Members and teams of the company collaborate and communicate to each other to make the business work. So, making sure that information moves efficiently between all teams is very important. It's important for managers to keep in mind that one team may have knowledge and information that no other team does.
For example, imagine the product development team built a new product but the marketing team is unaware of its specifications. This flaw in information placement causes the marketing staff to fail to accomplish their duties of introducing and promoting the product effectively, resulting in a decrease in product sales.
This short example demonstrates the critical relevance of knowledge management in all organizations and businesses. In this post, we will highlight aspects that, while not immediately obvious, have a significant impact on macro decisions, the sales process, and overall productivity. Read this article to discover more about the word knowledge management and how to improve it in companies and enterprises of all sizes.
If we want to comprehend what Knowledge Management is, we must first understand Organizational Knowledge.
What is Organizational Knowledge?
In a nutshell, organizational knowledge covers all of the information and experiences that build within a company or organization, from formal documentation to unwritten information communicated between employees during daily interactions.
Keeping this information and effectively conveying it can boost productivity in the workplace in a relatively short amount of time while also reducing redundancy. Now, let's look at some practical instances of how the knowledge is applied in each department of your firm.
Project management
Let's imagine your team is working on a complicated project. If team members do not share their knowledge and experiences, someone may spend hours troubleshooting a technical issue that someone else on the team has already addressed. These reworks not only waste valuable team time, but they can also lead to confusion and a lower project quality.
As demonstrated in this example, attention to organizational knowledge, in addition to management and supervisor performance, is linked to each employee's daily responsibilities and has a direct impact on them.
Customer Support
We've all experienced that when we call customer service, the response we get is totally dependent on the operator's knowledge and expertise. If the support staff lacks the knowledge and skills necessary to tackle frequent problems, the client may ask the same question repeatedly and receive a different response each time. This problem confuses both the customer and the operator, resulting in unhappy clients and a loss of trust.
Product Design Process
If the marketing and product design teams do not share information, the end products may not meet the market's needs. To boost customer happiness, client comments and experiences should be directly integrated into the product design process.
In today's competitive environment, innovation has become particularly important. One of the most difficult issues in innovation is that teams must constantly draw on each other's experiences and knowledge, so to speak, to push the frontiers of knowledge and generate creativity and innovation through integrated and multidisciplinary processes.
Employee Training
New personnel entering the organization must immediately learn the processes. Without training documentation and the transfer of organizational knowledge, the process of employee onboarding and training will be lengthy, and they may become confused and not have a solid understanding of the organization's overall performance. As a result, it is clear that a lack of employee justification has a negative impact on the overall productivity of the organization.
Strategic Decisions
Senior managers want precise and up-to-date information in order to make sound judgments based on market conditions and internal performance. Without information sharing platforms, these decisions could be based on incomplete or out-of-date data. Assume your marketing staff receives valuable knowledge on market developments, but this information is not transferred to the management team, and decisions are made based on outdated data. So, they will lose their ability to compete in the market.
According to IDC research, which is recognized as one of the most reliable sources in the field of information technology, communications, and consumer market analysis, companies that understand how to use knowledge management have been able to enjoy the following benefits in various aspects of their business:
39% - improved company execution, such as better decision-making, faster entry into the target market, and innovation.
35% - better customer support and give quality service as soon as possible.
35% higher satisfaction and interaction between employees and customers.
35% - Enhancing staff performance, productivity, learning, and cooperation.
Proposed strategies for improving knowledge management in organizations
To address the issues we highlighted, the following solutions are proposed in knowledge management of companies:
Using online collaboration tools: Using tools like Microsoft Teams or Slack to share information quickly and effectively between teams.
Creating a knowledge base for customers: Setting up an FAQ or knowledge base to answer customers' frequently asked questions.
Holding regular meetings between teams: exchange ideas and experiences through meetings between different teams.
Documentation of processes and training: Create training documentation and online learning systems to accelerate the learning process of new employees.
Continuous training in the face of changes: conducting workshops and training courses to adapt employees to new technologies and processes.
Creating clear communication channels: Setting up effective communication systems between different departments to accurately convey information to senior managers.
The comprehensive solution of the TatbiqIT company
TatbiqIT company offers a comprehensive solution to cover all these issues in the field of knowledge management. With Organizational GPT, you can easily collect, document and share organizational knowledge to improve efficiency, reduce costs and increase employee and customer satisfaction. Our solutions include online learning platforms, accessible knowledge bases, and internal collaboration tools, all of which will help facilitate knowledge management in your organization.
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In the following articles, we will give a complete introduction to the enterprise GPT and how to personalize it based on the specific needs of your business. Stay tuned: