How Can a Knowledge Base Help Your Remote Team?

Are you struggling to keep your remote team on the same page? Does it seem like important information is getting lost in a sea of emails and chat messages? If so, it might be time to implement a knowledge base.

A knowledge base is a centralized repository of information that can be accessed by anyone on your team — no matter where they are located. It can include everything from company policies and procedures to project-specific details and best practices. Think of it as an encyclopedia of your business.

So, whether you’re a manager trying to keep your team organized or a team member looking to boost your performance at work, read on to learn more about the benefits of a dedicated knowledge base for remote teams.

What Is A Knowledge Base?

The roots of knowledge bases can be traced back to the 1950s, when computers were first being used to store and manage large amounts of data. As time went on and computers evolved, the idea of using a centralized system to store information gained traction.

One early example of a knowledge base was the General Problem Solver (GPS), a computer program developed in the 1960s at the RAND Corporation. Over the years, knowledge bases became more sophisticated and were put to work in the customer service, technical support, and software development areas. In the 1990s, the concept of the “knowledge management system” emerged, which included a repository of information and tools for organizing, searching, and sharing that information.

Today, knowledge bases are used by organizations of all sizes and in all industries to store and manage information of all sorts — including important company documents and project-specific details. And as remote work becomes more popular, knowledge bases have emerged as a way to ensure that critical information is easily accessible to everyone on the team.

The Advantages Of A Knowledge Base For Remote Teams

Improved Communication

Picture the scene: you’re working furiously at your keyboard, glancing back and forth between your half-finished, overdue proposal and the clock on the office wall. Suddenly, you hear a notification pop up; as you open it, your screen is suddenly flooded with a thousand questions from the new intern.

Implement a knowledge base and nightmares such as this need never occur. Knowledge bases eliminate the need for back-and-forth communication and reduce the risk of miscommunication, too. They also ensure that critical knowledge isn’t dependent on any individual team member, preventing knowledge loss when someone goes away on vacation or leaves the business.

When all team members have access to the same information and resources, they’re better equipped to understand each other’s perspectives and ideas. This can lead to more productive discussions and better decision-making.

Furthermore, a knowledge base can help streamline communication by providing clear guidelines and expectations for how team members should communicate with each other. For example, a knowledge base can outline the preferred channels for different types of communication, such as when to use email versus instant messaging, to ensure that important messages are not missed.

Enhanced Efficiency

If you’re tasked with completing a large project, the resources and data required are likely to come from multiple sources. And if you’re someone who’s prone to, say, mislabeling folders (or worse still, saving files directly to your desktop), it’s only a matter of time before a major mix-up occurs.

Properly implemented, a knowledge base can save the more organizationally-challenged employees in your team heaps of time. No more fumbling through mismanaged folder hierarchies or frantically flicking through archived emails — all the resources can be fixed to a central hub for easy access.

A knowledge base can also improve the quality of the information your team relies on. When information is scattered across different sources and formats, it can be difficult to ensure that everyone is working with the latest, most accurate information. But a knowledge base provides a single source of truth for all relevant information, making it easier to maintain consistency and accuracy.

Furthermore, using a knowledge base is likely to decrease the time it takes for recruits to get up to speed on company policies and best practices. By providing one single location for all your company’s internal assets, your employees can spend more time working on their tasks and less time seeking the information they need.

Increased Collaboration

The initial wave of the global pandemic brought about significant changes in the way businesses operate, with remote work becoming a necessity for many. At the time, one of the greatest concerns voiced by business owners was how remote work would affect collaboration within their teams.

There’s no substitute for the kind of free-form collaboration that can occur in the office. Unfortunately, working remotely eliminates any opportunity for an impromptu chat by the water cooler that leads to sparks of inspiration. And while instant messaging or video calls can get the creative juices flowing, they can be a poor substitute for the real McCoy.

A knowledge base won’t necessarily fix this problem (we’ll have to hold out for full-body holograms in that regard), but it does make it easier to collaborate remotely. Knowledge bases can keep track of all the changes made to documents and projects, allowing everyone to see who made alterations and when they were made (along with why). Team members can also leave comments, ask questions and provide feedback on the platform, further facilitating collaboration.

Build A More Efficient Remote Team

Implementing a knowledge base can offer a wide range of benefits to remote teams. From enhanced communication and collaboration to better organization and efficiency, a knowledge base can help keep your team on the same page and ensure that important information is easily accessible. By taking the time to set up a knowledge base and encouraging your team to use it regularly, you can improve productivity and overall job satisfaction.

Keen to discover more about the world of remote working? Visit our guide to the best remote working tools or learn how to maximize your remote team through outsourcing. Thanks for reading!

 

This article is part of Buildremote’s contributor series. Occasionally, we’ll share other people’s ideas about running a remote company. If you have a topic you’d like to pitch for Buildremote, send us an idea here.