How does knowledge management improve supply chain management?

We can always feel the impact of knowledge management within several industries. But how does it improve supply chain management? Here are some ways:

Mitigating risks

An adequately updated knowledge base with the latest information is a huge plus for any organization. It helps employees and other relevant stakeholders involved in the production process promptly identify and eliminate potential risks along various supply chain stages.

In some cases, these could be regulatory changes, modified market conditions, logistical issues, or problems related to suppliers. Putting a knowledge management system in place equips employees so they’re quick to identify risks and respond to potential risks before they disrupt the entire supply process.

Enhancing decision-making processes

When decision-makers can access information about customer demand, customer feedback, and supplier standards, they can make better decisions faster. Organizations can use knowledge management systems to back up historical data to fast-track this process.

Employees—both new and old—can access these data to make better decisions on various stages of supply chain activities, including procurement, production, and distribution of finished goods.

Encouraging adaptability and innovation

Knowledge management promotes a culture of innovation and continuous learning within an organization. This also applies to knowledge management in FMCG. Rather than guessing, suppliers can learn best practices from a trusted atmosphere like integrated knowledge management with the company and suppliers.

Boosting efficient problem-solving abilities

A proper knowledge management system can come in handy when problems arise within the supply chain. It enables quick identification of issues and corresponding solutions. Also, these insights gained through consistent problem-solving experiences can be valuable for future problems, ensuring effective resolution at all times.

Supporting employee development

A repository of top-notch industry knowledge and training materials is a goldmine in supply chain management. This is valuable in employee training and development initiatives as it provides direct and consistent access to information on supply chain guidelines, inventory checklists, and protocols that can make employees more productive. When employees are well-trained in various aspects of supply chain management, this contributes significantly to their effectiveness and competence.

Also Read: How to Document your change management process?

Challenges in the Automobile Industry

Without a doubt, the car industry is significant. UK Automotive noted that it is vital to the economy, provides widespread employment, a considerable share in exports (about 10 percent), and has global impacts by producing a range of vehicle models.

Nevertheless, the industry has many challenges associated with growth, operation, and success, impacting efficiency and customer satisfaction. It demands to eliminate such obstacles to improve all these aspects.

Empowering Customer Independence (Utilizing Self-service)

We all agree on the fact that not all queries need a technician to handle them. Some issues can be resolved by customers themselves in the automotive industry through the use of self-service, such as troubleshooting guides or user manuals. The main challenge is making the resource accessible. Printed manuals are still in practice, but customers are looking for quicker help solutions like an online knowledge base where they can search and find answers effectively. Companies should educate their customers to handle the troubleshooting guides and use them promptly.

Other considerations include striking the right balance between self-service and traditional assistance and data safety issues.

Integrated Knowledge Repository

In the automobile industry, this challenge comprises an enormous set of data in the Integrated Knowledge Repository with technical specifications, repair guides, and troubleshooting details. The main objective of this centralized hub is to ease communication between service advisors, technicians, and customers.

For instance, a consumer comes up with a repeat occurrence that they want to address individually. Ideally, they would have access to a repository containing the model and would find either clear step-by-step instructions or videos. However, if the repository lacks information, requires updating, or is difficult to use, customers could experience frustration and require assistance from the outside.

Centralized Data Storage Platform

It can be difficult for a team or department to coordinate their work concerning data management. Data handling becomes streamlined through centralized storage as diverse teams can exchange critical information seamlessly. The organization can facilitate the smooth flow of knowledge, resulting in improved operations.

Examples are designers producing car prototypes, engineers looking at operational data, and marketing departments focusing on consumer demands in the automobile sector. This comprehensive information is brought together in a centralized place by such a centralized platform, making design insights drive engineering designs and market approaches. It enhances teamwork, as information flows seamlessly among team members, making the sharing and exchanging of ideas accessible. This top-down approach maximizes effectiveness and makes valuable data easily accessible throughout the enterprise.

Agent Training Modules

The agents must always be trained and kept informed to remain skilled; hence, it is essential to make training modules for them. Maintaining personnel awareness of current developments and troubleshooting techniques is a continuing challenge. The workforce can respond to changing technology through short and precise training guides directly supporting customer demands.

For example, training modules in the automobile sector could involve enhanced diagnosis for maintenance, updated features on current vehicle versions, as well as how to better interact with customers. It is how agents become knowledgeable and ensure they offer quality services in an equally evolving industry.

Management of Call Center Tickets

Handling customer issues posted through call center tickets efficiently is inevitable. Streamlining processes and tools for controlling such tickets speeds up the work and increases customer satisfaction with response time.

For instance, suppose that a customer raises a complaint regarding the safety of their car equipped with an advanced safety feature, and they call the support center. In this case, a call center ticket would capture details of the problem. This ticket should be managed efficiently for streamlined processes and tools implemented. This way, the support team can quickly get hold of necessary specifics on the safety system, carry out the required steps towards troubleshooting, and give immediate help. It assists in solving the customer’s concerns and increases overall satisfaction, thereby showing the industry’s dedication to supporting and maintaining safety.

Must Read: What is Call Center Knowledge Base Software?

Conclusion

Ultimately, it is very clear that Knowledge management is a key enabler in the Automobile industry. It supports sustainable growth, empowers employee knowledge, and fosters knowledge sharing and a collaborative ecosystem. As the automobile industry advances with new technologies, embracing knowledge management practices will undoubtedly contribute to business success. 

Segments of Hospitality Industry

The broad hospitality industry encompasses many segments, such as travel and tourism, food and beverages, and accommodation. Each segment will require slightly different KM techniques to ensure that customers are getting the most out of their experience.

Travel and Tourism

In hospitality, the travel and tourism segment is competing with many global destinations and is the dominant segment within the industry, helping to generate revenue for all other segments by encouraging people to travel. Your airline, train line, cruise ship, or taxi service must be better than many other comparable options that take travelers worldwide, and successfully managing your knowledge means you can offer a better experience every time.

Food and Beverages

Offering superior food and beverages cannot be separated from the service customers receive when they visit your establishment or buy your products. Knowledge about how to prepare your products, how to serve them, and how to create memorable customer experiences combine to create huge ROI for Knowledge Management. From special occasions to more routine outings or purchases, businesses must cater to a broad range of customers.

Accommodation

Everyone needs somewhere to stay on their travels, but the question is, why should they pick you? Guests choose accommodation based on many factors but an effective use of Knowledge Management means that they will pick your business, every time. From hotels to BnBs to guest houses, to apartments, to caravans and resorts, any accommodation business can benefit from KM. Streamlining check-in, improving your welcome, and enhancing the stay can all be affected by KM.

Entertainment & Recreation

Entertainment and recreation is more broad, encompassing any activity that customers choose for enjoyment and relaxation. Cinemas, theaters, zoos, museums, and galleries all attract customers looking for uplifting experiences, and these businesses can use quiet periods to gather more knowledge that will attract more customers throughout the year.

Knowledge Management in the Hospitality sector

If the hospitality sector can successfully leverage its collective intangible assets, then Knowledge Management is essential. Approaching each customer afresh is like reinventing the wheel every time. If your staff know-how can be documented and shared across the organization, transcending time and space, then revenue will be much healthier.

If you think of a company like the Ritz, you’ll appreciate that they implement outstanding knowledge practices within the business in order to create the same consistent experience across their many hotels. Knowledge Management isn’t just restricted to knowledge work – even on-the-ground employees such as maintenance staff, customer service reps, and receptions need KM to excel.

Knowledge Management isn’t just suitable for big chains – any type of business within hospitality can use it to create better guest experiences. Managing knowledge enables you to effectively answer questions, rapidly solve problems, and enhance your brand. Customers will appreciate how well-informed you are and return for another visit.

