What’s one thing we, organizations, have in common?
We all need to distribute information. And most of the time, we need to distribute different kinds of information to different groups of people. This covers internal departments, office locations, and remote employees. But it also covers everyone else – your customers, prospects, members, committees, contractors… the list goes on. When the right people can access, receive, and engage with valuable information, teams are more productive and aligned, and your customers have quicker and more positive experiences with your brand.
This is why, regardless of what your internal goals are and how your company is structured, one commonality remains: to centralize information and share knowledge with the right people.
Unfortunately, many organizations struggle to efficiently provide their teams with the information they need. According to CSO Insights, the research division of Miller Heiman Group, 83% of respondents say they have problems accessing the data they need to do their jobs. This signifies a couple issues:
- Employees are less productive or they are not working as efficiently as they can because they’re spending valuable time searching for internal information.
- Decision makers do not understand how teams use information to accomplish their goals, which may vary depending on the department.
- …And because of this lack of understanding, organizations are wasting resources by not investing in the best knowledge sharing tools that deliver optimal value.
Workplaces put a lot of focus on centralizing, storing and organizing information. But this doesn’t mean that employees can access the information or that they’re even seeing it. That’s why workplaces also need the ability to distribute targeted communications to specific departments, project groups, and administrators, so that knowledge is not just organized, but also front and center for the right people.
At Axero, we call this knowledge sharing demand the one-to-many concept.
One-to-many refers to the distribution of vital information from one source (you or your organization) to many different groups of people (your audience).
We’ve found from our customers that this can mean many things depending on how your organization functions. You may have a traditional structure and need an easy way to share knowledge with internal departments or distant office locations. Or, you might work with dozens of businesses who are not direct staff, but entities you need to engage with for a common purpose (much like our customer, AiArthritis!) Or, you have customers, students, or volunteers and need to connect them to relevant information.
In truth, the best solution is utilizing a knowledge management software that works with your business. The right solution will give you returning value on your investment because it will meet changing needs and grow with you as your company evolves. It will also be a time-saver by automatically distributing targeted information, so you always know the right knowledge is landing in the right hands.
All of these factors contribute to an overarching goal: to have the strongest, most productive workplace that retains employees, builds lasting relationships with customers and partners, and connects your ideal target audience with relevant information.
The benefits of knowledge sharing and implementing one-to-many.
You already know this—overseeing an organization has many moving parts that need to work together. When you unite strong communication, a clear business strategy, and effective technology with people who align with the values you set forth, you put your company in the best position to have a healthy and successful workforce.
Knowledge sharing, particularly targeted knowledge sharing, is the glue that holds it all together. But many workplaces have difficulties doing this effectively. Fortune 500 companies lose at least $31.5 billion a year by failing to share knowledge, according to International Data Corp.
By positioning the one-to-many model in your knowledge management strategy, you save resources by making your organization more efficient. From your internal communications, to project management, people management, heck… even workplace culture… targeted knowledge sharing transforms all aspects of your organization by expediting the time it takes to find information while unifying people and knowledge.
Let’s take a deeper look at some of these top knowledge sharing benefits:
1. Strengthened communications.
Knowledge is power and your people are your greatest asset. But if they’re missing key information or aren’t looped in to relevant updates, how can they deliver strong results? That’s why you need your people to receive content that actually matters to them.
With one-to-many, flexible knowledge sharing empowers more productive teams by distributing content that’s specific and relevant to their roles—and improving communication along the way. On a larger scale, you can keep your workforce aligned with company-wide news, like events, press releases, crisis management, in a place where they will see it.
2. Elevated collaboration and innovation.
It’s not just about the deliverability of your information but also the engagement that you can tap into. When knowledge sharing is a core component in your organizational operations, you empower a collaborative environment where employees are not outcasted by department silos.
Knowledge is attainable, everyone is included and informed, and can interact with projects, share ideas, and bring others into the conversation.
3. Increased efficiency and problem resolution.
When employees have access to up-to-date information, they can work more efficiently to complete tasks or assist customers. On the flip side, when employees have to jump through hoops to track down the right person or locate a specific report, they waste precious time.
According to Mckinsey & Company, this can be a lot of wasted time. About 28% of an employee’s workweek is spent managing emails and 20% is spent looking for internal information. This is a little more than 1/4th of the workweek! The beauty of knowledge sharing is that people, knowledge, and resources are readily available and accessible. This drives quicker problem solving and project completions because employees already have the knowledge they need at their fingertips, or can easily find it to make smarter decisions on the spot. As an added bonus, the quicker employees support customers and provide a positive experience, the happier your clients are, which increases loyalty and retention.
