What Is an Internal Knowledge Base?

Quick, answer the following question in five seconds:

“What were the changes your company made to the employee benefits package over the last five years, and what were the reasons behind these changes?"

Too difficult? Here’s a simpler one:

“What were the agreed-upon deliverables and timelines for the custom solution that your company provided to Client X two years ago?”

If you can answer these questions off the top of your head, you might be a superhero!

But for most of us, getting the right answers means having access to accurate company information and documents.

That’s where an internal knowledge base comes in handy.

What Is An Internal Knowledge Base?

An internal knowledge base is a one-stop platform or reference for all the information employees need to work efficiently. It is like a centralized hub or a digital library where you can securely store and access your business’s information, like policies, standard operating procedures, product and service information, etc. An internal knowledge base is usually organized to make it easy for employees across departments to quickly access relevant data on their devices. For example, integrating an enterprise knowledge management system can further enhance the effectiveness of your knowledge base by ensuring that critical business data is well-organized and easily accessible.

How to Know That You Need an Internal Knowledge Base?

Here are some signs that your company needs an internal knowledge base:

• Your employees spend too much time searching for information needed for their work. A McKinsey research shows that employees are losing a full workday just on research. [1]
• Your HR team finds onboarding and training to be stressful and time-consuming.
• Different departments are hoarding knowledge, which leads to poor collaboration.
• Your company policies have become overly complex, causing information and best practices to be fragmented and increasing research time.
• When processes are no longer standardized or uniform, with different teams creating their own documentation and practices.
• When employees rely on a few key individuals for accurate information, which could be problematic if those individuals leave.
• When there are many redundant questions about specific projects.
• If you want to support your employees in working more independently, especially in a remote work setting.

Benefits of an Internal Knowledge Base

Here are some of the benefits of having an internal knowledge base:

Increases employee productivity and performance

Recall that McKinsey research revealed that employees only spend four days a week doing the actual work that they’re hired for. Well, even in those four days, employees lose around five hours per week while waiting for answers or information that helps them do their jobs. [2]

To put this into perspective, a junior employee might spend a whole day carrying out research for a project and then spend over five hours getting confirmation from senior colleagues for the information researched. In total, employees only carry out three full days of work per week, that is, minus the breaks and paid time off.

Having an internal knowledge base not only reduces the time your employees spend carrying out research, it also serves as a centralized communication platform for your employees. Some internal knowledge base software has communication spaces like comment sections, discussion forums, or internal chats. This makes it easier for your employees to quickly resolve issues, get information confirmation and take guidance from their peers or managers. Implementing a well-designed AI knowledge base can also significantly streamline the process by automating responses and improving information retrieval efficiency.

This interactive communication environment removes roadblocks and increases employee productivity and performance. It also allows teams and departments to collaborate more effectively and share information, leading to quicker decision-making.

Increases accuracy and standardization of information

Remember the two tragic plane crashes in 2018 and 2019 that led to the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX fleet? An investigation was launched to reveal the cause of the crashes, and it was discovered that Boeing lacked accurate and standardized information within its organization.

Apparently, engineers, pilots, and regulators were not all on the same page about how the planes’ Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) functioned. This led to inconsistencies and gaps in how safety information was communicated and documented.

A functional internal knowledge base software would have helped Boeing to maintain accurate and standardized information. This would have, in turn, enabled pilots to respond effectively when systems malfunctioned. Something as simple as this could have prevented the loss of over 300 lives and the billions Boeing lost in lawsuits, settlements, and sales.

An internal knowledge base, therefore, acts as your organization’s single, verified source of accurate information. It prevents information silos and miscommunication from forming within departments, ensures that departments have up-to-date information about your company’s data, and ensures that all employees have access to the same guidelines, procedures, and best practices. For broader impact, aligning your knowledge management strategy with business process optimization practices can enhance overall organizational efficiency and effectiveness.

Smooth employee onboarding and training

Gone are the days when employee onboarding was done solely in person, when the HR team carried out face-to-face orientation sessions, hands-on training, etc. Although this “analog” means of onboarding/training employees has evolved to a more hybrid and digital version that involves e-learning modules, virtual orientation sessions, etc, HR personnel still find the process time-consuming, complex, boring, resource-intensive, etc.

What is the best way to lighten the burden? Use an internal knowledge base system.

An internal knowledge base system provides the right coaching for employees (both new and old) to help them flourish in their roles. It creates a positive self-learning environment where new employees have access to different earning materials to help them get acquainted with their roles.

Let’s not forget that a good employee onboarding process boosts productivity by 70% and improves employee retention by 82%. [3][4] So, an internal knowledge base serves as a digital-hand holding mentor that guides your employees through every onboarding and training process to help them get acquainted with your company’s culture and values.

Reduce internal support agents’ workloads

An internal support agent is an employee who provides technical assistance and problem-solving services to other employees within the organization, typically related to IT systems, software, or company policies. In other words, an internal support agent is the human version of the internal knowledge base system.

These two can work together in a scenario where the internal knowledge base system acts like a personal assistant to support agents. This collaboration will reduce an internal support agent's workload by allowing employees to find answers and solutions on their own without needing to contact support. This means support agents handle fewer routine questions and can focus on more complex issues.

