What this post is about
- Consider The Basics Of The Knowledge Base
- Divide The Organization Into Teams
- Structure And Design Comprehensible
- Stick To Formatting
- Establish Understandable And Simple Structures
Cost-efficient and transparent handling of knowledge: Companies that maintain a knowledge base benefit from numerous advantages. In addition to the internal sharing of knowledge, which guarantees independence and flexibility, the knowledge pool can also assume the function of a help center for customers.
Instead of spending minutes on hold, customers can simply use the Self-Service to help themselves. This strengthens the bond with the company and contributes to the growing satisfaction rate. That makes it all the more important that the knowledge base always presents itself as tidy and clear.
Paying Attention To The Basics Of Your Knowledge Base
Maintaining the knowledge base is an ongoing process that never ends. What may sound frustrating at first, is the nature of things: Knowledge is inexhaustible! The more content is integrated into the knowledge base, the more valuable and helpful it is for colleagues and customers. At the same time, all content wants to be kept up to date to remain relevant.
However, with each company year and the growth of your company, you will realize that logical organization requires more than a simple table of contents or search box to make all the content accessible.
Formats, instructions, and checklists, which content should not be missing in my knowledge base? Read everything about Knowledge Base contents.
Organize Your Knowledge Archive
Don't become insecure about the amount of content you've already created! At first glance, it may seem impossible to group all the existing information into different clusters or categories. But it is not at all.
Take a step-by-step approach and explore what content and topics can be clustered into groups. Groups can be sub-topics, into which content can be assigned. We recommend a three-tier system consisting of collections, categories, and articles. It reduces complexity to a minimum and gets you closer to your goal quickly.
- Collections: Collections represent the top level of your document organization system. Each collection should cover completely different products or departments to avoid overlap.
- Categories: Categories are the middle level of your organization system. They allow you to organize information within a collection by topic. An example of this would be our Zammad Documentation, where you can find all the instructions and descriptions for a very specific product, sorted by category.
- Articles: Articles are the most important building blocks of the knowledge base. Each article should cover a specific topic or discussion point. This way you generate unique content and avoid duplication. Users will find it much easier to find the right information if there is a detailed article for each keyword or topic.
Within Zammad, collections and categories can both be mapped via categories and any number of sub-categories. This way, you can nest your articles with a simple assignment, just like in a folder system.
Simple Structure & Clear Design
Very important: The design of your knowledge base must grow with the content. So it's essential that as it grows in size and richness, you also adapt the structure as soon as it becomes necessary. Compare it to a room full of books: the more books you put in, the less space and clarity. Alternative ways to get to the right books are needed!
Think about how you want to implement the necessary reorganization and structuring. Logical sorting through tables of contents is the first step. Also, check to see if any new products or topics have been added to your business portfolio that requires new collections or categories to be added and populated with articles. Are there any cross-category keywords that articles should additionally link to?
Additionally, every few months, take the time to randomly read through various articles to check content for correct data or outdated structures. Zammad will help you quickly identify such texts that have not been updated for a long time. Inactive links that go nowhere should also be sorted out or updated.
Summary
Take time to organize your knowledge base! Think of your knowledge pool as a true treasure trove of information that should be carefully cultivated. With each additional logical placement of articles, you will create a self-explanatory reference work that your company will continue to benefit from in the future.