Types of Knowledge in Hospitality

Knowledge is important, but it can also be categorized into different types relevant when trying to manage knowledge in your hospitality organization.

Task-Specific Knowledge

There are many tasks that must be conducted within hospitality, ranging from booking a ticket, checking a guest in, and answering live chat. It’s essential that your staff follow these procedures consistently and repeatedly so that guests can be assured of receiving the same experience no matter who they interact with.

Tacit Knowledge

Tacit knowledge is any knowledge that is held less explicitly and articulated through the personal skills and experience of each individual employee. Another individual may be able to learn tacit knowledge through watching a fellow employee demonstrate their experience in a domain such as welcoming guests to a restaurant – hard to quantify, hard to articulate, but you know it when you see it.

Transactive Memory

Next, transactive memory is when organizations can become aware of the individual expertise available within the collective and delegate roles and responsibilities based on it. Knowledge becomes therefore less of an individual endeavor and evolves into a collective mind with more potential.

Customer-Related Knowledge

Customer-related knowledge has anything to do with customers, so this could include demographic information such as age and socioeconomic status, buying patterns, and other business interactions, such as the usual length of stay. Being able to get to know individual customers through analyzing their data is what sets exceptional businesses apart from the average ones.

Network-Related Knowledge

Network-related knowledge is knowledge about any other relevant parties within your industry such as competitors, partners, or even vendors. Being able to understand how other businesses operate can give you insight into making improvements within your own company and ensure that it is at the cutting edge of innovation.

Market-Related Knowledge

Market-related knowledge refers to how the business operates within wider society, taking into account cultural patterns and trends, broadly speaking “the market”. Businesses can become more relevant and competitive if they are able to offer timely products and services that are able to anticipate and even shape consumer desires. Having accurate knowledge of the market tends to give you an edge.

Why Does Knowledge Management Matter in Hospitality?

We’ve talked a lot about the different types of knowledge in hospitality, but we haven’t explicitly stated why Knowledge Management matters within this industry.

Enhanced customer experience

Customer experience should be your primary focus when designing products and services to offer to customers. Equivalent products are relatively easy to find within a crowded marketplace, but amazing customer experiences are memorable, keep customers coming back for more and telling all their friends. You can enhance the customer experience by retaining, managing, and sharing relevant knowledge internally.

Consistent service delivery

Sharing your knowledge effectively across the organization results in a much more consistent service delivery for customers. It doesn’t matter which branch or division your customers come into contact with – staff always know how to help them and offer the same experience every time. Handbooks, policies, and procedures all contribute to consistent service delivery.

Efficient problem solving

It’s likely that within your hospitality organization, the same problems have been encountered before. By documenting solutions and troubleshooting techniques, you prevent staff from having to reinvent the wheel every time and waste valuable time. Being able to find answers instantly in an internal knowledge base is a huge benefit for your business. If customers read reviews that show businesses have not improved upon their mistakes, this could be very off-putting.

Competitive edge

You have an edge over your competitors when you cultivate knowledge for your business. It helps you develop new products faster, offer superior service, become the best in the industry, and amaze your customers. Managing knowledge properly means you can spend less and become a more efficient organization, helping you weather tough times and capitalize on opportunities.

Effective Implementation Strategies for Managing Knowledge in Hospitality

Of course, once you’ve decided Knowledge Management is essential for your hospitality business, you then need to think about how to effectively implement it within the organization.

Identifying Knowledge Sources

First, identify the knowledge sources within your organization. Knowledge can come from anywhere, whether that’s customer data, tacit knowledge from staff, documents spread out across the organization, or internal policies. It’s your job to effectively bring together these disparate sources of knowledge and ensure they can be accessed by every member of staff who needs them at any level.

Effectively Channeling Knowledge

Once you know where this knowledge is, you must effectively channel it through your organization. Knowledge follows particular patterns in every company and is suitable for different purposes. For example, you may want to capture your tacit knowledge in organizational networks such as communities of practices which enables like-minded professionals to share ideas and solutions. More straightforward, task-based knowledge can be documented in a knowledge base.

Role-Based Knowledge

Employees in particular roles, such as customer service, will have role-based knowledge that can help their fellow associates. Capturing best practices, case studies and important policies is the job of Knowledge Management.

Technology-Centric and People-Centric knowledge

Some knowledge is captured using technology, such as customer data in CRMs and customer support tools, while other knowledge is held in the heads of people. Both types of knowledge can be incredibly valuable in accelerating your customer experience strategy and raising profit margins, and knowing how to tell the difference is crucial.

Process knowledge

Some knowledge is embedded in the processes of your organization, meaning that networks of people instinctively understand how to perform specific procedures but it is not necessarily made explicit anywhere. Also called organizational knowledge, it is tied to the context but can be documented properly to standardize and achieve consistency.

Also Read: How to Write Standard Operating Procedure with Examples & Template

Tools for Effective Management of Knowledge in Hospitality

Document360 is the perfect internal knowledge base tool designed to help companies manage knowledge, powered by AI and exceptional at helping you realize value from knowledge. Knowledge bases like Document360 are easily adopted by hospitality companies focused on customer experience because they don’t take lots of time to learn. You can start obtaining value right away.
Other tools available are:

• Document management tools
• Wikis
• CRM (Customer Relationship Management) systems
• Databases
• Collaboration tools

Promoting a Knowledge-Sharing Culture

You can implement all the tools you like but, if you don’t develop a thriving knowledge-sharing culture, then your results will be zero. Educating employees about the value of sharing knowledge and how knowledge-sharing makes their jobs easier and creates happier customers, is essential to Knowledge Management. Cultivating employee buy-in is a step you can’t skip if you don’t want your KM efforts to fail.

Employee Involvement and Evaluation

Finally, you’ll need to involve your employees in the process of managing knowledge so that you can evaluate whether your strategy is successful. Not only must employees capture and document knowledge for you, but they also need to access and use their knowledge in the course of their jobs. Knowledge that goes stale in a system that is never used is a waste of time and resources – worse than failing to document at all.

The Future of Knowledge Management in Hospitality

Companies in the hospitality industry will increasingly turn to Knowledge Management to gain a competitive edge. It’s no longer enough to offer a superior product or service – it’s customer experiences that earn you loyalty and advocacy, enabling your business to flourish even through the toughest of times. Having to struggle through global crises like the pandemic showed businesses how fragile they really are.

Hospitality companies across tourism, accommodation and more will learn how to use knowledge to their advantage instead of allowing it to slip through their fingers or taking it for granted. Tools driven by AI will make Knowledge Management even more efficient, so the process of gathering and managing knowledge doesn’t slow you down. AI is the next step in KM, allowing organizations to automate routine tasks and focus on more creative work.

What is a Content Authoring Tool?

Typically, content authoring tools are end-to-end solutions that allow you to collaborate, edit, and publish content to the web. You might require a content authoring tool to help you publish documentation for your users, build elearning content, or write blog posts and articles for marketing purposes.

One famous content authoring tool out there is WordPress, which powers 46% of all websites and is very easy to use, with options for many plugins.

Since content authoring tools have such a wide range of purposes, there are naturally many solutions on the market. In recent times, they have developed in such a way as to often require very little technical skill on the part of the content producer.

If you imagine a typical application, you will log in and then be presented with options for setting up your website, creating new articles, editing and formatting your content, and finally, various publishing options. How you access the tool will depend on the final software that you choose, and this will have repercussions on how you pay for and license the software.

Overview of the FMCG Industry

The Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry is a commercial sector encompassing a wide category of consumer goods – essential goods used in everyday life by every average consumer and has an extremely large market.

Sellers in this industry are numerous due to the high sales volume, and the consumers match the sellers because the goods are affordable and effective at satisfying their needs. It is necessary to implement a knowledge management system to ensure that there is a process of communicating first-hand with customers to tackle issues and meet their needs, all while achieving the goals of profit maximization.