4. Stronger project management and workflows.
We’ve mentioned that efficiency is a huge advantage when knowledge sharing is at the forefront. This is particularly true when it comes to project management. Teams reduce the risk of duplicated efforts on the same task, because one-to-many solutions are built to share and track information about projects already underway.
Information from current projects and past ones are stored so you have a growing knowledge base that serves as a resource for future reference.
5. Better relationships between management and teams.
The working relationships between management and teams are crucial. According to studies, 57% of employees feel that they are not given clear directions. Even more startling, 69% of managers report generally not feeling comfortable communicating with their employees. If employees are unclear and managers are having communication issues, how can you successfully move forward as an organization?
By streamlining knowledge sharing to your leaders and directors, departments, and partners, you align, connect, and engage your audience with information that they need. You essentially arm your people with knowledge to confidently and efficiently complete their end goal. Communication is clear for all parties and expectations are documented so that directors have clear communication channels with their team members, which puts everyone on the same page.
6. Improved culture, morale and employee experience.
The last thing you want are confused and frustrated employees. When employees feel this way, it usually stems from feeling undervalued or unsupported. As a result, individual and team performance hinders, employees are less likely to promote your brand or talk positively about your organization, and in worst case scenarios, employee disengagement spreads to other teams. Effective knowledge sharing, keyword effective, bridges the gap. You combat confusion by providing and sharing information your employees need. Everyone is supported with tools that make their lives easier and deliver engaging information that connects them to their teams and your organization at large.
Why technology and knowledge sharing go hand in hand.
Today’s business landscape is incredibly competitive. To stay on top, organizations need to consistently release new products, offer superior services, and continue to innovate. Your internal communication strategy and performance are heightened when you have remote teams, numerous offices, or you’re trying to engage with a large audience, because you have one more barrier to work through: distance. That’s why technology, particularly having the best knowledge sharing tools, is imperative. It will facilitate your goals, automate information distribution, and connect your organization and target audiences, near and far.
Depending on what you’re looking for, flexible platforms will also allow you to create, share, and tap into different kinds of knowledge—corporate announcements, ideation forums, people directories, targeted communications, videos, wikis, spreadsheets, just to name a few. Knowledge takes on many forms and you want to collect and store as much of it as you can. To get a real return on your investment, the tool you use must reach your audiences in a way that will engage them.
Knowledge sharing in Axero.
Axero is designed with flexibility and one-to-many functionality in its foundation. Our customers range from universities, healthcare institutions, credit unions, to nonprofits, retailers, restaurant franchises, and so many others. All from the same platform, we’re able to support vast industries because users have access to rich features that drive knowledge sharing and can be tailored to fit specific use cases.
Curious how it works? We could talk all day about how Axero supports knowledge sharing through numerous tools and numerous ways to use those tools, but here’s an overview of how you can distribute information in Axero!
Let’s start with the “one”—this is the actual knowledge that you want to create, house, and distribute to an audience. The features under this category vary depending on the kind of knowledge you’re sharing. That’s because every team and audience is different and an array of knowledge management tools gives you options to choose the best methods that will effectively engage your specific users.
Wikis, for instance, are perfect for lengthy pieces of content that’s digestible for readers, and collaborative for multiple project members to continually update and work on together.
Forums are excellent for support channels, where customers can find answers to their own questions, share ideas with other customers, and become active members in your community.
The “to”. Who and where is this information going out to? These knowledge sharing tools give you freedom to reach exactly who you want and, depending on the feature, tailor how this information is displayed.
Personas, for instance, let you create highly customized lists of people to send targeted communications to. Let’s say you’re having an in-person seminar with all IT, development, and marketing directors. With Personas, you can easily automate a list of every person who falls under this category, create a private Space (think of this as a digital hub) for all attendees, and from there, centralize calendars, schedules, announcements, and files.
Members can receive notifications about seminar updates in their portal, email inbox, and even in their browsers.
The “many”. To share knowledge, people need to be aware of it. The “many” is how you reach specific audiences or the masses. Notifications instantly alert users about updates and in Axero, you have numerous types—Slack messages, mobile push notifications, and automated emails, to name a few. Let’s say you’re focused on connecting employees with each other’s expertise. Profiles are the connecting force.
Customize the information displayed so members get actual value and can quickly find the person they’re looking for. Profiles are also always up to date because they sync with your directory—one less thing to worry about!
If you’d like to learn more about these features and others, find time to meet with us! We’d love to show you around.
In conclusion.
Knowledge is power. It lives in your employees, in your products and services, in your reports, and even your customers. When knowledge sharing is easy and effective, you strengthen how people work and connect with your company. Employees are aligned to the information and people they need to accomplish their goals. Your workforce, as a whole, shifts into a collaborative community that opens more doors for innovation and ideas. And as a result, your customers reap the benefits.
