Knowledge base benefits

Does your company rely on a shared drive to store and manage all the data needed for your tasks? 

Are you depending on a mix of emails, OneDrive, and Google Drive to disseminate your company's knowledge? Perhaps you're piecing together an intranet using Google Sites for sharing crucial organizational files? If this resonates with you, perhaps it's time to consider transitioning to making use of knowledge base software.

For medium to enterprise-level companies that haven't yet established their own internal knowledge base, potential challenges may arise.

Here's why...

Research conducted by McKinsey reveals that the average worker spends approximately 20 percent of their work time searching for pertinent internal information or seeking assistance from colleagues on specific issues. The study also suggests that having a searchable knowledge base can reduce the time employees spend searching for company-related information by up to 35 percent! 

Let's consider this scenario:

If your employee works for 8 hours a day, then they spend at least 1.6 hours per day searching for the necessary information to complete their tasks. 

That amounts to 8 hours per week for each employee!

Let’s say you have 50 employees: 8×50 = 400 HOURS/week.

That’s 1,600 HOURS/month and 19,200 HOURS/year!!

(You don’t even need a calculator to calculate this).

And that’s based only on the time a single employee spends while searching for the information, the time of other employees who will have to interact with the ones who need help is not even calculated!

So, in reality, the number of spent hours on this kind of interaction is doubled or tripled! That’s a LOT of time and a LOT of money.

Now, let's revisit the second part of the McKinsey research finding:

The research further implies that a searchable record of knowledge can reduce the time employees spend searching for company-related information for up to 35 percent!

To understand the implications of this in a tangible way, consider this: 35% of 19,200 hours equates to 6,720 hours per year.  Indeed, that's the potential time savings for a company with 50 employees. This represents a significant opportunity to improve efficiency and productivity

7 Major Benefits of Using Internal Knowledge Base Software

Here are just a few of the considerable benefits of implementing internal knowledge base software within your organization. 

Benefit #1: Fewer Assumptions, More Confidence

People generally prefer self-service when it comes to finding answers to their questions.

A knowledge base empowers employees to find their answers independently. This can be particularly beneficial for new employees who may feel uncomfortable asking too many questions

Of course, you will always have a reason to communicate with other employees, but, this communication should be beyond trivial questions that need to be asked and answered again and again.

Benefit #2: Better Collaboration & Employee Engagement Leading to Better Efficiency

Improving internal communication aids in knowledge sharing, which in turn improves employee engagement. 

Numerous studies show that better internal communication improves engagement, and improved employee engagement boosts productivity. Despite this, only 25% of businesses have a defined strategy for improving employee engagement. 

While services like Slack or Basecamp may already be used for internal communication, a knowledge base can reduce repetitive communication where senior employees have to repeat answers over and over

Benefit #3: Better Employee Onboarding

Even when bringing on experienced personnel familiar with their role's technical aspects, it's crucial to have a robust orientation and onboarding process to smoothly integrate your new employee into your company culture, team, and product.  

As your hiring activities intensify to the point where new hires are joining on a weekly basis, traditional onboarding methods, such as disseminating company information via email and fielding repetitive requests for additional information, can burden your HR team.

Simplify this process by compiling all essential onboarding information in a knowledge base that new employees can access and navigate at their own speed. This approach not only streamlines the employee onboarding process but also empowers new hires to self-serve the information they need, enhancing their onboarding experience. 

Benefit #4: Reduced Employee Training Time

In industries such as SaaS, where the workforce operates and interacts virtually from various global locations, online training becomes a necessity. 

Given that employees will be onboarded incrementally rather than all at once, conducting individual training sessions using tools like Skype or TeamViewer can consume a considerable amount of time. 

By leveraging an internal knowledge base, this entire employee training process can be expedited and enriched with resources such as videos and images. This integration allows learning to become a seamless part of everyday activities, as needed.

Benefit #5: Better Customer Support

How many times have you been held on a customer support call, convinced that the representative had to seek assistance from colleagues to resolve your issue.

Even the best customer support employees with plenty of technical knowledge will need to consult additional resources from time to time.

An internal knowledge base stocked with relevant technical information can greatly improve this process, making your customer support operations more efficient and less chaotic. The result is time and cost savings and a notable improvement in customer support quality.

Benefit #6: Higher Customer Satisfaction

Unquestionably, better employee engagement and better team collaboration lead to a more efficient work environment.

This boost in efficiency translates into superior customer service and effective customer support, ultimately enhancing customer satisfaction and reducing churn rates. 

And what’s more important for your business than customer satisfaction?

Happy customers often become brand ambassadors, bringing in more clientele based on their positive experiences. According to a study by American Express, a satisfied customer has the potential to bring in up to nine additional customers based on their positive experience with your company.

Benefit #7: Investing For the Future

At its core, a knowledge base serves as a repository for storing, accessing, and searching knowledge. Once you've captured this knowledge, it becomes a valuable asset. 

In the fast-paced world of business, the one constant you can possess is knowledge. Your business might undergo changes in name, goals, or even cease to exist, but the knowledge you accumulate remains invaluable. As never before, knowledge has become the ultimate currency.  

While you can't and shouldn't try to retain all the knowledge your employees possess, you can capture that knowledge, store it, and make it accessible to everyone in your company for use and enhancement. This process is vital to your business's growth and success, and to achieve it, sooner or later, you'll need to build your own internal knowledge base.

Securing Your Competitive Edge: The Power of Knowledge

The implementation of an internal knowledge base is more than just a practical tool; it's a strategic investment that can catalyze profound improvements across your organization. 

From fostering confidence and collaboration among your team members to reducing training time and enhancing customer support, a knowledge base is a powerhouse of benefits. It paves the way for increased customer satisfaction and allows you to safeguard the most important asset in today's rapidly evolving business landscape: knowledge.  

A well-curated knowledge base transforms the wisdom and experiences of your team into a searchable, accessible repository that empowers every individual in your organization. By doing so, it doesn't just improve operational efficiency; it also creates a culture of continuous learning and growth.  In a world where knowledge is the ultimate currency, building your own internal knowledge base isn't a luxury—it's a necessity. 

Don't let your valuable insights and experiences slip away. Start investing in your knowledge base today with a free 14-day trial of our knowledge base software, and secure your competitive edge for tomorrow.

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