Why Knowledge Management Is An Important Part of Your Business Continuity Plan

July 28, 2020
Knowledge Management Is An Important Part of Your Business Continuity Plan
Business continuity plans help you avoid and mitigate risks associated with a disruption of operations from unplanned events like what recently occurred with the COVID-19 pandemic. A knowledge continuity management strategy ensures no valuable knowledge is lost when employees leave or retire from your organization. It can also contribute to a higher quality of business processes, especially those connected to knowledge.

Because knowledge management is a core requirement for both a positive employee experience and exceptional customer service, it must be a key component of your business continuity management plan as well.

Process of Knowledge Continuity

Knowledge continuity is simply a process that allows for the full sharing of knowledge. When organizations experience retirements, turnovers, mergers, or other disruptions, knowledge continuity as part of business continuity brings tremendous value to the process. There are four steps to planning for knowledge continuity:

  1. Identification of unique and critical knowledge.
  2. Assessment of risk regarding the level of knowledge an individual might have.
  3. Development of practices to minimize the impact of the disruption.
  4. Consistently tracking results and making necessary adjustments.

The value of preserving institutional knowledge should not be underestimated. Putting in place a system that retains business and operational knowledge prevents having to reinvent the wheel for knowledge procedures and policies when an outside force causes chaos. Fortunately, technology makes it much easier to continually capture, curate, and store institutional knowledge and make it readily accessible to the people who need it.

Knowledge Management in Business Continuity

Today most organizations recognize that knowledge is one of their most valuable competitive advantages. Devising a plan to retain critical knowledge during times of upheaval ensures the hard-earned, experience-based knowledge created through the years does not get lost in the process.

Call centers in particular are highly affected by outside events. For many organizations the key systems that make up their call centers are an in-house physical infrastructure, contact center software, communications tools, and a knowledge base. There are three fundamental elements of a knowledge base that should be in place to safeguard business continuity and guarantee employees have access to the right answers, procedures, and materials:

  1. Accessible from the cloud anywhere on any device at the moment the information is needed.
  2. Business information is updated immediately system-wide.
  3. Leaving feedback is quick and easy.

A detailed, updated business continuity plan that includes cloud-based tools, including a knowledge base, is an integral part of serving your customers, improving the employee experience, and positioning your organization for the future.

Business Continuity During Times of Change

Knowledge preservation and information sharing support business continuity and increase organization efficiency. A well-designed business continuity plan ensures an enhanced employee experience and the continued delivery of excellent customer service.

During times of change and crisis, business continuity and knowledge management are more important than ever. You need the right tools and technology that speed access to the appropriate knowledge necessary for agents to quickly provide the right solutions to a customer’s problem.

AI-Driven Knowledge Management Solutions

KMS Lighthouse offers groundbreaking knowledge management solutions that elevate decision making strategies, collaboration, and organizational workflow to the next level. We understand that knowledge management plays an important role in your organization’s continuity planning and success. Our AI-driven knowledge tools are designed to help you run a smarter, better informed workforce through shared knowledge and collaboration.

When it comes to being agile and meeting the needs of your employees and customers, especially during times of change, a knowledge management system fueled by AI can remove business continuity barriers and help you serve your customers in ways that maintain business and knowledge continuity now and into the future.

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