Enhanced Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is all about how much your employees are willing to put into your organization, specifically in effort and commitment. With an effective onboarding process, you can communicate the mission and vision of your company clearly. This is usually accompanied by that shared enthusiasm for the growth of your brand.

With this, employees are more likely to become engaged and give more than a hundred percent each day because they genuinely care about meeting your organizational goals. Through an effective onboarding process, you can demonstrate how much your organization values your employees. In return, they will become more engaged with a genuine drive to see your company succeed.

Accelerated Productivity

It’s no secret that engaged employees are productive employees. Effective employee onboarding is so important because it has a spiral effect on how your employees regard working within the establishment.

By helping them to acclimatize and engage with your products and services, there is a higher chance that they will understand what these entail and the best methods to improve company growth. An employee who doesn’t have to worry so much about how to get integrated into a new environment will spend all that extra time on positive activities.

Retention Improvement

Onboarding is super important because new hires who quickly settle into a company’s work culture and environment are more likely to stick around. Job security is a big deal, and no one will be willing to leave a company that helps them settle in quickly. This improves the level of retention of employees and saves the company significant costs.

Hiring a new person can be as high as thousands of dollars, depending on the position. This doesn’t take into account all the knowledge and experience from old employees that have to be transferred yet again to a new hire. No organization will want to incur such loss due to high turnover. You can eliminate the chances of this by paying extra attention to onboarding processes.

Compliance and Legal Requirements

Another significant importance of effective onboarding is that it ensures legal compliance. This encompasses all the vital information about the legal requirements, procedures, and company policies, including employment laws and safety regulations.

Through a great onboarding program, you can provide clear guidelines that help new hires understand what the company expects in terms of behavior and performance. On the flip side, they are also fully aware of their rights and responsibilities, thereby encouraging a healthy working relationship. Overall, this minimizes risk as the organization operates in compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

Customer Satisfaction

An effective employee onboarding program can also impact customer satisfaction. Properly onboarded employees are usually equipped with all the necessary training manuals and resources they need to provide exceptional service to customers.

With customers gaining access to high-quality service from employees, this will significantly improve their overall interaction with your organization, leading to higher levels of customer satisfaction and loyalty. Use an effective onboarding program to create a culture of excellent customer service delivery, and this will build a positive image for your brand.

Do you use Salesforce for your CRM, and Customer support?

If you are using the Salesforce suite of products and have explored Salesforce Knowledge, and are still not very much convinced of using it for your day-to-day knowledge management but looking for better alternatives so that the knowledge base can be integrated into your Salesforce account to equip your support agents with a robust knowledge base while serving customers, you can consider Document360.

You can also read here the discussions, on why many businesses that use Salesforce knowledge are considering alternative knowledge base platforms that can still integrate with the Salesforce ecosystem.

Document360 comes with a Salesforce extension to ensure you do not miss out on any capabilities in the native Salesforce Knowledge and public site.

Challenges using Salesforce for your knowledge base requirements

Salesforce is one of the largest software companies in the world, offering several customer relationship management (CRM) services, including Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, and Commerce Cloud. Though it is feature-rich and has a depth of domain context for the services it provides, over the years, the platform has grown so big it and has become complex for small teams and businesses to use and manage.

Building a knowledge base in Salesforce can be a complex and challenging task. There are several factors and specific challenges associated to be considered.

Though Salesforce Knowledge offers extensive content management capabilities, when it comes to managing a knowledge base, it also brings a lot of practical challenges.

Salesforce Knowledge is not built to provide the best user experience to author the content; it is constrained by the existing application architecture and design that doesn’t provide a not-so-good knowledge management experience.

Software like Document360 is purpose-built for knowledge base management and complements your content management team to manage your content effectively. The following factors may help you understand why you should consider Document360 compared to Salesforce Knowledge.

Getting started is not easy

Salesforce is a complex platform that serves a lot of content management purposes. Once you subscribe to a Salesforce account, you land inside a portal that demands a lot of learning and understanding of the platform’s concepts. You may consider exploring such platform concepts if your organization has complex content management requirements. If your organization has complex content management requirements, you may consider exploring such platform concepts. Document360, a Software-as-a-Service, provides a first-in-class experience for knowledge base management. It focuses on knowledge base concepts and allows your team to get accustomed to the tool in no time.

Setting up to manage the KB is tedious

There is quite a bit of configuration you must setup before you even get to try authoring an article.

Lightning experience cloud

This is a re-imagined Salesforce platform experience to build any applications in Salesforce. Some of the initial set up requirements are –

1. Enable Lightning Knowledge in the Knowledge Settings.
2. Manage users or groups to have the necessary knowledge of user permissions to manage articles.
3. Set up the Knowledge App inside the Salesforce service account.
4. Define Data categories to organise your articles.

These are only a few of the setup considerations for the knowledge app to be used by the content management teams. This could only help content creators and the users within your organization to use the content, support agents managing customer service tickets can access the articles and link them to their tickets.

Digital experience cloud

This is a new platform to improve and connect all aspects of customer experience. If you want a customer-facing site where your articles should be available for your customers, either with restricted or public access, you will have to configure this platform. You need to set up a lot of things before you can show the knowledge base articles to your customers. Some of them are –

1. Enable Digital Experience in your organization, you must still create, configure, and then activate a site before it is live and available to users.
2. Create a community-facing site in the digital experience platform.

Object Manager

Configure the Knowledge object to define your authoring section. This will need managing fields, associating them to record types, and assigning them to page layouts. Only with these settings will you be able to create articles for various purposes like FAQs, Training Manuals, etc.

Website structure

Construct the necessary pages with relevant placeholder structures to display your articles.

1. Home page
2. Topics detail – to list all the articles inside a category.
3. Article details – to showcase your article.
4. Configure Field and Section visibility to define what content to be shown and restricted in the knowledge base article to different reader groups.
5. Article Type to Topic mapping is required to map your knowledge data categories to meet the hierarchy you want to use on the public website.

All these setup (not completely covered above, there is a lot more to be done to get started) are not just a one-time activity; they may need constant changing, auditing, and management. Your content team may find all these overwhelming.

Understanding Salesforce application ecosystem and concepts

Salesforce has its CRM as the core offering, and they have expanded to multiple products over the years. Salesforce Knowledge is aligned with other structures of its ecosystem, which demands following the concepts to build any application.

Objects

Any content in Salesforce is defined as objects, that are database tables that allows you to store data specific to an app in your organization account. For this knowledge base purpose, the Articles are defined as a ‘Knowledge’ object.

Data categories

Data categories are used to classify, find, and control access to a particular set of articles. You will use this to map articles to categorize them.

Record types

Record Types are a way of identifying many records of one type for an object. In this context, this defines the structure of an article. While creating an article, you will choose a record type, to create an article of that structure. For e.g. If you want to create articles of FAQ and Manual structure, you will have to create a record type for each.

Page layouts

Page layouts control the layout and organization of buttons, fields, custom links, and related lists on object record pages. They also help determine which fields are visible, read-only, and required. Use page layouts to customize the content of record pages for your users.

Permission sets

To define the access permissions of users and groups, for a user to access the knowledge base, a lot of settings need to be understood and configured to ensure relevant information is provided and others are secured.

Guest user profile

It is a hidden and default profile for a guest user to access knowledge base articles without login. Defining permissions for this profile is, again a tedious job.

Though Document360 has similar but less concepts, it is not as complex as Salesforce Knowledge. These concepts blend easily with the authoring experience. It is extremely simple to get started. As you sign up, you land your first article to be authored, and in less than a minute, you can see your article published and accessible to your end readers.

