There are a lot of components which make a business run properly. Knowledge management is one of those key pieces. Knowledge Management has a variety of definitions, but I like the way Ron Young, CEO/CKO of Knowledge Associates International, put it, “Knowledge Management is the discipline of enabling individuals, teams and entire organisations to collectively and systematically create, share and apply knowledge, to better achieve their objectives”.
There are a few integral parts of knowledge management (KM) that you need to have as a part of your KM system. Check out this article from UC Berkeley for those components.
Another important step in KM is generating new knowledge. You need a base of knowledge, but that base needs to expand in order to stay up to date.
Have a system where knowledge is easily found and managed. You can follow all the step and memorize all of the components of KM, but if you don’t have an exceptional Knowledge Management System, none of the above matters.
Knowledge Management solutions empower customers and service professionals with a comprehensive repository of customer information and issue solutions. PhaseWare provides easy access to information from the knowledgebase, product briefs, FAQs, downloads, peer service, etc. The key catalysts of our KM solution include support desk automation and self-service option, therefore providing faster service cycle times. All of these components in a knowledge management system will improve your customer service and make you more efficient.
Do you use a Knowledge Management System? Does it work for your business?
Further Reading: Here is another blog with some in-depth KM information!