Knowledge management (KM)
is essential for ensuring a company’s efficiency.
It contributes to uninterrupted operations even if an employee retires, leaves, or gets promoted. As a result, team members can access information and make decisions based on these files. KM also sustains consistency in the company, creating solid institutional knowledge to
keep a high level of work done.

You may understand the importance of having all the expertise in one place. How do you know this information benefits your organization? That’s where you need knowledge management metrics. These are dedicated parameters showing the company’s performance in terms of spreading data and raising the level of individuals’ and teams’ expertise.

And the reasons for measuring KM performance are numerous. Take website metrics as an example. Some indicators may point out the slow website speed, high bounce rates, or poor conversion rates. In this case, you need to take immediate actions to prevent the business from failing. You may perform Magento 2 performance optimization (or similar steps for your content management system), so users will have a better user experience and buy more.

Knowledge management metrics don’t differ from this case much. Measuring them shows whether people use the information properly. In this article, we’ll talk about KM metrics and how to improve them.

5 Crucial Knowledge Management Metrics You Need to Measure

KM metrics and reports differ depending on the platform. You should also determine the objectives to focus efforts on monitoring the needed aspects of knowledge management. We provide a list of five KM metrics to assess employee engagement.

1. Contribution

What’s the purpose of knowledge management? It’s to unite teams and encourage everyone to share knowledge in a single database. That’s why you need to measure how fast this database grows. The number and frequency of contributions are the first KM metrics we’ll discuss. It demonstrates whether the employees fill the system with new information or update existing content.

Contribution is the fundamental metric for monitoring the effectiveness of knowledge management. If it’s high, the company can enhance processes and increase knowledge. If it’s low, you need to motivate staff to share more and provide examples of how to do it. Use this metric to identify active users, learn about their motivations, and explain these benefits to other employees.

2. Search Statistics

One of the easiest ways to navigate the system and find the desired content faster is to use search. That’s where you may also gain insights into employee behavior. This information will show search frequency, success rate, and most common issues during the working process. Search data comes from these two sources:

• Search frequency

How often does your team look for answers on the platform? Do they rely on the knowledge base to carry out tasks? While all users have access to the knowledge management platform, it may not be their primary information source. When employees overlook company expertise, it limits business progress. Low search frequency may be a sign of software ineffectiveness or useless information.

• Search healthiness 

What search terms do employees use the most often? Look at popular keywords or inquiries to determine the most frequently searched words. Search healthiness denotes the number of successful searches in the knowledge base when employees get the desired response. You can also consider the number of unsuccessful results or repeated inquiries when employees strive to get the most relevant information on the subject.

Repeated searches may indicate that the database knowledge needs to be clarified. Improve the structure, navigation, and search relevance by adding necessary keywords. You may also need to create articles to answer a particular question or launch a training program.

3. Software Adoption

Even though adding new content to the system is essential, employees should turn to the knowledge base before performing tasks or asking their colleagues. That’s where adoption rate or account utilization metrics may help. They can demonstrate the number of active accounts and how often people access and use your platform.

Suppose everyone in the organization has created an account. How many of them are active? What trends can you spot regarding account usage? The decline in use may indicate dated content, navigation issues, or poor user onboarding.

4. Interactions

One of the benefits of KM systems is the ability to interact with the content. Employees may discuss issues and get answers from their colleagues. The bottom line is that they should engage with the database to maximize team collaboration.

Specify the posts with the highest engagement and interaction, such as in the form of comments, likes, or shares. This information displays the content popularity and the data people are most interested in.

If this metric leaves much to be desired, conduct surveys to find out the reasons for it. Encourage people to leave comments, ask questions, and rate articles. And explain why it’s essential and how it contributes to better knowledge management.

5. Response Time

Suppose employees comment on the posts or ask questions in forums. How fast do they get the needed reply? The response time metric shows the speed of receiving an answer. Measure successful cases of issue resolution when someone not only answers something but provides necessary help to their colleagues.

Compare this metric with trends in customer interactions. Let’s assume the response rate and time improved. Determine whether it’s thanks to the introduction of the KM system. If employees answer customer questions slowly, how does it relate to using a knowledge management system? Maybe, your staff doesn’t check the platform frequently enough, so they struggle with customer inquiries.

How to Improve Knowledge Management Metrics

Improving these metrics relies on boosting employee engagement. Use the right tools, encourage people to share information, and train them to gain the maximum benefit from the software. This way, you can expand your knowledge base, promote teamwork, and ensure efficiency in all aspects of doing business.

What if some of the metrics could be better, and you want to enhance them? You will need to guarantee that employees integrate the system into their daily routines. For this purpose, we’ve collected several tips to increase the software’s return on investment (ROI).

1. Collect feedback from employees. Take time after introducing the system and ask for feedback. Employees should share their likes, dislikes, and wishes about the tool. Although you may not change everything, this information is a starting point to offer the most suitable solution.

2. Study user behavior. Check their interactions, steps, and the use of features. Your team may skip crucial aspects, so you need to find missed opportunities.

3. Continue to improve the experience. Look for fresh approaches to tailor the platform to your requirements. A knowledge management solution should enable teams to make better decisions, break silos, and improve customer service. Personalize the solution to meet your goals or get a more robust knowledge management platform.

Conclusion

Effective knowledge management involves cooperation, information exchange, learning, and reaching goals. That’s where people and proper tools matter. Your task is to choose the right software and teach staff how to leverage it to ensure you leave no money on the table.

However, the only way to determine the effectiveness of your initiatives is to evaluate them. We’ve examined five crucial knowledge management metrics and how to enhance them. Just as you wouldn’t go with your eyes closed, monitor these indicators to see your progress and intervene if needed.

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About the Author

Art Malkovich is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at Onilab web development agency. He has been providing the company’s clients with the most efficient eCommerce solutions for 8+ years. Art gets the team acquainted with innovations in mobile commerce, PWA development, and UX/UI design as soon as they’re available.