What is a knowledge base?

Share this article

Contents

Share this article

Contents

Employees are a valuable resource of know-how for company processes and information. Unfortunately, when an employee leaves, this knowledge often leaves with them. In customer-facing positions, high turnover can exacerbate this problem and negatively affect customer service. In technical roles, knowledge gaps can emerge when knowledgeable employees with decades of experience decide to retire. So how does a company preserve its employee knowledge in the long term? One solution is creating a corporate knowledge base. Knowledge bases can be used to help customers self-service information or for employees to access information. In this article, we will focus on knowledge bases for a company’s internal use. 

1. How do you structure a knowledge base?

How do you organize digital information? Without a detailed and methodical system, digital files can easily get lost and be hard to find again. Information architecture is the logic of organizing digital information. It is key to designing the structure of your knowledge base. You will find the most logical approach to organizing your knowledge base by following the philosophy of information architecture. These knowledge management principles are essential to consider when designing your knowledge base. 

So what are the best ways to structure a knowledge base? An effective knowledge base considers employee needs. What information do they access the most often, and what is a priority for constant updates? What different departments of your company will access the knowledge base? What are the functions of these employees? The answers to these questions will form the shape of your knowledge base in a way that is logical and easy to navigate.  

Knowledge base content should be tailored to the use case. Customer-facing employees need quick access to relevant information that is always up-to-date. Knowledge management systems improve customer support by giving you the option to archive customer interactions for future reference, including video calls and live chat conversations. ViiBE makes it easy to create a customized knowledge base with any relevant information your employees need to find answers quickly. You can create a knowledge base without any specific knowledge base software or technical know-how required. 

ViiBE also works excellently for use cases like remote virtual inspection (RVI.) Inspectors can connect to the call without needing to download any software. They can share photos and documents both before and during the call. With the latest release of ViiBE, they can also schedule calls in advance. Multiple calls to the same site are stored under the same ticket, simplifying access to past inspections for full traceability and quality control. Inspectors can use the laser pointer tool to move a red dot on the screen to highlight any specific parts while guiding the person filming. Screenshots and text chats from the inspection are easily added to the knowledge base. 

Knowledge base
A knowledge base is like a library of information.

2. What is a company's knowledge base?

As opposed to a self-service knowledge base for customer access, a company’s internal knowledge base is a database for employee use. It organizes specific information relating to the company’s product or service and customer service queries. There is no limit to what kind of information you store in a knowledge base, it merely depends on your company’s needs. This information can include particular processes or solutions to common problems (an employee FAQ). It can also include customer service training videos which help to institutionalize your company’s training processes. In short, think of a knowledge base like a library of information. 

A knowledge base is integral to preserving institutional knowledge. It plays a crucial role in distributing know-how evenly among employees. Each knowledge base article needs to be easily accessible at a moment’s notice because having the latest information at a glance keeps your employees up to date. By organizing things in a central location, knowledge bases save time and money. The tools you use to create a knowledge base are instrumental in ensuring its effectiveness and reliability. 

3. What is a knowledge base tool?

A knowledge base tool is the software that contains and organizes the knowledge base. Sometimes this is standalone software, and other times they are integrated into overarching software systems. Zendesk and Salesforce customer relationship management tools both include knowledge bases in their software. ViiBE has a built-in knowledge base that organizes information related to ViiBE calls, including documents or photos shared before or during the calls. ViiBE gives you a choice to record all video calls, only a portion of the call, or opt-out of recording altogether. That impacts the type of information stored in the knowledge base. 

These functionalities empower your support team to quickly find solutions for improved customer experience. ViiBE organizes multiple calls to one customer under one ticket. Its ticketing solution uses tags to track ongoing or reoccurring issues with the search function easily.

Beyond these immediate convenience features, ViiBE is designed to help you make long-term improvements in customer experience. The knowledge base allows you to conduct quality control checks after calls. You can track recurring customer issues to help you improve your product and draw real customer interaction examples for training purposes. ViiBE also integrates into the ticketing systems of Zendesk, Salesforce, and Microsoft’s CRM tools. ViiBE’s knowledge base is a flexible solution that is easily tailored to your company’s needs and use case. 

4. Conclusion

As computer databases slowly replaced paper files stored in filing cabinets, knowledge bases are the latest method of storing information in an easily accessible location. Setting up a knowledge base is essential to organize your company’s important information for employee’s quick reference and training purposes.

ViiBE makes building a knowledge base effortless and perfectly customized to your company’s needs. ViiBE makes a big step towards long-term improvements in customer experience by improving access to past customer interactions. Non-customer-facing use cases also benefit from the convenience of ViiBE’s knowledge base to organize inspections or remote maintenance. Its flexible suite of solutions can adapt to large and small companies for nearly any use case. ViiBE designed its knowledge base to ensure long-term continuity. You can rest assured that employee know-how is preserved in the knowledge base and new and old employees alike will be as well-trained as possible. 

Subscribe to our newsletter

Get updates and learn from industry experts

illustration viibe cursors1

Subscribe to our newsletter

Subscribe

Join our newsletter to keep up to date with the latest news in the visual support industry.