Within the walls of an organisation, a lot of knowledge floats. This is in employees' heads, written down in notepads, tucked away in Word documents and maybe even written down on post it's ;). So, of course, you want to document and organise this knowledge as clearly as possible. Especially with the onboarding of new employees, it is essential to keep knowledge within the organisation. But how do you do this, and where do you do it?
Knowledge quickly spirals out of control, and information is hard to find even in the best organisations. This results in different versions of the same document and annoys employees. The security of this information is not always guaranteed either. Of course, you want to keep control of knowledge within the organisation and not manage it via external apps such as WhatsApp. In Plek, there are pages that you can use for all kinds of knowledge sharing, from employee handbooks to an internal academy. In this blog, you will be introduced to pages and learn how to make the best use of them.
"Pages allow you to create a structure that makes it easier to find information"
But where do you put this information? At Plek, we have information pages, like an internal Wikipedia. This is a handy way of documenting knowledge. A structure can be created that makes it possible to find information intuitively. Employees can also become owners of a page, giving personal/specialist knowledge a place. In this way, colleagues can also 'profit' from this knowledge, which benefits the development of these employees. The pages also offer a more precise overview of the available information, making it easier to notice when information is missing.
Now I hear you thinking: 'handy those pages, but everything is on the s-disk, how do our office-less employees get to that information? All pages can also be viewed via the Plek employee app. There, you can quickly retrieve information without downloading documents or PDFs. So a computer is no longer necessary; even in the department, construction site or the shop, you have access to manuals, protocols and price lists. And because every employee has an account on Plek, there's no need to log in again. You can customise the mobile app. Adjust the menu structure, for example, so that your colleagues can click straight to the information they are looking for with a shortcut. Or give your knowledge base a unique name, so it stands out more.
The 'right' information is information that is relevant for the entire organisation. Think of start-up instructions, the collective labour agreement or employee handbooks. It helps to categorise this information by the department, for example. That way, knowledge is in a logical place, making it easier to find. A good structure of your knowledge base is therefore essential. It is also good to realise that pages do not only have to be a handbook; they can also be location-specific information, a start-up list, safety instructions, order forms or even reservation requests.
You can put a lot of information in there, but don't just start laying it out randomly. First, make an overview of the most used or wanted topics. In Plek, you can divide information into main pages and subpages. For example, think of HR information as the main topic. That can be subdivided into the CAO, leave requests, sick leave and regulations. Such a structure is flexible and does not have to be set in stone! You can easily 'hang' a new subpage under the main page. This allows you to respond to the information needs of your employees. For example, you add a page about salary scales with a few actions.
"By alternating text with videos or images, information is more likely to stick”
You can choose to place only text on a page, but it works better to alternate text with images or videos. After all, people have a short attention span ;). Or, as we often do at Plek, use a form to check whether your colleagues have found what they need! With a form, you can also see if the knowledge has been understood. That's handy when you share safety instructions, for example. Would you like to refer to a more extensive version or website about the subject? You can easily do that by putting a link on your page.
The significant advantage of information pages on Plek compared to a document database is that Plek is fully searchable. You can find topics even if you don't know their title. In this way, you can also find new knowledge that you would otherwise not have come across. You can help yourself by creating a good taxonomy. A taxonomy is a term from biology that means something like classification or order. At Plek, it enables you to categorise information and find it more quickly. In addition, you can add tags or descriptions to your knowledge base. These allow you to find information because a label is attached to it or because the description tells you what the page is about.
Knowledge is documented together. All the pieces of knowledge come together, which means that each employee also grows on an individual level. Because knowledge does not come from a single head, it is possible within Plek to work together on the same draft version. For example, make different people owners of a page or work together on one document. Documents can be shared in groups or attached to an information page. For an international organisation, it is, of course, essential to have different language versions. This is also easily set up in Plek.
The attentive reader will have noticed that one question has not been answered yet: how do I make sure that information remains up-to-date? In Plek, you can add an expiry date to a page. Has this date passed? Then the author of the page receives a notification with a request to check the page's content. It's that easy!
In the context of 'information is shared', it is essential to mention that there are also information pages within groups. This way, even specific knowledge can be stored within a group! For example, the technical team has added a new link. Information about the content of this link is listed on an information page within their group. This information page is also listed on the general pages of the company. This way, this information is also easily accessible to other employees, and you learn from each other! Because of the taxonomy and the set structure, everything remains clear.
As a consultant, I work with pages on Plek every week and see all kinds of variations. Together with you, we make sure the knowledge base on your site is a perfect fit for your organisation. Are you interested, or do you want to know more? Then please contact us.
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