Document360 covers all the requirements to structure your content, hosting, and whatnot. You simply use Document360 as another authoring tool at your service, not just limited to text editor but feature-rich, to provide efficient knowledge base management. Your content team will find themselves very native to the application.

Expertise required

Knowledge-base management is emerging as a new paradigm in online content management. There are a lot of new practices and internet nuances to be followed. Your content management team must upskill themselves to present the content about your product and services very effectively to serve your end customers and employees.

Salesforce Knowledge comes with a lot of complexities;, either your content team or you will have to assign a separate team to understand and manage the platform and its features in addition to managing the content. You are always dependent on the skillset required for these.

Your content management teams are not trained in Salesforce.

You will require a Salesforce Admin or expert consultant to manage the setup and changes.

Document360 does not require any such technical staff. It is built with content writers’ experience as a primary focus, and it is easy to adopt and use. It can be used by any technical writer who has used documentation tools like Microsoft Word or Google Docs.

What should someone look at choosing Document360 than Salesforce for knowledge base?

Ideal User / Customer profiles

While choosing the content management tool, we need to be aware of the following:

1. Who will be using the tool to manage the content?

In this case, the content management team. They should feel very comfortable with the author and manage the content. The tool should provide necessary team collaboration and permission capabilities without complexities.
Salesforce Knowledge is cluttered, missing many features, and not user-friendly due to the complexity of its ecosystem.

2. Who will be consuming the content?

A knowledge base is created for both internal and public-facing purposes. Support agents will use the internal knowledge base to look out for solutions for the cases they handle, and employees may refer to the articles for organization-related information. Customers and guest users will access the public-facing site.
Configuring and setting up a public site through the Digital Experience cloud is another complex activity with Salesforce Knowledge.

Document360 can provide a better customer experience on the site, a productivity boost for the contributors, and a great SEO or marketing advantage, while authoring and making the content available for its consumers.

Pricing and total cost of ownership

Just subscribing to Salesforce Cloud alone is not sufficient to manage the knowledge base. When it comes to licensing with Salesforce, it gets complicated. You will require a full license for your contributors, then a knowledge user license for a group of people, a Digital experience cloud license for your public site and login-based pricing for private access.

Apart from the pricing, choosing between the Essentials, Enterprise, Performance, Unlimited, and Developer editions with the Service Cloud makes it more complex. It needs a lot of research to finalize which edition suits the best for your purpose.

It does not stop there. The indirect cost of technical staff to manage these tools, maintenance, and any configuration changes. Also, challenges in one service may have an impact on the other; you may end up coordinating with too many teams for support and resolution. All these add to the operational cost.

Document360 is a SaaS product with different pricing plans to suit your needs. No additional skill sets are required, hence no extra cost for any technical support teams.

Structure of the user interface

Editing content

Though Salesforce positions its Lightning version to provide a re-imagined experience, the user interface is still not intuitive or provides a modern assistive experience. The UI is still outdated forms-based design, that does not offer enough real-estate on the screen for the authors to write content. The experience it provides is not the absolute best for the editors. If you want to author articles with large content and elements, you will find it challenging to follow the form-like experience. The editor’s capabilities are also limited.

Document360 provides one of the best editor experiences with advanced block editor capabilities and formatting utilities. Technical writers also want markdown and HTML-based editing experience as well, Document360 provides such editor capabilities.

Content structure and information architecture

In Salesforce, before you start authoring any content, you will have to configure content related objects and settings that define what your content should be made of – for example: if it is an article, then you should configure record types, data categories, etc. You will not find it easy to define content hierarchy, i.e., you do not see the proper content structure and the information architecture of the articles within their respective folders or categories. The content listing is very flat. To build the relationship between the content is very challenging.

Content management is restricted to basic capabilities like creating an article of a record type. As the volume of content grows, the hierarchy and structure of the content organization get complex. This is where the challenge arises.

You will have to create data categories, their mappings, and visibilities, and assign them to Knowledge. Once you have configured them, you can assign them to the articles.



Creating articles is also a challenge. By default, you have a record type to create articles of FAQ type i.e., to have a question-and-answer style. Also, creating one article with multiple question-and-answer sets is difficult. To have more sets in the same article or create an article of a different type, you will have to –

1. Create fields & relationships.
2. Then, create page layouts.

Once the page layout is defined, the same must be assigned to the record types against each user profile to enable which user has access to which record types.

Creating content and managing the structure, are all too complicated; they and it is not easy to visualize the content hierarchy. One must have a proper training and expertise on the platform.

Document360 provides better UX in terms of content organization and management. It is simple to use, feature-rich with advanced content management capabilities like

1. Categorization of content
2. Replication of articles within categories
3. Content reuse with templates, variables, and snippets, glossary
4. SEO management

Creating categories of articles for various purposes is intuitive and simple within the authoring space. This makes the classification of articles under categories and visualizing the hierarchy very easy.

Reader site access

Salesforce Knowledge provides access to knowledge articles to the public readers or customers through the Digital Experience cloud platform. A separate license, configuration and set up are required to enable the reader access to the public knowledge base site. The permissions to enable unauthenticated guest users to read the article is cumbersome to get the Guest User Profile configured. Defining SSO, custom subdomains are also difficult. You cannot review and manage the access.

Next, you must configure the mapping between the Data Categories and Topics to classify the categorization of articles on the public site. The combination of the assignment between these two may result in how same article is categorized in the lightning experience for internal purposes and in the public site. This is again two different concepts under another section called content management to be well understood.

Document360 provides a seamless experience to author and publish articles. You need not undergo a complex configuration process to set up the reader site and define access.

It provides a private access level for the internal knowledge base, public access for the customer- facing sites, and mixed mode. It is very intuitive.

You get all the capabilities to manage the knowledge management all-in-one place in Document360 compared to the Salesforce Knowledge, where you must switch between multiple sections of the platform.

Document360 allows you to manage reader roles, and content permissions, and audit the same. You may also want to restrict access or allow self-registration for email from certain domains and IP-based restrictions.

Content management capabilities

Versioning

One of the main requirements of any content management activity is to manage versions. Salesforce Knowledge allows versioning at the article level. But this is not enough, you may need to manage the version at the project level in addition to the article level. This is necessary to launch a completely new version of a set of articles or even a knowledge base. This is not possible in Salesforce Knowledge. Whereas modern purpose-built knowledge base software, like Document360, provides such capabilities.

Article redirection rules

As we manage online content, the articles get referred to hundreds of external sites over time. One cannot avoid a scenario where the article URL may require a change after some time based on the change in context. In such cases, the backlinks to this article from other sites may result in broken links. It is not possible to fix this Salesforce Knowledge.

Document360 provides an article URL redirect feature that would be helpful when you change a specific article’s URL, and the same article URL has been referenced in different articles in your knowledge base.

Translations

Another important capability in content management is to deliver content in multiple languages to address the readers from different locales. While language management is possible in Salesforce, it is a complex process to set up and translate the articles. You have to follow a workflow to get this done.

Whereas in Document360, the support for multiple languages and translations is advanced with assisted machine translation services. With a click of a button, you can get your entire article translated in no time.

Workflow management

Suppose you have any internal processes for the content team to follow, from drafting content until it gets published to ensure it is well-reviewed and approved.

Salesforce Knowledge doesn’t have a concept of workflows, reviews and approvals are not straightforward. It will demand further configuration and management.

Document360 workflows are native to the application, which helps to create various stages or checkpoints and track an article/category page from the initial draft (New article) to a published one.

Article status and review reminders help in setting and representing the status of an article and help teams keep their articles up to date by alerting team members when an article is ready for review.

Users and Security

A single person does not usually manage a knowledge base or content. There may be at least two or more people working on this. Large enterprises have different teams with proper team structures to manage the content. This necessitates user management and security.

