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For white-collar employees, worktime typically means screentime. And today, the majority of U.S. office workers spend up to 20 hours of their workweek using digital communication tools, according to the Forbes State of Workplace Communication in 2024.
While it’s been shown that the proliferation of always-on communication tools has impacted employees’ work-life balance and inability to “disconnect” from the work day, there’s another significant consequence of those tools we can’t ignore: Each hour spent collaborating with others online via virtual meeting spaces, online chat and file sharing generates data.
Some of that data is transient, such as customer satisfaction insights and project deadlines. Other information, such as revenue data and strategic goals, fall into the persistent data category, which can be key to making smarter business decisions. The problem is: many organizations do not have a way to document, store, share or use this data.
This lack of a knowledge management strategy isn’t always easy to fix, either. Simply creating a knowledge management strategy or buying a tool isn’t enough. In fact, IDC research has found that only 45% of those organizations that have implemented knowledge management actually use the systems. The lack of use is often due to challenges that organizations face with putting their knowledge management system into action.
Here are five common challenges and how to overcome each one.
Eliminating Data Silos
Deb Ashton, the founder and current SVP of customer experience at Certinia, said that every day, either a colleague or customer shares with her their struggles, such as managing a global workforce of remote or hybrid workers or making forecasting decisions. Maybe not surprisingly, almost every conversation comes back to the same pain point: the lack of a single location for data that gives a complete picture of the customer and organization for accurate analytics.
When teams and departments use different tools for collecting and storing data instead of having a central platform, they create an additional hurdle to getting a single view of all the data. While many people point to inefficiency as the biggest risk with data silos, Ashton said it goes deeper — and is really about alignment.
Having a unified platform means that every team member, regardless of department, has access to the same information to best serve their specific needs and make better informed decisions.
"While being able to offer personalized ways to access the data is a really critical software component, I’ve seen firsthand how this upgrade in departmental and tool alignment can change an organization’s ability to respond to customer needs quickly and effectively," Ashton said.
Related Article: Knowledge Management Means More Than Just Mining Digital Exhaust
Capturing In-Person Information Sharing
Ben Grimwade, software engineering team lead at Bloomberg LP, noticed that knowledge was often being shared casually, such as during hallway chats or through overheard conversations. As a result, the information was not being captured for others to use or learn from.
To rectify the issue, Grimwade’s team created a process to document all knowledge shared in a format that is easy to scan and use in the future. They agreed to document conversations, whether in a formal meeting or casual conversation, in a group-wide Slack channel and then written up in Discourse.
“Slack is the ‘online office’ where general chat happens and is a kind of publisher/subscriber point for general conversations and quick announcements,” said Grimwade. “Discourse enables a more detailed write-up of a conversation with the ability for others to read up on it and comment or question as they desire.”
Building a Culture of Knowledge Sharing
It’s easy — and tempting — to focus on technology for knowledge management, but the best knowledge management tools are worthless if they are not used.
Creating a knowledge-sharing culture is key, and it’s a process that needs to be built and nurtured, with leaders keeping a close ear to the ground to spot issues and challenges. For instance, IDC research revealed that two of the top four process challenges with knowledge management are related to culture: employees hoarding knowledge, and employees not being motivated or rewarded to use the knowledge.
Erik Severinghaus, founder and co-CEO of Bloomfilter, said knowledge-sharing isn’t a system but a mindset that he's worked to instill in his employees. Leaders at Bloomfilter don’t focus only on the outcome but also on the methodologies that are used. At the same time, the organization works to create transparency and a collaborative culture where employees share their knowledge with each other.
“This pertains not to compelling all individuals to meticulously document every action, but to establishing an atmosphere in which the exchange of insights occurs effortlessly,” said Severinghaus. “When there is a team that is eager to share their knowledge and learn from one another, the amount of time and energy saved is remarkable.”
Related Article: Creating a Culture of Knowledge Sharing, Not Hoarding
Getting the Right Information When It’s Needed
Search is often brought up as an issue with knowledge management. Creating a system that includes a well-organized and easy-to-use search is important, but more than a simple search database is needed. True knowledge management success happens when each team member has the data they need, when they need it and in the format that makes the most sense for their purposes.
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By using generative AI embedded into the systems, organizations can provide both customers and employees information before they ask for it. For example, if an employee makes a mistake in a tool and receives an error message, they can be informed how to fix it right on the screen and click a link for more information. If someone is in the middle of completing a task and appears to be struggling, they can receive suggestions or recommendations for how to proceed. If someone repeatedly performs a task the long or hard way, they can see tips on how to make the process easier or more efficient.
Scaling Knowledge Management
An organization’s knowledge management needs today likely won’t be the same next year — or even next month. New products might be added. The team may grow. Maybe a different target audience is to be focused on. No one wants to create new processes and rebuild the system each time the company’s needs change, especially when there’s a 100% chance that those needs will shift again.
“One of the lessons I’ve learned is the importance of constructing knowledge systems that have the capacity for expansion alongside one's personal growth,” said Severinghaus. “That entails the establishment of routine audits and maintaining the flexibility to incorporate new tools or strategies seamlessly without causing disruption to the entire system.”