What is a knowledge management system? | monday.com Blog

A knowledge management system (KMS) is an IT platform that helps you get the right knowledge to the right people, at the right time. These ... SkiptomaincontentSkiptofooterWhatisaknowledgemanagementsystem?Plus,howtochoosetherightoneforyourorganizationAllofusatmonday.comJul2ExplorearticletopicsKnowledgeandcollaborationareessentialforanyorganization.Whenyourteammatesandclientshavemoreinformationathand,they’reabletoworksmarterandmoreefficiently.Knowledgemanagementsystemscomewithpowerfulfeaturestoenableinternalandexternalknowledgetransitionandcollaboration.Intoday’sguide,we’llshowyoueverythingyouneedtoknowaboutknowledgemanagementsystems,aswellasthecriteriayouneedtoselectoneforyourbusiness.Whatisaknowledgemanagementsystem?Aknowledgemanagementsystem(KMS)isanITplatformthathelpsyougettherightknowledgetotherightpeople,attherighttime.Thesesystemshelpyoustoreandtransmitinformationinawaythat’salignedwiththestrategicobjectivesofyourorganization.Knowledgemanagementisacompletepracticethatinvolvescategorizinginformationtoachievespecificgoals—andknowledgemanagementsystemshelpyoudoitmoreefficiently.AKMSbenefitsmultiplepartiesinanorganization,including:External:prospects,users,boardmembers,andotherstakeholdersInternal: knowledgemanagers,contentcreators,customersupportteam,andanyotherteaminyourorganizationWhydoesyourorganizationneedaKMS?WhenyouadoptaKMS,younolongerhaveisolatedinformation,butallyourknowledgeservesaspecificpurpose.Forexample:educatingemployees,answeringcustomerquestions,standardizingorganizationalprocesses,andsecuringinformationincaseakeyemployeeleavestheteam.(ImageSource)Thestagesoftheknowledgemanagementcycle,workingtogether,helpyouturndisparateknowledgeandinformationintoastructuredsystemtotrain,inform,andhelpemployeesandcustomers.Bycategorizingknowledge,yourcustomersandemployeescanmorefullyunderstandyourprocesses,products,services,andculture.Forexample,let’ssaythatyou’reasupportagentandacustomerisstrugglingwithacertainfeature.Inthiscase,aknowledgemanagementsystemwouldn’tonlyhelpyoufindasolutionmuchfaster,butit’llalsocontributetothesystembydocumentinghowyousolvedtheissue.Thisway,futureagentswouldbeabletosolvesimilarproblemsmoreefficiently.Yoursystemcouldeveninformfutureproductdevelopment,sonewiterationsdidn’thavethesameissue.Inshort,aKMSisthestrategiccapturing,categorization,andsharingoforganizationalknowledge.We’llcovertheseelementsinmoredetailabitlater,butfirst,let’sansweramajorquestion.Getstartedwithmonday.comWhatisthedifferencebetweenaknowledgebaseandaknowledgemanagementsystem?Peopleoftenusebothtermsinterchangeably.Eventhoughthey’reprettyrelated,bothtermshavedifferentmeanings.Knowledgemanagementsystems serveasasinglesourceoftruthforbothexternalandinternalpartiesandenableorganizationstosegmentinformationbasedondifferentusergroups.Knowledgebases areself-servedplatformswherecustomerscanfindinformation.AKMShelpsyounotonlystoreanddeliverinformation,butalsostreamlinethecapture,categorization,andconsumptionofknowledge,aimingtoimprovetheoverallefficiencyoftheorganization.Followingthesupportagentexample:Aknowledgebasewouldhelptheagentfindasolutionbybrowsingthroughalreadyexistingdocumentationorsimplydirectingthecustomertotherightdocumentsoshecansolvetheproblemherself.Aknowledgemanagementsystem,ontheotherhand,requiresamorestrategicapproachtomanaginginstitutionalknowledge.Whenyou’redealingwithlargedatabases,storingandorganizinginformationisn’tenough.Youneedspecializedproceduresthatmakeyourteammoreefficientwhenlookingforspecificinformation.Todoit,knowledgemanagementsystemsrelyonavarietyofactivitiesandelements,including:Aknowledgerepository:asinglesourceoftruthwherepeoplecanfindallthecompanyknowledgeCollaborationplatform:aplatformthat’ssuitableforcollaborationbetweenmembersCommunicationanddiscussion:featuresthathelpyourteamcommunicateincontextAlignmentwithculture:anorganizationalculturethatencouragesmemberstolearnandgrowInthisscenario,thesupportagentwouldbeabletosolvemorecomplexproblemswithoutneedingtosendthecasetoanITdepartmentormorespecializedteams.Besides,knowledgebasesareoftenstatic.Ofcourse,youupdatethemwithnewcontentandinformation,buttheydon’thavethespecificprocedurestomeasuretheeffectivenessoftheknowledgeyou’retransmittingnorhelpyoumonitortheROIofsuchinformation.Knowledgebasesarestructuredinformationrepositories,whereasaKMSisasystemthatturnssharingknowledgeintoatruediscipline.Inotherwords,knowledgebasesdependonaKMStobecomefullyefficient.What’sthemainobjectiveofaknowledgemanagementsystem?Whetherit’sfromteammates,leadership,consultants,orcustomers,yourorganizationisalwaysproducingknowledge.Whensalesrepresentatives closeadeal,they’reproducinginformationthatcanbehelpfultoclosemoredealsinthefuture.WhentheHRdepartmenthirestalent,they’reproducingknowledgetohirebettertalentlateron.Andwhencustomersuseyourproductsorservices,they’realsoproducinginformationthatcanhelpyouimproveyourbusiness.(ImageSource)Thisknowledgeisoftenstoredindocuments,processes,emails,blogposts,andmanyotherformats.Sadly,thetraditionalwayofstoringanddistributingknowledgeisn’tthatefficient.Ifyoudon’thaveasystemtorecord,document,andsharesuccessfulsalesconversationswithyoursalesteam,improvingyoursalesscriptsandsalesprocedureswillbecomemuchharder.Ifyouaren’tdocumentingcustomerfeedbackafteratesttrial,youwon’tbeabletopinpointwhereyourproductsandservicesareleastefficient.Saidsimply,ifyourknowledgeisn’teasilyaccessibleforeveryonewhentheyneedit,you’lldealwithtonsofissuesinthelongrun.Worseyet,imaginethatallofasudden,oneofyourkeyemployeesdecidestoleavethecompany.Withoutaknowledgemanagementsysteminplace,thatpersonwillleavewithallthatvaluableexperienceandknowledge.You’dhavetostartfromscratchagain.Aknowledgemanagementsystemnotonlymakesyoumoreefficientbutalsoprotectsyouagainstsinglesourcesoffailurewhenindividualswhoholdalotofcorporateknowledgeleavethefirm.OtherimportantbenefitsofadoptingaKMSmayinclude:Improveyourorganization’sefficiency:savetimeandmoneybyhelpingyourteamfindsolutionsbythemselvesMakesmarterdecisions:withknowledgeatyourdisposal,you’reabletomakedecisionsfasterandbetterFosterinnovation:inviteyourteammembersandstakeholderstocontributeandbuildacultureofinnovationHelpyouremployeesgrow:trainyouremployeesandhelpthemdeveloptheirskillsinastandardizedwayImprovecustomersatisfaction: buildabetterproductorservicewithamoretrainedteamCommunicatebetter:keepeveryoneinformedandonthesamepageImproveyourworkflowsandprocesses:streamlineyourworkflows andimproveoperationalefficiencyHowcanyoumeasuretheeffectivenessofyourknowledgemanagementsystem?Adoptingaknowledgemanagementsystemisanimportantstepforanyorganization,buthowcanyoutellwhetherit’sworking?Let’scoversomemetricsyoucantracktomeasuretheperformanceofyourKMS.Thisisnotacomprehensivelistofallthemetricsyoushouldconsider.Itdoes,however,includesomeofthemostimportant.InteractionsThesimplestwaytomeasuretheperformanceofyourknowledgemanagementsystemistotrackhowmanytimesyourclientsandemployeeshaveactuallyusedthesystem.Ifthenumberofinteractionsislow,youprobablyneedsomeadjustments.Consider:Isthesystemeasilyaccessible?Doesyourteamneedspecialpermissionsortrainingtoaccessthesystem?Dotheyevenknowthesystemexists?Whatinitiativescanyouimplementtoincreasethenumberofinteractions?Theanswerstothesequestionsmayleadtopotentialsolutionstoimproveyourcurrentperformance.NumberofknowledgemanagementdocumentsusedtosolveorganizationalproblemsEnsuringyourteamisusingthesystemisacrucialstep.But,oncepeopleadoptit,youneedtomakesurethey’reusingitfortherightpurpose.Forexample:IsyourteamusingtheKMStosolveorganizationalproblems?Howmanydocumentshaveactuallybeenhelpful?Howmanydocumentsaren’tprovidingenoughinformationtosolveimportantissueswithintheorganization?Byadoptingacontinuousimprovementphilosophyinyourknowledgemanagementprocess,you’lleventuallygetridofuselessinformationandbuildamorefunctionalsystem.ContributionsRememberthatknowledgemanagementisacollaborativeprocessthataimstocaptureyourorganization’sknowledgewiththehelpofeveryoneinvolved.Ifyourteamandclientsaren’tcontributing,you’llnevergetthemostoutofyourKMS.That’swhyyoushouldalwaystrackthenumberofcontributionsfromyourteammembersandfeedbackfromclients.Forexample,withmonday.com’sreportingdashboards,trackingthenumberofcontributionsisprettystraightforward.Thesedashboardsarefullycustomizable,andyoucanbuildthemtotrackanytypeofdata,includingcontentstatus,teamprogress,contributions,andmore.Thisway,youcaneasilytrackwhichdepartmentsareperformingandunderperformingandoptimizeyourpracticesaccordingly.Besides,withmonday.com’sprojectmanagementfunctionality,youcanalsomanageinternalandexternalcontributionsinthesameplace.Forinstance,youcancreate2boards:1forinternalcontributionsand1forexternal.Youcantheninvitespecificteammatestoeachboard,assignspecificitems—whichmightrepresentdocumentsinprogress—andaddastatuscolumntotracktheprogressofeachitem.Thisisasimpleexample,ofcourse.Thepointisthatyoucancustomizetheplatformtosuityourexactknowledgemanagementneeds.SearchactivityFinally,youcantracktheprogressofknowledgemanagementsystemsbyanalyzingthesearchactivityperformedbyinternalandexternalparties.Askquestionslike:Howmanypeoplearesearchingfordocumentation?Whataretheylookingfor?Whatarethetop10searchqueries?Aretheyfindingpropersolutionsandrelevantinformation?Byunderstandingsearchbehavior,youcanimplementinitiativestooptimizeyourKMSbasedonactualintent.Getstarted6essentialfeaturestolookforwhenchoosingaKMSNowthatyouunderstandwhatknowledgemanagementsystemsareandwhytheymatter,thequestionbecomes:howcanyouchoosetherightoneforyourorganization?Withsomanyoptionsavailable,answeringthatquestioncanbeatruechallenge.Fortunately,withtherightcriteriainmind,theselectionprocessbecomeswaysimpler.Tohelpyouout,hereare6featuresyoushouldlookforwhenchoosingaKMSforyourorganization:1.CloudstorageToproperlyimplementaknowledgemanagementsystem,youneedawaytostoredataanddocumentation.Youalsoneedknowledgemanagementsoftwarethathelpsyouclassifyandsegmentinformationbasedondifferentusergroups.Withmonday.com’sdigitalassetmanagementtemplate,forexample,storingandcoordinatingyourorganization’sknowledgeisrelativelysimple.Thistemplatehelpsyoucentralizeallyourdocumentsandinformationassetsinasingleplace,trackfilerevisionhistory,andsharefileswithspecificteammembers.Youalsogetafilterfeaturethathelpsyousearchthroughyourdatabasewitheaseandfinddocumentsquickly.Ourbasicplancomeswith5GBofstorage,butyoucangrowallyourwayupto1,000GB.2.InstantupdatesTrackingthestatusofcontributionsandrelevantdocumentsisacrucialfeatureofanysolidKMS.Beforeyouselectaspecificknowledgemanagementsolution,makesureitofferstheabilitytotrackupdatedstatusesinreal-time.Forinstance,withmonday.com,youcancommunicatewithteammembersincontextandstayintheloopwithindividualprojectsandtasks.Youcanaddcommentswithinitemsandchatwithemployeesandclientsinstantly.Besides,youcanuseourautomationstostreamlinestatusupdates.monday.comcanautomatemorethan250,000humanactions,whichcanhelpyouoverseeyourKMSwhilesavingsometimeintheprocess.3.CollaborationAgain,knowledgemanagementisacollaborativediscipline.Withouttherightcollaboration