Salesforce Knowledge provides the user profile and access management, but this is not in the context of knowledge base management. It is provided from the context of Salesforce site settings.

Document360, on the other hand, has meticulously developed user management and security capabilities focused on knowledge base management. Some of the key capabilities expected by your content management team are listed below.

Working in a team

Often, one or more authors will work on a single article. They may co-author the article, review it, make corrections, etc. Document360 provides in-article discussion capabilities to collaborate with co-authors to discuss the portion of the content with references.

Content Access

You should restrict access to your content management team members only to certain categories and not all. This granular level of content access restriction is not possible with Salesforce Knowledge. Document360 allows you to configure this at the user level and to create roles and assign access policies.

Public or private or mixed access knowledge base

Salesforce Knowledge does not provide the capability to configure permissions for your end users to access your knowledge base in a restricted manner. You may want all or some part of the content in a knowledge base to be public and the rest restricted to logged-in readers. Sometimes, you may want the entire knowledge base to be private such content to be accessed by logged-in readers only.

Document360 offers custom secure access to the knowledge base. You can have a limited knowledge base for internal users like employees and an open one for your customers.

API documentation

As a knowledge base, you may not only be restricted to providing general content but also API-related information about your products and services. Salesforce Knowledge does not provide API documentation capabilities.

The API documentation feature in Document360 provides a complete solution for creating and managing API references. With this feature, you can create high-quality API documentation that helps your users understand and consume APIs effectively.

AI capabilities

Almost All products and services are now considering AI features. Salesforce products are also experimenting with AI tools. Salesforce Knowledge, as such, has not released any AI features related to the knowledge base.

Document360 has already released a few AI capabilities that will complement the content writers with identifying the right title for the content, preparing precise summaries from the long content, recommending relevant tags to related articles, and helping generate proper SEO descriptions.

After the introduction of ChatGPT, customers are adopting this new wave of technology to its full potential. The Large Language Models (LLMs) that underpin ChatGPT have been evolving rapidly to cope with consumer trends. To adapt to the emerging customer trends and take advantage of technological capabilities, Document360 has a potential AI Assistant, Eddy. Eddy will provide answers to customers’ questions utilizing the LLM technology based on the knowledge base project it is pointed to.

These features are seeing faster adoption with our existing customers.

The above-discussed features are just a few to compare Document360 directly with Salesforce Knowledge.

Final remarks

While Salesforce Knowledge offers knowledge base content management, it is particularly valuable in scenarios where you already have Salesforce products in use and leverage the ecosystem. However, it also requires careful planning, development resources, and ongoing maintenance to overcome the challenges.

Evaluating your specific needs and resources is essential when considering Salesforce Knowledge.

Document360 is one of the most sought-after tools if you are looking for a comprehensive knowledge base solution. Your cost of customer services can be significantly reduced by allowing your users to leverage self-help using a knowledge base that offers quick responses to their queries.

Moreover, it enables you to create a knowledge base that streamlines internal communication between different teams. You can use Document360 to manage your knowledge base without relying too much on IT experts.

Once you explore Document360, you will appreciate the rich features that simply empower your content management teams.

Organizational Learning and its Significance

Organizational learning involves acquiring knowledge, skills, and insights at an organizational level.

A company is never the same after a couple of years; the market is changing, staff are evolving, and products are different. Because change is constant, you need organizational learning because it will drive the company to adapt, evolve, and remain competitive.

Knowledge Management in Organizations

Knowledge management is how organizations gather, organize, and share information with employees, customers, and business partners.

Power of Organizational Learning and Collaboration with Knowledge Management

Organizational Learning (OL) and Knowledge Management (KM) function as catalysts within a company, increasing innovation and competitive advantage.

The foundation of an organization’s success lies in collaboration and knowledge sharing. But this comes with its problems due to diverse views and opinions. However, properly implementing of OL and KM will create a system where every unique perspective is appreciated and critically evaluated, leading to well-informed decision-making.

Accelerated Innovation

Organizations need to build an internal knowledge hub that allows employees to access information, be more interactive among team members, and share each other’s knowledge while saving time for ideas. But that’s not all. They also need to promote a culture of continuous learning among leaders and employees.

The result? Accelerated innovation.

A solid knowledge management system like Document 360 and continuous learning can facilitate information sharing and speed up access to knowledge, increasing innovation.

Adaptability in a Dynamic Landscape

The business landscape has experienced many changes and is predicted to keep changing. To keep up with the tide, organizations are advised to make strategic decisions in line with industry benchmarks.

A study by Korn Ferry emphasized that 85% of leaders believe their organizations need more time to be ready for the speed of change.

This is where organizational learning and knowledge management come in. They provide the tools and mindset (collective learning and shared knowledge) needed to adapt to these dynamic business landscapes.

Holistic Problem Solving

Problems within an organization are like puzzles. They come in different shapes and sizes, each requiring a unique problem-solving approach. Often, more than one perspective is needed to crack the code; hence, a holistic problem-solving approach is needed.

If two heads are better than one, imagine what multiple heads would do; the pooling of knowledge through Organizational Learning and Knowledge Management promotes holistic problem-solving by letting employees look at a problem and develop solutions that consider multiple perspectives.

Synergy of Expertise

The principle of synergy in Systems Theory postulates that “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” An organization is a system, and its human resources make up an essential part. Thus, only the best output is obtained when people with different skills and knowledge come together in a team. In any organization, each person brings their own unique abilities and experiences to the table.

Organizational learning and knowledge management are all about tapping into this collective expertise. A synergy of different teams combines individual strengths to create a driving force that helps the organization succeed beyond expectations.

Employee Empowerment

The motivational theories of management highlight the importance of employee empowerment. There’s a reason why people do what they do, and there’s always a motivation behind it.

Knowledge sharing allows leaders to understand each employee’s personality and motivation. Then, they can build on that information to create an environment that empowers employees and increases productivity.

Building an environment that encourages knowledge-sharing and continuous learning empowers your employees; their work is easier, they don’t have to run through hoops to find information, and they can share ideas without fear of rejection. Everyone is happy.

Continuous Improvement

LinkedIn’s 2019 Workforce Learning Report shows that 94% of employees are likely to stay with a company that invests in their learning and development.

Creating a culture of continuous learning, which is at the heart of organizational learning and knowledge management, encourages employee improvement, which is paramount to excellence. A key aspect of this culture is the adoption of skills based learning, focusing on practical and applicable skills that directly enhance employee capabilities and align with the company’s strategic goals.

Effective Communication

Poor communication within a team will lead to misinformation and goal congruence, leading to a high employee turnover rate due to resulting misunderstandings and workplace instability. Employees who feel unheard or undervalued are more likely to seek opportunities elsewhere, threatening the going concern concept of the organization and increasing the learning curve.

Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning create means of communication for your employees, promoting cross-team collaboration and reducing silos.

Knowledge Preservation

Trade strategies, secrets, and compasses are valuable and should be preserved so that they can be passed on to others in the event of an employee leaving. This is where knowledge preservation comes in.

Knowledge preservation involves capturing, organizing, and storing critical information and experiences.

You can use the Document360 knowledge base site feature to store and manage documents. In the case of trade strategies and secrets, you can make the site private (requiring users to log in) and restrict access to a certain IP range for extra security.

Cultivation of Leadership

Leadership is not just a position; it’s a quality that, when nurtured, can transform an organization. Effective leadership propels a company towards its vision, motivates teams, and fosters a positive work culture.

According to a report by LinkedIn, 86% of companies say developing new leaders is an urgent or important need. OL and KM provide the learning environment necessary for leadership development because through the collaborative learning it offers, talents are identified and appropriate leaders are easily appointed.

Informed Decision-Making

Organizations need information in order to make decisions that are in line with their mission and vision statements. This information is necessary to avoid misdirection and poor implementation of strategies.