How to Create an Internal Knowledge Base

You can either create an internal knowledge base system from scratch, or you can license or subscribe from a third party (more on this below).

Here are some steps to take if you want to create an internal knowledge base from scratch:

1. Determine your internal knowledge base goals

To create an internal knowledge base, it's important to understand why you need an internal knowledge base.

This process, known as knowledge mapping, can help you set goals, such as:

1. Encouraging knowledge sharing among employees
2. Making onboarding smoother for new hires
3. Closing knowledge gaps and breaking down barriers
4. Reducing reliance on traditional tools like emails and Google Drive

Defining the goals of your internal knowledge also helps you identify the type of information that should be captured in the system. This could be the technical documentation, best practices, company policies, etc.

To figure out the right goals, take a close look at how your company currently shares and manages information. Talk to employees about the knowledge gaps they face and the platforms they use for accessing information. Ask them how these tools impact their productivity.

Survey new hires about their onboarding experience and how long it took them to get comfortable in their roles. Map out all types of data you’ll need, from processes and practices to less tangible things like values and working relationships. Set a realistic timeline with milestones to keep track of your progress. With a solid foundation, you'll have all the information you need to build an effective internal knowledge base.

2. Build a strong team

Creating an internal knowledge base is a big task that just one person can't do. You need a dedicated team to handle it from start to finish. This team will make sure that all the information on your platform is accurate and relevant. Each team member will have different roles, like researching, writing, reviewing, and managing content, based on their skills and experience.

With a strong team working together, you can create top-quality content for your knowledge base. You can customize your internal knowledge base system with tools like Atlas UP to allow you to add and remove users and groups, assigning each person a specific role, like contributor, editor, or administrator. These roles help everyone know their responsibilities and work smoothly without any conflicts.

3. Set content standards

Setting content standards is a great way to make sure everything added to your knowledge base is consistent and aligns with your company’s expectations. These standards can cover the structure and design of your content, the categories in your knowledge base, and the overall layout of the platform.

Here’s how to create a content guideline:

• Develop templates for adding and retrieving information from the knowledge base
• Include a home page and table of contents for easy navigation
• Use a font style and size that’s easy to read
• Keep the theme and layout consistent throughout the knowledge base
• Make headings short and clear
• Use images, videos, and GIFs to make the content more engaging

4. Create content hierarchy

You can organize an internal knowledge base in three ways, depending on your needs, goals, and audience. You can structure it by department, like customer support, HR, legal, IT, or design. The second option is to organize it by role or user type, such as new employees, developers/engineers, or management. The third option is to create sections based on frequently asked questions, like expenses, IT issues, or training.

How you set up the content will depend on the kind of research your employees will do in the knowledge base (which you figured out in Step 1). This step will help you optimize the knowledge base with keywords and tags so employees can easily find what they need.

5. Launch your internal knowledge base

After all content and information has been reviewed, it's ready to be published. You can launch your knowledge base online and on mobile devices so employees can access it whenever they need to. You can also offer it as a PDF or ebook, allowing employees to read the content even when they're offline.

Automatically Setup an Internal Knowledge Base System With Atlas UP

Atlas UP is an AI SaaS company that helps you quickly gain insights from your company's real, relevant data. We take the hassle out of searching for answers and reporting status updates so you can focus on what really matters.

We do this by connecting your company’s internal systems – like HR, finance, sales, and project platforms – into one easy-to-use platform using advanced language models. This way, you get fast answers to your business questions, freeing your team from constant updates and keeping productivity high.

With Atlas UP, you can get the following benefits:

• Executives can get updates and simple answers without disrupting their team's work
• You can manage all your company’s internal data from different tools in one place
• You can combine this data to give stakeholders a clear, big-picture view of your company
• You can eliminate the time-wasting task of digging through shared drives for information

We’re also committed to keeping your data safe. Atlas UP uses strong security measures to protect your company’s data within our platform. Schedule a demo with us to learn more.

Conclusion

McKinsey reports that businesses using advanced process automation and optimization can boost employee productivity by 20-25%. [5] To this end, an internal knowledge base is a great way to optimize how your team does research. You can build one yourself or use third-party tools like Atlas UP to create a single platform where everyone can easily find answers to their internal questions.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an example of an internal knowledge base?

An example of an internal knowledge base is a company-wide platform where employees can access resources like onboarding documents, HR policies, IT support guides, and project management tools. For instance, a tech company might use an internal knowledge base to store code libraries, software documentation, and development best practices for their engineering team. This helps employees quickly find information, collaborate effectively, and maintain consistency across the organization.

What is the meaning of internal knowledge?

Internal knowledge refers to the information, skills, and expertise that exist within an organization, typically shared among employees to improve efficiency and decision-making. This knowledge can include processes, best practices, company policies, and other valuable insights. It's often managed and stored in an internal knowledge base for easy access and use by employees.

What is knowledge base for internal and external users?

A knowledge base for internal users is a centralized repository of information designed to support employees within an organization, offering them access to company policies, procedures, and best practices. For external users, a knowledge base provides customers or clients with self-service resources like FAQs, troubleshooting guides, and product documentation to help them solve problems independently. Both types aim to improve efficiency, reduce support requests, and enhance user experience.