When employees have all the relevant, updated, and accurate information at their disposal, they are likely to be more productive and satisfied with their jobs. After all, knowledge is power.
A study by McKinsey indicates that employees engaged in interactions dedicate approximately 28% of their workweek and around 20% to locating internal information or colleagues who can assist with their tasks.
Empowering these employees with an internal knowledge base ensures valuable information is readily available. This centralized repository for information helps them resolve customer issues faster, share ideas and save for future reference.
We’ll define what they are, learn the advantages, and offer tips for establishing a centralized information repository within your organization.
What is an internal knowledge base?
An internal knowledge base is a centralized self-service platform for all sorts of company information, for easy access by employees.
This type of knowledge base includes information such as the company policies, standard operating procedures (SOPs), comprehensive product or service details, employee onboarding guides, troubleshooting guides, and more.
The main purpose of integrating an internal knowledge base is to empower employees to get self-service solutions quickly.
Benefits of using internal knowledge base software
Establishing an internal knowledge base tool offers numerous advantages beyond enhancing organizational efficiency.
Let’s look at why an internal knowledge base is key for your business.
Facilitates the onboarding process
A well-organized internal knowledge base tool facilitates the process of getting new employees up to speed, solving problems, and improving their experience.
It gives reference tools for easy teaching and lowers the heavy tasks of the senior customer service team in the senior position.
Enhances productivity
Whenever employees need any information, they can easily search through an internal knowledge base for what they need.
Getting quick solutions saves them time and allows them to focus on more urgent tasks that need their attention.
Fosters a teamwork culture
An internal knowledge base acts as a central repository of information for support agents to easily share ideas and best practices, access information for references easily, and ensure everyone stays aligned with the shared goal.
Enhances the ability to make decisions
An internal knowledge base tool enhances organizational results by growing your customer service agents with the information they need to address customer concerns quickly and confidently.
Employees can also refer to the knowledge base for company policies and guidelines, ensuring they have the right information before making important decisions.
Encourages quick and easy resolution of technical problems
According to a Panopto study, 81% of employees get irritated when they can’t find the information they need to do their jobs well.
Customer service agents can quickly identify and fix technical problems with the internal knowledge base.
They can refer to the troubleshooting guides or FAQ page for possible solutions and resolve the customer issue in a short period.
Additionally, the agents can publish and share the solutions as guides so that others can use it in future and ensure consistency.
Promotes knowledge retention
Establishing an internal knowledge base enables the company to leverage the insights and experiences of departing employees.
This tool also ensures that confidential company information remains secure, even when staff members exit the organization.
What features should be in an internal knowledge base?
Each business has unique priorities when developing its knowledge base. Here are the key features to consider.
- Generative AI content creation Create detailed knowledge base articles with AI Assist, translating them into multiple languages for a global reach. Enhance SEO with suggested meta descriptions and titles to boost search engine ranking.
- Search functionality: Optimize your search tool to allow users to navigate through the pages and articles quickly.
- Security: Keep all company information well protected to ensure only authorized employees have access to it. Include key security tools such as roles and permissions, access control, password policies and more.
- Integration: What additional apps or tools would you like to integrate with your self help software for a smoother workflow? To facilitate an efficient workflow, consider the your software’s integration potential with the specific apps or tools you use.
How to create an internal knowledge base
Creating an internal knowledge base involves more than just gathering information; it’s about ensuring every team member can easily access, use, and benefit from it. Below are essential steps to guide you.
Identify the needs of your customers
A practical knowledge base begins with profoundly understanding your users’ requirements.
By conducting a team survey, you can pinpoint what employees struggle to find the most and include that information in the KB.
Set clear goals
Having a clear goal is key to your business journey. Start by writing down your visions to ensure your actions match your desired outcomes.
Consider your audience to identify specific objectives. These might include managing support tickets, cutting costs, and improving satisfaction.
Proper goals will boost your efforts and lead to a rewarding experience.
Create a knowledge base team
Before you start drafting the content to include in your knowledge base, build a team of experts.
Start with content writers, growth hacking team, website team, editors and more.
An effective team will ensure the information is always relevant, up-to-date and of good quality.
Provide a robust search function
Strong search features, such as dynamic search engines and keyword optimization, can analyze a knowledge base’s usefulness.
Fast information access greatly improves the customer experiences. Adding customer tags and metadata can help facilitate information gathering and improve search efficiency even more.
Enhance your content with impactful visuals
An internal knowledge base without visuals is dull and lifeless, much like a book lacking illustrations.
According to a study conducted by Student-Circuit, visual learning is 83% more effective than text alone because it’s easier to absorb and remember.
Utilize text, photos, and videos to create an immersive and educational knowledge base to improve the self-service experience by explaining procedures and embracing different learning styles.
Present your information in a clear and organized manner
The effectiveness of a knowledge base software relies on how easily users can find the information they need.
Create the interface to be simple. Also, optimize the search option. Categorize the content and follow a specific pattern.
Collect feedback and assess content effectiveness
Measure employee engagement metrics to know the performance of your internal knowledge base.
Ask employees about the challenges they face when navigating the self-service resources. Collect all the possible suggestions to improve.