Organizational learning grants an organization access to a rich knowledge repository that serves as a map for strategizing and decision-making in every stage of the organization’s life cycle.

Faster Learning Cycles

An organization has to go through the learning process for the rest of its existence, all thanks to the dynamic nature of business. However, if not properly handled, the organization can get stuck in a learning hell in which learning continues without the implementation of acquired knowledge, causing stagnation and poor functionality.

The integration of Organizational Learning (OL) and Knowledge Management (KM) shortens these learning cycles by providing tools that enable employees to learn on the job, leading to specialization, and most importantly, they get to implement their learnings on the job.

Cultural Enrichment

Culture is an organization’s DNA, defining its identity, values, and behavior. A learning and knowledge-sharing culture enriches this DNA, fostering a vibrant and engaging work environment.

TinyPulse, in their survey, states that peers are the #1 reason employees go the extra mile at work. Organizational Learning and Knowledge Management strengthen this peer-to-peer interaction, building a solid workplace relationship and culture that is hard to erase.

Innovation Beyond Boundaries

In one of our previous blogs, we discussed organizational silos and how they stifle innovation and growth.In that article, we shared so many ways to combat silos, and the main ones were continuous learning and knowledge management.

When you build a culture where people can communicate, learn, share knowledge, and ask for help, you eliminate organizational silos. When silos are off the table, innovation becomes a breeze.

Sustainable Growth

Growth in itself is not enough, but one that stands the test of time is what every organization craves. Sustainable growth is key to any organizational success, and this is why it is reflected in the mission portfolio of every organization.

The combination of organizational learning and knowledge management establishes the foundation for sustainable organizational growth. Companies that prioritize knowledge management will have a higher survival rate because they are always growing and adapting to change.

Benefits of Organizational Learning and Collaboration

Growth and innovation are just some of the many benefits you reap from incorporating continuous learning, knowledge management and collaboration in your organization. This section is going to cover some of the other benefits.

Enhanced Adaptability and Agility

Organizational learning coupled with effective knowledge management cultivates enhanced adaptability and agility. A survey by McKinsey revealed that companies that promote a culture of continuous learning are 30% more adaptable to market changes. Continuous learning allows for easy prediction and early implementation of defensive strategies in cases of threats and, in cases of opportunities, better positioning for success.

Innovation and Creativity

PwC’s Breakthrough Innovation and Growth study states that 74% of CEOs regard innovation as important to their company’s success. We already spoke about innovation in the previous section. Still, to buttress our point, when an organization makes learning and collaboration part of its culture, it grows essentially because of diversity.

Diversity in this context is not limited to race or skin color. We are also talking about skills and ideas. In an article by McKinsey titled ‘Why diversity matters,’ the author said, and we agree, “more diverse companies are better able to improve their customer orientation, employee satisfaction, and decision making, and all that leads to a virtuous cycle of increasing returns.”

To add to that, encouraging collaboration among cross-teams will lead to skyrocketed growth.

Enhanced Communication

Effective communication in the workplace leads to better understanding, thereby building a healthy work environment where success can thrive. By incorporating organizational learning to your culture, you are encouraging cross team collaboration and communication.

Cross-Functional Synergy

OL and KM promote cross-functional synergy, creating room for the harmonization of diverse skills for the achievement of a unique goal. Harvard Business Review’s post on Cross-Functional Management indicates that companies with strong cross-functional capabilities achieve higher revenue growth. This beautiful merger of talents that OL and KM provide pilots the organization to grow.

Employee Engagement and Satisfaction

Employees are the driving force of every organization, and when dissatisfied, productivity tends to decline. However, a culture of organizational learning and collaboration encourages employees to share their expertise and connect with team members, fostering a sense of engagement and job satisfaction. It provides an avenue and a safe space for employees to collaborate their ideas, boosting morale and hence enhancing satisfaction. It is a win-win situation for both the company and the staff.

Quality Improvement

Learning leads to upskilling, and this improves the value of the staff and the organization. The world has evolved from the viewpoint of quantity to quality. Therefore, every organization seeks to improve the value of their offer, hence undergoing knowledge and skills like customer problem-solving strategies, highly effective training modules, or streamlined financial calculations. This reduces repetitive tasks and boosts the quality of delivery, leading to consumer satisfaction and business productivity and profitability.

Talent Development

Organizational Learning and Collaboration help in recognizing exceptional talents and skills. Deloitte’s Leading in Learning research shows companies with a strong learning culture have 37% higher employee productivity. Most employees are unaware of the talents they possess. By investing in employee development through OL and KM, these gems are discovered and nurtured for the benefit of the organization.

Customer Satisfaction

According to a Salesforce report, 73% of customers expect companies to understand their needs. OL and KM contribute to this understanding by bringing the needs of customers to the awareness of the organization, and they use this to provide goods and services that give maximum satisfaction. Satisfied customers are more likely to remain loyal and advocate for the brand.

Overcoming Challenges in Organizational Learning

Organizational learning comes with its challenges, and it is the duty of management to curb and eliminate these challenges. But first, let’s look at some of the challenges and see the suitable ways to deal with them.

Lack of Leadership Support

Most times, leaders in organizations inefficiently prioritize their roles, and this hinders the implementation of organizational learning. In a Gartner article titled ‘Why Leaders Succeed,’ the author Sharon George said, “for learning initiatives to be successful, most of the responsibility lies with leadership.”

When leaders’ interests do not align with that of the learning objective, there is a lack of support, and therefore, learning does not go as planned.

Resistance to Change

Rigid processes and mindsets pose as barriers to learning and accepting the new developments in the business world. Businesses and organizations should realize that the only constant factor is change and, therefore, embrace a more flexible and welcoming mode of operation.

Knowledge Silos and Communication Barriers

Project Management Institute found that employees hold 67% of knowledge and are not effectively shared. KM strategies should be adopted because they help ease the flow of information and enable easy achievement of goals.

Inadequate Learning Infrastructure

Most organizations are under-equipped in terms of learning facilities, and this poses a threat to organizational learning. The right infrastructure should be implemented to ensure employees get the best learning experience, as this would benefit everyone involved.

Lack of Time and Resources

Poor scheduling has led to poor time management in workplaces. Lack of time can also be attributed to work overload and multitasking. LinkedIn Learning found that 58% of employees prefer to learn at their own pace. It is advised that learning programs should be custom-made for each employee, alongside every necessary resource required to make their learning a success. This would make the learning process easy, fun, and less time-consuming.

Ineffective Measurement and Assessment

One of the biggest challenges with organizational learning is measurement and assessment. No one can accurately measure and assess employees to know if they’ve learned. But there are ways around it.

However, one of the biggest mistakes many organizations make with assessment is setting unrealistic expectations. To rectify that, trained project managers should be put in place to prepare realistic expectations for learning.

Also, with knowledge management software like Document360 with an analytics feature, you see how your employees interact with the content: what they read, what they like, etc.

Is Knowledge Management in the Oil and Gas Sector a Good Idea?

Any industry looking to increase efficiency and improve profits will benefit from knowledge management if they have the resources to empower its implementation. Since the cost of losing knowledge is so high – businesses are estimated to lose $47 million in productivity annually – knowledge management is a good idea.

Oil and gas companies have the budgets and the organizational structure to make knowledge management feasible. They often operate internationally, with many divisions performing similar functions, meaning companies can benefit from sharing best practices internally. New projects such as drilling a new oil rig require multi-billion dollar investments, so careful risk assessment and information-sharing are essential.

It’s not so much about whether oil and gas companies should put knowledge management into practice as it is about when. Market challenges in the 1990s and early 2000s such as loss of traditional sources of energy and the pressure to become more environmentally friendly means that oil and gas companies must embrace a knowledge-sharing culture.

How can Knowledge Management Benefit the Oil and Gas Industry

Now, we will look at some of the main benefits of knowledge management for the oil and gas industry.

Better operational risk management

The oil and gas industry is inherently risky, regularly searching for new energy sources and looking for better business methods.By identifying past success, companies can ensure better operational risk management to increase the likelihood that new projects will reap benefits. Evaluation and analysis through better KM help businesses avoid unmitigated disasters by foreseeing and preventing potential problems.

Increased efficiency

In all likelihood, there’s already a high chance someone in your company knows how to do something. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel when tackling a new task. Instead of embarking on costly projects that might not work, you can work out if somebody has already found a solution to your problem. This saves hours and money for R&D if you know in advance whether something will likely work. Although every situation is unique, there are still key learning points you can apply.

Improved supplier and vendor management

Suppliers and vendors for the organizations will likely serve more than one department, so knowledge about these critical relationships should be shared. Some departments may be getting a better deal from suppliers, which results in inefficiencies for the organization. Managing these relationships centrally helps to standardize processes and production and ensures a more streamlined exchange with these vital partners for the business.

Knowledge Transfer and Employee Training

As we’ve already mentioned, senior employees who possess a wealth of knowledge about the business may be nearing retirement age. Other employees may simply move on to seek out better opportunities elsewhere. Knowledge management helps capture their knowledge using technology or pass it on to other employees remaining in their posts. Improving knowledge transfer and enhancing training for new employees ensures that valuable knowledge is not lost.

Use Cases of Knowledge Management in the Oil and Gas Industry

There are several ways that knowledge management can be used in practice for oil and gas companies.

Exploration and Drilling Optimization

When companies explore new territories and drill for new sources of oil and gas, they need to be fully conscious of the risks and challenges involved in these activities. By sharing the knowledge and experience of their technical experts, even ones not directly involved in the project, they can reduce the likelihood of costly mistakes. Knowledge management can help protect them from potential lawsuits resulting from malpractice.

Reservoir Management

Reservoir management is a complex process that utilizes industrial technologies and well-established best practices to maximize the profits from a hydrocarbon reservoir. This means that knowledge management must be used to understand reservoirs’ typical behavior and make the most of current data to help decrease risk and increase oil and gas production. Since reservoir management is usually an ongoing process, companies can continually refine their approach using knowledge management.

Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) Compliance

Oil and gas are dangerous with inherent health, safety, and environmental risks. Knowledge management can help ensure compliance through following established and trusted procedures that ensure the physical safety of employees as well as protecting the environment as much as possible. Companies have a legal duty to comply with HSE and must ensure all employees have access to the right information to do their jobs.

Geological and Geophysical Data Analysis

Geological and geophysical data analysis can be used by oil and gas companies to identify possible sites for drilling by gathering information on the structure and properties of the earth below the surface. By gathering and analyzing appropriate data, companies can minimize exploration risks and maximize the chances of extracting resources. Knowledge management ensures this information is properly managed and disseminated.

Global Collaboration

Companies may explore for oil and gas across different countries and continents, with related departments operating in different territories. If groups can work together through sharing knowledge, the organization can become more highly efficient and apply the same techniques anywhere in the world. Some companies have expressed a desire to learn from others in the industry, which also helps to promote best practices.

Oil and Gas Companies with Knowledge Management: Examples

Now we’re going to look at some prime examples of oil and gas companies that have implemented knowledge management.

Murphy Oil Corporation

Murphy Oil Corporation ensures that it is compliant with governance by dedicating a space on its website to governance documents. By making this information widely available, employees can become aware of the company’s policies and follow the rules when conducting their business.

Chevron

Chevron has become an inspirational leader in the field of knowledge management for the gas and oil industry. They were particularly interested in using knowledge to drive learning and improvement and learning from experts outside of the organization to help them solve their problems. In implementing KM, they chiefly responded to the pressure for cost reduction by improving their operations.

BP

In 1998, BP became the largest producer of oil and gas in the US. They have used knowledge management to outcompete their rivals by enabling the exchange of knowledge between people within their organization. They use informal or semi-formal networks of people with a shared professional or technical field of expertise to share their own knowledge. While IT has been important, prioritizing people has played a central role in the success of their knowledge management initiatives.

ConocoPhillips

ConocoPhillips wanted to expand their exploration efforts in the Deepwater Gulf of Mexico, so they employed data management systems to capture the large amounts of data available and use it to inform the decision-making process. In order to help employees find information quickly and limit costs, they used Oracle’s ConText search engine to link their databases together and developed an integrated document management system.

Exxon Mobil

Exxon Mobil engaged with the challenge of motivating employees to participate in knowledge-sharing initiatives, although they currently lack formal incentives. While leaders may extol the virtues of knowledge management, the benefits are not always clear to employees on the ground. They also dealt with the problem of information overload, where employees were overwhelmed with knowledge and failed to choose the right source to help them.

How to Implement Knowledge Management Strategy in the Oil and Gas Industry

There are a few key steps that organizations need to go through if they are to effectively implement knowledge management in their industry.

Identify critical knowledge

First of all, oil and gas companies need to know exactly what knowledge they want to capture. This may be information about operational processes or data concerning new sites to extract resources. When companies understand exactly what to document, they can then develop a system that will house this knowledge and make it easily accessible to employees who need it.

Invest in the right technology infrastructure

As we have seen, many companies would not separate their knowledge from their IT infrastructure. While knowledge is primarily captured through people, software tools must be used to store and search this knowledge, and companies can benefit from a dedicated knowledge base to create and publish documentation.

Knowledge capture

Oil and gas companies need to develop a process whereby they are regularly capturing and storing information. This could be formalized by rewarding employees who document tacit knowledge or could simply be through creating a knowledge-sharing culture, like BP. Capturing knowledge requires insight into what will be useful in the future, without overwhelming the system with lots of irrelevant data.

Knowledge access and retrieval

It must be easy for employees to find and access the right knowledge at the point of need. Tools like knowledge base software Document360 enable employees to search or browse the documents in order to quickly discover information that is relevant to their jobs. There must be some system of classification to enable companies to make sense of the large amount of knowledge available at their fingertips.

Knowledge governance

Your knowledge management strategy influences knowledge governance and deals with ongoing best practices for your knowledge repository.It typically formalizes your organization’s approach to the creation of your content and concerns the correct usage of your knowledge base – in other words, determines how your knowledge is governed. If companies can get knowledge governance right, then they will have a valuable resource for employees who are looking for answers.

Cultivate a knowledge-sharing culture

Some companies find that communities of practice (groups of technical experts sharing ideas and information within the company) work well as a method of disseminating knowledge, alongside traditional knowledge bases storing technical documents. Employees must be empowered to share their knowledge and understand the benefits if knowledge management is to succeed in the company.

Commitment to learning and improvement

Knowledge management is an ongoing process, requiring a commitment to learning and improvement even when times are tough. In fact, when budgets are restricted, this is a crucial era to be conserving knowledge since it vastly improves productivity and efficiency. Employees must be selected on their ability to improve upon past outcomes and ensure teams can learn from their mistakes without blaming any single individual.

What is Knowledge Management in Education?

In any institution, not just Education, knowledge management is:
“…the process of capturing, distributing, and effectively using knowledge.” – Tom Davenport (1994)

This means, that within education, instead of treating knowledge as an ephemeral and mysterious process, individuals actively seek to document their knowledge for reuse and sharing with others. This means finding out what knowledge the institution holds, finding a way to write it down or record it, and enabling others to benefit from this knowledge.

The university establishes a digital platform where students can access a centralized repository of study materials, including lecture notes, slides, practice questions, and recommended readings. This ensures that all relevant resources are easily accessible in one place. While educational professionals may struggle to justify spending their limited time on managing knowledge, doing so is essential if they want to improve student outcomes and remain competitive in the sector. The relative age of some universities can also present challenges, as well-established and prestigious universities are often very competitive with old ways of doing things.

“Knowledge management brings together three core organizational resources – people, processes and technologies – to enable the organization to use and share information more effectively.” – Knowledge Management in Education: Defining the Landscape.

While Knowledge Management has become well-established in the business world, it has only recently gained interest in educational institutions and university research centers.

Factors Driving the Trend of KM Adoption in Education

Emphasis on Tacit Knowledge Transfer for Students and Mentors

Universities often emphasize tacit knowledge transfer in various contexts to enhance learning and skill development. Students gain tacit knowledge by directly engaging with equipment, conducting experiments, and problem-solving in real-world scenarios.

Also, many universities offer internships, practicums, or co-op programs that allow students to work in professional settings related to their fields. This practical experience helps students develop tacit knowledge by applying classroom concepts to real-world challenges.

The valuable skills, abilities, and experiences of professors and researchers should be shared to benefit the institution and field of study as a whole.

Promotion of Faster Innovation in Research

Knowledge management systems in universities can assist research funding agencies in assessing the impact and outcomes of research projects conducted within academic institutions. The institution establishes a comprehensive repository that houses research papers, articles, conference proceedings, and other scholarly works.

Researchers can access existing research to build upon, fostering innovation and preventing redundant efforts. A dedicated section of the knowledge management system serves as an innovation incubator. Researchers can pitch ideas, share preliminary findings, and collaborate on emerging research topics, encouraging a culture of exploration and experimentation.

Keeping standards high and maintaining prestige are two important goals for any established university.

Integration of Software Tools

Knowledge management can be divided into the twin arms of technological systems and information systems. Technological systems such as software solutions must be integrated if they are to facilitate the free flow of information among the faculty, and KM experts within the organization are seeking compatible systems.

Ultimately, it must be the experience of using the software tools that drives the adoption of knowledge management technologies. Even the best system in the world is useless if staff are failing to use it, and robust integrations are helpful in ensuring that your systems deliver value to their institutions.

When you choose a SaaS knowledge base solution like Document360, you can benefit from powerful integrations that work without the intervention of technical specialists.

Empowering Universities and Institutions with KM

Now we’re going to take a look at some of the many benefits of knowledge management that help to empower universities and other higher education institutions.

Enhancing Collaboration

What is the first thing that becomes easier when you invest in sharing knowledge?
Knowledge management systems in universities provide a centralized platform where teaching materials, lecture notes, assignments, and additional resources can be stored and accessed by both faculty and students. Collaborative tools within the knowledge management system enable instant communication between faculty and students. This facilitates asking questions, seeking clarifications, and providing feedback.

Not less, It also enables students to share their expertise with peers, offering tutoring or mentoring in areas where they excel. Students can collaborate on group projects and engage in discussions using tools like discussion boards, chat, and knowledge bases, promoting teamwork and peer learning.

Effective Staff Training

Training is important, particularly when new teaching faculty join academia. Here, having a Knowledge management system in place ensures that training materials are standardized and consistently delivered to all staff members, ensuring a uniform understanding of processes and practices across departments.

If you onboard a new staff member and they have no idea how the organization works, they won’t be able to get up to speed as quickly. It’s not necessary for them to ask their colleagues for as much time out in order to get help, and tacit knowledge can be passed on through appropriate documentation.

Efficient Course Development

When developing courses for universities and other higher education institutions, it’s important to have access to a back catalog of course content to discover what has already been covered. Academics can pool their resources to draw in new students who are seeking exciting new topics of study, as well as covering the basics.

If you don’t record the content of past courses then it won’t be captured for posterity. Course development will lack direction and academics may also be developing new courses that overlap too much with one another, restricting the amount of ground you can cover during the academic year. Reviewing past courses can also potentially unearth potential new areas of research.

Research Enhancement

Research relies on recording data and studies and sharing that knowledge with others. Without access to studies completed in one easy portal, your new study will lack comprehensiveness. Universities are storehouses of knowledge enhancing many fields of human endeavor, which requires collaboration through research.

Imagine if researchers knew exactly what each other was up to through knowledge-sharing. Research could progress much more quickly, and cross-disciplinary studies could become more of a possibility. Research goes hand-in-hand with knowledge management, although it might not seem like it at first glance.

Efficient Administrative Operations

According to a McKinsey Global Institute report, effective knowledge management can reduce the time spent searching for information by up to 35%. This is a huge gain for higher education institutes, which are under increasing pressure to account for their expenditure and provide a valuable student experience.

Less time spent engaging in administrative activities means more resources can be spent delivering courses that benefit students who are enrolled. Mission-critical activities within the organization need to be prioritized over ever-expanding administrative duties that nevertheless keep the organization running.

Creating a Centralized Knowledge Hub

Without proper Knowledge Management, academia and universities lack a centralized hub for their knowledge. This means that vital information could reside in any number of places, requiring team members to search multiple repositories to find the answers they need. Worse, duplicate information could exist in different places, rendering the reliability of the information in doubt.

So centralizing your knowledge hub empowers universities to get more out of their knowledge, bringing disparate sources of knowledge together into one place where any staff member can access it. Knowledge becomes more reliable over time as experts verify its accuracy and promote the use of the knowledge hub across the institution.

Knowledge Preservation and Continuity

While it’s important to share knowledge in real-time, institutions will also want to preserve their knowledge for posterity. Knowledge management systems in universities help in capturing institutional memories. In addition to explicit knowledge, it facilitates the capture of tacit knowledge—informal insights, experiences, and expertise possessed by individuals. This knowledge, which is often difficult to transfer, is preserved and can benefit future staff members.

Your knowledge is a key asset, just like your people and technology. For learning institutions in particular, the preservation of knowledge underpins your survival and ensures that you can keep offering courses and programs that appeal to a wide range of students.

Enhancing Student Engagement and Communication

In situations where physical attendance is not possible, KM systems can host virtual classrooms, webinars, and online lectures, ensuring continuous learning. Many KM systems are accessible via mobile devices, allowing students to engage with learning materials and communicate with peers and instructors on the go.

Also, departments can coordinate events, workshops, and seminars more effectively through knowledge management tools, ensuring wider participation and communication. It’s the responsibility of higher education institutions to look after their student’s additional needs, using data, and information, to provide a better learning experience. Students expect more than ever that universities strive to meet their needs and provide a tangible return on investment.

Case Studies: Successful Implementation of KM in Education

Ajman University, a UAE-based private institution, successfully transformed its user support and IT helpdesk operations through the implementation of Document360, a knowledge management platform. In order to enhance user experiences, the university provided a 24/7 accessible knowledge base to address challenges with their previous document-based system, which lacked visual appeal, navigation ease, and additional features. They achieved this by offering an intuitive interface for technical writers to create and update articles quickly, interactive navigation, customization options for the design, and categorization of information, as well as the ability to attach rich media. An internal survey found a 30% reduction in weekly support calls as a result of this transition. Document360 was appreciated for its flexibility and effectiveness in supporting the university’s technical support operations.

Two US higher education institutions implemented a knowledge management position in their organization, which initially met with resistance. This resistance came from other members of the organization who considered themselves to already be the purveyors of knowledge and resented this intrusion. These knowledge management experts overcame the challenge by using existing organizational terms, such as ‘collegiality’, ‘collaboration’, and ‘teamwork’, to gain support for knowledge management.

One UK Russell group university, although a very old organization, embraces twenty-first-century management practices of knowledge management by redefining one of their executive positions to have responsibility for KM in both title and duties. This person’s role is to drive change across the university through KM, including through each of the devolved colleges led by different faculty heads. Better knowledge management is all part of changing the way that this university does business.