Over the years, we’ve partnered with thousands of companies to help them enable their organizations with the skills, content, tools, and insights they need to grow. During this time we’ve noticed how important a culture of knowledge sharing is to enablement. That’s why we’re excited to bring you the second post in our three-part blog series that takes a look at how go-to-market teams can create, motivate, and implement a culture of knowledge sharing. You can read the first post about the importance of knowledge sharing here. Or, check out the second post which takes a closer look at motivating employees to participate in knowledge sharing.
Over the course of this blog series, we’ve identified what knowledge sharing is, why it’s important for enablement success, and how to encourage employees to embrace the practice.
And while knowledge sharing largely depends on your company’s enablement culture and the people on your go-to-market team, you can’t effectively share knowledge across your organization without the right tools and systems in place.
In this post, we’ll take a look at why knowledge sharing depends on technology and share the knowledge management system features you should look for.
What’s the role of technology in knowledge sharing?
Successful knowledge sharing requires efficient gathering and storing of information so it can be easily accessed and shared with others across the organization. This is nearly impossible if organizations don’t have a knowledge management tool in place.
A knowledge management system helps organizations identify, capture, organize, and share information across an organization. It also creates a centralized repository of information and source of truth that prevents users from switching from system to system to find the knowledge they need when they need it. While some organizations may try to repurpose project management and communication tools for their knowledge management process, it really takes a dedicated tool to make knowledge sharing a streamlined process.
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Essential knowledge management features to look for
While some organizations may try to repurpose project management and communication tools for their knowledge management process, it really takes a dedicated tool to make knowledge sharing a streamlined process. So, if your organization is ready to power knowledge sharing with a knowledge management tool, we suggest looking for the following features and functionality.
Optimized formats
Not all formats of information are created equal, and it’s beneficial to store and organize knowledge with some consideration of how it’s used. There are some solutions that store knowledge in more than long-form text, such as in Q&A or FAQ formats. Other solutions leverage more in-depth formats like Guides. This allows you to choose the knowledge formats that are most suitable for your team’s needs, the information that’s covered, and the context in which it will be used.
Multi-silo search
It comes as no surprise that information and knowledge end up becoming siloed across multiple tools, systems, and teams. This creates a search and access problem that can be solved with a tool that uses advanced search functionality. This scans multiple systems, like your training software and sales content management system, and produces results in a single query.
Knowledge verification
As we’ve discussed, great knowledge management depends on your team’s ability, willingness, and readiness to share their knowledge with the rest of the team. But just because someone shares a piece of information, that doesn’t mean that it’s automatically true or correct. A knowledge management system enables trainers, team leaders, and other subject-matter experts to verify shared information to ensure it’s up-to-date and relevant.
Deep integrations with the tech stack
It’s important to make sure that your knowledge tool’s sharing functionality works seamlessly where employees communicate and collaborate. For many modern settings, that place includes Slack. If your team works with a CRM or in a specific email tool, it’s crucial to make sure that they can surface knowledge from those systems as well. Regardless of your tech stack, it’s best to find a tool that works well with the tools your team already uses on a daily basis.
Powerful analytics
Without insights as to how knowledge is used, it’s difficult to assess if your knowledge management strategy is working as planned. The best tools include powerful analytics that help leaders answer the following questions:
- What questions are being asked?
- Are there knowledge gaps? What are they?
- Where are they accessing the knowledge from? Slack? The browser?
- Is knowledge out of date?
Enable knowledge sharing with Seismic
For revenue teams, the search for information to do their jobs effectively is never-ending. That’s why the Seismic Enablement Cloud™ includes Seismic Knowledge. With Seismic Knowledge, go-to-market teams can get access to answers at their point of need, in the flow of work, and at scale. This extends and optimizes the capabilities of your enablement efforts by providing teammates with fast, accurate support when they need it. As a result, organizations reduce knowledge silos, boost productivity, and close deals faster. Ready to get started? Get a demo, or click on any of the links down below to learn more about Seismic.
