Knowledge management systems were created to help businesses and organizations share important information internally and externally. While knowledge management systems have been around for a while now, they are becoming increasingly essential as organizations adapt to remote or virtual work environments.
According to FindStack, 85% of managers believe that remote work will soon become the new norm. While this has many advantages and disadvantages, having a knowledge management system is crucial to keep information flowing internally, especially if your employees are not all within the same physical location.
Why knowledge management is important.
A knowledge base keeps and retrieves a company’s “knowledge” which can be used by internal team members or external customers. A common advantage of having a well-made knowledge management system is to help customers and employees find solutions to problems they’re having using your organization’s tools or software, or other solutions. Having an online database can help your customers understand why they are having problems and better use the tools or solutions you provide.
Now that we have clearly outlined what a knowledge management system is and why it’s essential, let’s look at why it fails and how to prevent that from happening for your business.
Poor implementation.
Poor implementation is one of the most common reasons knowledge management systems fail. Implementing a knowledge management system means more than just creating a repository of information. You must implement your knowledge management system in a way that is easy for users internally and externally to access important information.
If you are implementing an entirely new IT solution, make sure everyone within your company or organization knows why this solution will help them do their job better and how they can benefit from having access to this type of information.
This also means training employees on using the tools provided by your knowledge management system before expecting any actual results from its implementation.
Using a high-quality knowledge management platform like Capacity can significantly improve your organization’s ability to implement the knowledge management system effectively.
Capacity has a clean interface that allows for easy adoption, so your team can seamlessly implement a new process with ease.
No cultural buy-in.
Another common reason knowledge management systems fail is a lack of cultural buy-in. This means that employees may not see the value in using a knowledge management system or may feel that it is an intrusive system that will get in the way of their work.
One way to overcome this challenge is to ensure that employees are involved in the design and implementation of the knowledge management system. You can also promote the benefits of using a knowledge management system and ensure that everyone understands its use.
When looking for a knowledge management system, make sure it has online support. If employees get frustrated while using the system, they can reach out to a support agent for guidance. They will be much more likely to use the system if help is readily available.
Capacity offers online chat support, call support, and a written database for supporting their customers. This makes it incredibly easy for clients to get the assistance they need.
No owner or dedicated team.
The third reason why knowledge management systems fail is that an organization has no owner or dedicated team in charge of implementing and creating the system. Having a dedicated team is key for the success of a knowledge management system. This helps make sure that there is someone responsible for ensuring that the system remains up-to-date and relevant.
It’s also essential to have an owner who can be held accountable if the system fails to meet its objectives. To overcome this challenge, you need to identify a leader within your organization who will be responsible for overseeing the knowledge management system and make sure that the team has adequate resources to be successful.
Outdated content.
The final reason why knowledge management systems fail is the content becomes outdated and isn’t updated regularly. Outdated content can lead to a lack of trust in the system, which can cause employees or customers to avoid using it.
You can mitigate this risk by encouraging your employees to edit existing content when they update their information. Set distinct guidelines for updating outdated information to help keep the knowledge base current with new changes within your business.
Having a dedicated team responsible for the system is another excellent way to ensure the knowledge management system is up to date and relevant. With one or a select group of individuals managing the system, information will be kept up-to-date for users.
How Capacity can prevent your knowledge management system from failing.
Knowledge management systems are essential for any business or organization that wants to make the most of its internal knowledge. However, these systems often fail due to several common reasons.The best way to avoid these failures is by ensuring that your knowledge management system is well-implemented, has cultural buy-in from employees, and is overseen by a dedicated team.
Capacity is an AI-powered support automation platform that connects your entire tech stack to answer questions, automate repetitive support tasks, and build solutions to any business challenge. With a dynamic knowledge base, Capacity can help internal and external teams find information within seconds.
Teams are overwhelmed by questions and repetitive tasks. Capacity provides everything you need to automate support and business processes in one powerful platform. Capacity’s low-code platform, accessible through conversational AI, enables graceful human handoffs and intuitive task management via a powerful workflow automation suite, robust developer platform, and flexible database that can be deployed anywhere.