5 tips for setting up a knowledge management system

In today’s world, there’s no doubt that knowledge is power.

Businesses are trying to capitalize on the knowledge they already have by standing up knowledge management systems (KMS) — with the ultimate goal of applying what they know to make better decisions that help them enhance their products, enter new markets, dominate new technologies, and more.

Sounds like a no-brainer, right? The only problem is businesses are finding that just because they’ve purchased a KMS, doesn’t mean their people will use it.

So how can you not only stand up a KMS, but successfully get the buy-in for it to be socialized throughout your organization?

Frank Santiago, Manager of Global Knowledge Management at Colgate-Palmolive, recently joined us for season two of our Inside Insights podcast to share how he successfully stood up a world-class, industry leading knowledge management system at Colgate-Palmolive.

In this article, we’ll cover his top five tips to help you get started on effectively setting up a knowledge management system within your own organization.

Before you do anything, you need to make sure your stakeholders are all in agreement about why a knowledge management system is necessary.

If you don’t have buy-in from leadership at the start, you’re going to have a difficult time pushing any new process forward.

Some companies may not believe they have the assets at hand to set up a knowledge management system — but in reality, a company's assets are in its information, products and people.

It’s all there, even if the information isn’t that easy to find (that’s where you come in).

You’re probably going to have to do some digging upfront to chart the path.

So make sure you conduct a full audit of the information your organization has at hand, such as the type of research and analysis, needs, budget and volume. Use that information to prove to your stakeholders that everything needed is already within reach, it simply needs to be organized into the system you're trying to set up.

If you don't know what you have, if you don't know the process on how you ask the questions, and you don't even know what you spend on what you have now, a new system is not going to solve your problems.

- Frank Santiago

After you’ve gathered the information, you also need to determine your scope and reach so you can work out who your end users are, the markets, the data and ultimately, the direction.

This one is very important. But what does it really mean?

In a nutshell, don’t overcomplicate it. Make sure the system is easy to use so your team members aren’t leery about getting started with it. (You should also make sure you can afford to keep it functioning the same way it’s presented — not just today, but well into the future).

Another way to ensure you’re setting up a knowledge management system that’s sustainable is to prove its shareable value. This can be done by starting with a pilot to prove the concept to your team and its ability to enable asynchronous work.

You have to teach your team members how to use your cool new toy.

So in addition to getting your stakeholders on board, make sure everybody's onboarded and that they have the proper training to actually use what you're building.

If you build it and don't tell anybody how to use it, they simply won't come.

By taking it slow at the beginning you're going to be able to go so fast later. I remember when I brought on my first couple of data sources, it took forever. Now, I can bring them on like nothing...But that didn't happen overnight. We just learn how to do things right

- Frank Santiago

For our fifth and final tip, Frank gave us five of the most common mistakes to avoid when setting up a knowledge management system:

1. Thinking it’s one and done (it’s not). Once it goes live, it will be a permanent commitment.

2. Trying to do it alone. Get help from those around you (you don’t have to be a hero here!).

3. Launching it all at once. Start small and then build upon it — fixing the roadblocks and errors as you go.

4. Avoiding stakeholder input. We covered this at the start, but Frank really drove this one home. If you don’t get the support at the beginning, you’ll never get the full buy-in you need.

5. Choosing perfection vs. evolution. You’re never going to create the perfect system off the bat. So go into the process thinking of it as just that — a process. To perfect the process you’re going to have to accept that it will evolve with time, and that’s okay!

It certainly isn’t easy to stand up a new system — especially when it requires team members from across the organization to change the way they work and the way they access information. But by charting the way, getting buy-in from the right people, investing in proper training and being realistic about the process, you’ll be better set up for success.