer needs and requirements at every point
Weak organizational decisions and strategies without consideration of the end users
Benefits of a Knowledge Management Portal
With the best KMP in place, you give the entire organization access to the correct, reliable, and updated information 24/7. So it's easy to share, exchange, and employ it for efficient workflows.
According to research, 49% of employees have trouble finding important files and documents. In addition, 43% have trouble sharing data and documents with others, so having a streamlined system will surely benefit your people.
Moreover, since over 88% of people anticipate the company they go to will have a self-service support system, having a KMP is a must today. Some notable benefits of a knowledge management portal include the following:
Easy access to critical information and employee self-training at their convenience
Reliable, accurate, and consistent information available for both internal and external entities
Data organization into categories
Allows easy and seamless collaboration among stakeholders
Improves and strengthens the standard operating procedures
Increases communication across departments and amongst stakeholders
Serves as a self-service platform for users to access all information related to products and services
Bottom Line
A knowledge management portal is a comprehensive tool or platform where all employees, teams, departments, members of the board, and end users collaborate and find important information about the company.
If created right, it can be a real asset for the business, with everything from manuals, SOPs, guidelines, etc., available just a few clicks away for all stakeholders. To reap the most benefits, invest in a fast and functional tool for creating your KMP.
Cover Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash
