Knowledge base: the foundation of the employee self-service system

A good company knowledge base is like a digital library or information desk where employees can find all the important information. It can also provide a strategic advantage over other businesses, because the more accurate data an employee has, the higher the standard at which they can carry out their work. That is precisely why we maintain that every company should have a knowledge base, which can even be created on the CHEQ platform.

The benefits of a company knowledge base

Before I show you how a knowledge base can be created on the CHEQ platform, I would like to clarify what benefits a central company knowledge base that every employee can access brings.

1. First and foremost, it contributes to better performance

According to a McKinsey survey, employees spend 20% of their time searching for the information needed to do their work. During this time they could be doing a lot of activities that create value for the company. A knowledge base centralises all company knowledge and makes it accessible and searchable for every employee. This way, employees can have all the information they need for their work, which can increase productivity by as much as 20-25%.

Thanks to the knowledge base, there is no more searching through emails and chat messages, no more having to talk to 3 colleagues before the employee gets the knowledge they need through a referral to a fourth. Less time spent searching for information means more time to do meaningful work, which also has a positive effect on the company's overall performance.

2. It provides a shorter learning time during onboarding and supports continuous training too

Whether it is a matter of training new employees or refreshing and expanding the knowledge of existing colleagues, knowledge can be transferred quickly, accurately and easily through the digital knowledge base. According to research, digital training courses - which form part of the knowledge base - can shorten employees' learning process by as much as 40-60%. 

This means that new staff can create value for the company sooner. But older employees can also acquire new knowledge faster. 
All kinds of training materials can be uploaded to the CHEQ company knowledge base, for example, and it can even be used for micro-learning. This way you can continuously train your colleagues at minimal cost. What is more, colleagues can review/search the training materials at any time. With this you can ensure high-quality work. For example, from now on everyone will know exactly how to prepare the house speciality or the seasonal specials in the various catering units you operate.

3. It has knowledge-retention power

According to the German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus, people forget 50% of what they have learned within 1 day. And a month later they only remember close to 10% of what they learned. That is precisely why it is extremely important to ensure that colleagues have continuous access to company information materials, knowledge resources and other information. This helps refresh their knowledge, through which they can do better work.

Beyond this, we must not forget that, for various reasons, a company's employees can change (e.g. retirement, resignation, dismissal). The departure of employees, however, often also involves a loss of skills and knowledge for companies. But if you gather employees' knowledge and make it accessible in a digital library available to everyone, then valuable knowledge remains at the company even when a colleague leaves.

4. It has workforce-retention power

According to the LinkedIn Workforce Learning Report, 94% of employees would stay longer at an employer that is willing to invest in their development. This means not only in-person training courses, as HR professionals and leaders very often think, but also that the employee can access company knowledge materials and all important information gathered by the company that supports their work.

A good knowledge base can be continuously expanded, so micro-learning materials can be created at any time as needed, providing an immediate answer to a particular question or problem that arises. For example, if the factory has bought a new machine, then employees can be shown/taught how to use the machine through a short video that they can watch at any time.

5. It arms remote employees with knowledge

Employees who work away from the office or factory also get immediate help when, during their work, they run into a problem they would be unable to solve based on their own knowledge.

Just think of people working in retail. Who can they ask for quick help if a customer asks about the latest offers, or about the benefits that come with the loyalty card? Or perhaps about the correct use of a product, or its dangers and contraindications? For them, just as for those who carry out service-related work at an external location, for example at the customer's premises, a company knowledge base is a huge help.

6. It aligns the activities of employees working in different areas

If the areas of work are not aligned, then it is quite difficult to work efficiently on achieving the company's strategic goals. However, the knowledge base helps with this too. It makes it possible for the individual areas of work to gain insight into each other's activities and to connect to them. For example, if the sales team needed information regarding the company's product but could not find information about it in the knowledge base, then they can flag their need to the person responsible for producing the given product, who can prepare a short information material that gets added to the knowledge base. This way the sales team can present the company's products to customers accurately. This also increases customer satisfaction, since they get a product just like the one they were told about. It is also good for the company's reputation, and production does not have to immediately make changes to the product so that it matches the version mistakenly offered and sold.

All in all, if colleagues have insight into each other's activities, then company goals can be achieved faster, more stably and more decisively.

7. It increases customer satisfaction

Since it was mentioned in the previous point, I would highlight separately that the company knowledge base contributes to increasing customer satisfaction not only by salespeople offering a product that matches reality. We must not forget what happens if a customer has a question or problem after the purchase. In such cases, depending on the area involved, either the query arrives at customer service or goes to the dedicated account manager.

In the case of CHEQ, for example, it is the Customer Success Manager's (CSM's) job to provide all the support customers need so that they can use the tool as efficiently and smoothly as possible. However, the condition for this is that they are aware not only of the product, but also of what ready-made tools the back-office support areas have that they can hand over to the customer. E.g. campaign posters, messages, games, etc. supporting the introduction of the app. The more knowledge the CSM has, the higher the standard at which they can serve the customer's needs, which of course goes hand in hand with satisfaction.

The knowledge base in CHEQ

Now that you know what benefits creating a knowledge base brings, all that is left to do is to create one for yourselves. Below I will show you how it is worth building it on the CHEQ  platform.

1. Start by uploading general information

You almost certainly already have a number of useful materials that, with minor modifications, can be uploaded to the company knowledge base straight away. I am thinking here of materials such as:

• the fire and occupational safety information, 
• job descriptions,
• GDPR information,
• Cafeteria information,
• a summary of fringe benefits,
• information about the company's values,
• the company's internal policy,
• emergency contacts (company phone book),
• company/factory map, 
• organisational structure (org chart),
• company bus timetable

These are all pieces of information that every employee needs to know. In most cases, HR professionals hand these over in paper format when someone joins the company. However, a more efficient solution is to make everything available digitally to colleagues and upload it to the knowledge base. This way, months or years later, they still have something to turn to if they need information.

2. Involve people working in the different areas

I would suggest doing this in several steps in order to get the most out of the collaboration.

2.1. Consult with the area managers

Talk to the area managers to find out what knowledge and materials they need so that a new colleague can acquire the knowledge needed for the work as soon as possible. Review what materials you already have available, e.g. product descriptions, recipes, etc. Also take stock of what materials you would still need that you do not currently have.

2.2. Involve everyone

At certain intervals, assess what knowledge material each area needs. Send out an open question through CHEQ that everyone can answer in writing if they want. Here they can write down what information they are missing that could be uploaded to the knowledge base.

You can also send out a call in which you encourage employees to share their expertise, which later gets added to the knowledge base and becomes available to everyone. You can support knowledge sharing with a bit of gamification, e.g. you can give employees digital badges which, once collected, earn them a small reward.

3. Upload the training materials

Upload the knowledge presented and demonstrated during training courses and other sessions to the knowledge base, so that everyone can search back for it later too. This way, those who did not take part in the training, or joined the company later, can also learn from it. But the employees who were present at the training can also refresh their knowledge at any time, thereby deepening it.

If you need help creating a CHEQ knowledge base, or just want to find out more about its practical benefits, then feel free to contact us!