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Knowledge Management System Ultimate Guide

Knowledge is power and being able to apply it efficiently is essential to every business. However, knowledge workers spend hours every day just searching and merging information. Even then, they can often fail to find the information they need.

Lack of knowledge sharing practices can be costly. Research from IDC showed that Fortune 500 companies were losing an estimated $31.5 billion a year through poor sharing practices.

When companies struggle to find the information they need it has a considerable negative impact on productivity. So, how do you bridge the knowledge gap and improve sharing practices? This is where a Knowledge Management System (KMS) comes in.

What’s a Knowledge Management System?

Techopedia defines a knowledge management system as:

“a system for applying and using knowledge management principles. These include data-driven objectives around business productivity, a competitive business model, business intelligence analysis and more.”

Why Use a Knowledge Management System?

High-profile companies like the World Bank, Dow Jones, Ford and Pratt & Whitney all use a Knowledge Management System, but why would you want to introduce one to your organization?

There are multiple benefits in using a KMS. These include:

  • Better collaboration
  • Improved customer training and satisfaction
  • Enhanced productivity
  • Faster decision making
  • Standardization

As you know, all these factors can contribute to your company’s bottom line and make your business more organized and productive overall.

Different Types of Knowledge Management Systems

Even if you do not realize it, you are probably already familiar with a KMS. For instance, if you work in a large organization you might use an Intranet system. Other types of KMS include:

  • Content marketing
  • Business intelligence
  • Groupware systems
  • Project sharing facilities

What Are the Features of a Good Knowledge Management System?

The features of a KMS will vary from brand to brand, but there are some basic features that you should look for:

  • Ease of Use ─ a KMS that is intuitive and uncluttered will allow ease of navigation
  • Flexibility and Adaptability ─ as your business grows, strategies change and new staff come on board, you will want a system that is adaptable and flexible
  • Customization ─ ensure that the system is customizable to meet various staff needs and preferences

Some more specific common features of a Knowledge Management System include:

  • A central repository for storing documents and folders
  • Data protection and data recovery
  • Document management, importing and HTML editing
  • Encryption options
  • Prioritize requests
  • Create a searchable base for easy-to-access information
  • Subscriptions
  • Knowledge blocks
  • Analytics
  • Customized research
  • Search facility
  • FAQ section

The list above is not exhaustive as features vary with each KMS type. Whichever type of KMS system you choose, ensure that it is consistent with your strategy and company needs.

Conclusion

Finding answers and checking data are time-consuming tasks that can be costly in terms of productivity and efficiency.

However, a good Knowledge Management System offers answers to this problem by providing one central location to prioritize requests, access information and find answers.

SharpSpring’s platform automates repetitive marketing tasks with software designed to nurture sales leads, personalize marketing messages and content. This saves marketers time and effort. By automating these tasks, businesses can effectively send the right message to the right user at the right time. This then enables businesses to boost customer satisfaction, improve productivity and share content more easily.

To find out more, visit our website or schedule a demo today.

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