Consider its scalability
Scalability impacts your ability to grow in the future and change to meet evolving needs. Issues with rigid software can arise for both clients and staff.
Your software must grow with your business to accommodate an expanding staff and rising content requirements.
Tips to choose the best private knowledge base software
Choosing the right internal knowledge base software is essential for successful knowledge sharing and management. During your selection process, bear the following points in mind.
- Identify integration abilities: Integrating your knowledge management system with other applications like CRMs, project management tools, and communication platforms should be simple.
- Consider the search capabilities: Include a search feature in your internal repository to easily get the information you need within a short time. Use search capabilities like tags, filters, predictions, autofill and utilize AI to optimize the search process.
- Examine its security and compliance: Implement security measures that control access to sensitive data.
- Ready-to-use templates: Build your knowledge base quickly and effectively with pre-designed knowledge base article templates, which offer a robust framework for the whole procedure.
- Utilize the built-in reports: Make well-informed decisions for continuous improvement with the help of valuable reports, which offer essential insights into the function of your internal knowledge base. Use knowledge base metrics to identify areas to improve.
Best internal knowledge base examples
1. BoldDesk
BoldDesk offers a comprehensive knowledge base software that supports both internal and external customers.
It’s internal knowledge base has powerful tools such as advanced search function, top-level security features, multimedia support, version control, AI support and more.
All these features ensure employees can easily create, share, publish and manage information.
Top Features
- User-friendly editor: Create, edit, and manage knowledge-based articles without coding expertise.
- Multilanguage support: Connect with a global audience by offering content in multiple languages.
- Powerful search and analytics features: Utilize advanced search features and analyze users’ behavior to optimize content.
- Collaboration tools: Enables multiple agents to work on a single article at once for team-based knowledge creation.
- AI-powered features: Leverage AI for features like content suggestions and auto-summarization.
- Branding and customization: Customize the knowledge base appearance to match your brand and website design.
- Content organization: Organize articles into categories and subcategories for better navigation and searchability.
- Custom templates: Empower agents to create and post content quickly and be more innovative with knowledge base article templates.
- Article performance tracking: Gauge article engagement via views, likes, dislikes, and comments with integrated performance tracking.
- Unlimited articles: Generate unlimited knowledge-based AI articles on various brands and products.
- Roles and permissions: Maintain the integrity and security of the information stored within your knowledge base.
- SEO and social-friendly tools: Enhance your help center materials for improved search engine visibility and social media engagement.
BoldDesk pricing
BoldDesk is a friendly, knowledge-based software that saves costs for every user. Startups can enjoy free access to BoldDesk for an entire year at no cost.
- Scale: $12/agent/month
- Momentum: $25/agent/month
- Enterprise: $39/agent/month
Team-Based plans:
Includes flat-rate prices starting at:
- Scale: $49/ month for 10 agents
- Momentum: $129/ month for 10 agents
- Enterprise: $199/ month for 10 agents
- Essential: $799 per month
- Pro: $1999 per month
- Business: Contact us
Free trial: Enjoy a 15-day trial at no cost, with immediate access, no credit card requirement, and the option to cancel in case there is a need.
Contact BoldDesk’s support team or arrange a 30-minute live demo to see how our knowledge base software can effectively meet your needs.
2. Confluence
Confluence is a documentation tool that enhances knowledge sharing within organizations. It integrates with other Atlassian products, such as Jira, offering a holistic project management solution.
Key Features
- Search and navigation
- User roles and permissions
- Ready-made templates
- Reporting and analytics
- Collaborative team editing
Pricing
- Free $0 for up to 10 users (monthly subscription)
- Standard $6.05/agent/month
- Premium $11.55/agent/month
- Enterprise Contact Atlassian
Free trial duration: 7 days
3. Notion
Notion is a versatile tool that enables users to create, manage, and organize content within a customizable workspace.
It utilizes a block-based system, allowing users to integrate different types of content blocks—including text, images, databases, tasks, and more—on a single page.
Designed for teamwork, Notion offers real-time editing and commenting capabilities.
Key Features
- Branding and personalization
- Collaboration and sharing options
- Role Management and permissions
- Tailorable templates
- Reporting and analytical tools
Pricing
- Free $0/month, limited blocks for teams
- Plus $8/user/month
- Business $15/users/month
- Enterprise Contact Notion
4. Helpjuice
Helpjuice has a knowledge base software that allows businesses to create, share and manage information for internal use.
It has an affordable pricing plan with a user-friendly interface.
Key Features
- Intuitive user interface
- Advanced search capabilities
- Collaborative content development and management
- Analytics and reporting tools
Pricing
- Starter $120 per month up to 4 users
- Run up $200 per month up to 16 users
- Premium limited $289 per month up to 60 users
- Unlimited $659 per month for unlimited users
Free trial: 14 days
Begin building your internal knowledge base today
The internal knowledge base software you implement for your team determines their overall productivity. You can empower your employees to create and share knowledge internally for quick issue resolution.
We recommend BoldDesk as your team’s companion when it comes to a simple yet powerful internal knowledge base software.
You can reach out to our support team for any inquiries. Please feel free to leave a comment below.
Related articles