featuresinplace,youwon’tbeabletofullyimplementaKMS.That’swhyyoushouldlookforaplatformthathelpsyoucentralizethewayyouworktogetherintooneplaceandremovesilosbetweendepartments.Forexample,withmonday.com,you’reabletobringinyourentireteamfromthebeginningandeveninviteclientsandstakeholdersasguests.Thisway,everyoneinvolvedinyourKMSwillbeabletocontributeandcommunicatewithmoreease.Someofthetopmonday.com’scollaborationfeaturesinclude:Tagging:tagspecificteammembersandguestswithintasksandactivitiesVideoconferencing:integratevideoconferencingappsandschedulemeetingswithmoreeaseInstant-messaging:communicatewithyourteaminreal-timeNotifications:getrelevant,timelynotificationsandmakesurenothingslipsthroughthecracksTaskmanagement:assigntaskstoteammembersandmeasureprogressActivityLog:explorethefullhistoryyou’vehadwithclients,teammates,andstakeholdersThesefeatureswillhelpyoucommunicateandsolvepotentialissuesmuchfaster.4.AccessibilityandeaseofuseAknowledgemanagementsystemshouldbeeasilyaccessibleforeveryoneinvolved.Thesystemmustprovidetimely,accurateinformationtouserswhentheyneedit.Otherwise,youmightstrugglewithadoption.So,lookforasystemthatmakesiteasyforeveryonetoaccessinformationandcontribute.Withmonday.com,forexample,everyoneinyourteamcanaccessourcloudsystemonanydevice.Thisisespeciallyimportantforremoteteamswherepeopleworkfromdifferentlocations.Besides,monday.comisallaboutvisuals.Everything’sfullycustomizable,andyoucanmovethingsaroundatwill,whichmakesiteasierfornon-devstoadoptthesystem.You’llbeabletousetheplatformwithnotrainingwhatsoever.5.IntegrationsNoteamoperateswithasingleapportool.Theaverageorganizationusesaround80apps,accordingtoStatista.IfyourKMSdoesn’tintegratewiththesoftwareyoualreadyuse,you’llstruggletocentralizeinformation,whichiscoretoaneffectiveKMS.Inotherwords,lookforasystemthatoffersseamlessintegrationwithtoolsyoualreadyuse.Forexample,withmonday.com,youcanintegrateover40ofyourfavoriteappsandtools,including:SlackZoomFacebookAdsMailchimpGoogleDriveAndmanymore.Youcanexploreourcompletelistofintegrationshere.Thiswillhelpyoubuildasinglesourceoftruthforallyourinformationandknowledgewithmoreease.6.ReportingToensureyourKMSisdrivingactualresultsforyourbusiness,youneedaplatformthathelpsyoutrackthemostrelevantKPIs.AsPeterDrucker usedtosay:“Ifyoucan’tmeasureit,youcan’timproveit.”Makesurethesystemyouselectcomeswithpowerfulreportingdashboardsthathelpyouvisualizethedatathat’smostrelevanttoyou.Aswestatedabitearlier,monday.comprovidesyouwithfullycustomizabledashboardstomeasureyourteam’sperformance.Youcanchoosebetween20+widgetsto“build”adashboardthatfitsyourexactneeds.Togetamorecompleteoverviewofourreportingfunctionality,wesuggestyouwatchthisshortvideo:Readytoadoptaknowledgemanagementsystemforyourorganization?Allorganizationshandleinformationandknowledge.Asyourbusinessgrows,you’llneedasystemtocoordinate,categorize,andmanageorganizationalknowledgemoreefficiently.Here’swhereknowledgemanagementsoftwarecomesintoplay.Hopefully,nowyouhaveenoughinformationtoselecttherightsystemforyourteam.monday.comhelpsyoumanageandautomateknowledgemanagementthroughafullycustomizableplatformthatadaptstoyourexactneeds.Tostart,wesuggestyoutryoutourdigitalassetmanagementtemplate.It’llhelpyoustartoffontherightfoot.GetstartedLinkCopied!RelatedpostsProjectmanagement8projectmanagementtechniqueseveryprojectmanager...Projectmanagementisavastfield.Itspansmultipleindustriesandrequiresavarietyofskills.One...&nbspMarketing14contentmarketingideasfromHubSpot’scontent...2021affordsmarketersanabundanceofchannelsandplatformstopublishandpromotetheircontent–but...12minreadMarketingWhatmattersmost?5prioritiesforCMOsinthenext...If2020wastheYearofthePivot,thenwemightcall2021theYearofthePonder.Theearly...5minreadGetstartedforfree