The Rise of HR Knowledge Bases
We live in the self-service era — self-serve check-out lines, pay at the pump, YouTube do it yourself videos… I just fixed my mountain bike by watching a YouTube video on how to adjust the disc brakes. It is just faster to do it ourselves. I didn’t have to drop my bike off at the shop and waste any time. Also, there is a bit of a self-esteem lift involved when you fix it yourself. Recently I fixed my garage door opener by ordering a $10 part and watching a YouTube video. (Although when I started it I did not realize the video was “1 of 5” and it would take me 8 hours to do it. But time management will be saved for another blog post.) The key was even though I wasted a tremendous amount of time, I felt good that I had fixed the door by myself.
An HR Knowledge Base can contain all types of employee information — benefits guide, code of conduct, policy information, PC FAQs… It is more than just an online Employee Handbook. The key to a knowledge base is the information that allows the employee to easily find answers to their questions. So properly indexing the knowledge base is essential. The knowledge base should have search engines that allow an individual to type in a question. It is much more than an FAQ.
A good knowledge base and supporting tools can empower your employees to find the answers to their questions themselves. This both saves HR time and engages your workforce.
LBi HR HelpDesk offers three types of knowledge bases:
- Common Problem (FAQ) Knowledge Base – This is a knowledge base of frequently asked questions, problems, and resolutions that’s available to HR reps and employees. It’s easy to set up and use, and the information is quickly updated as new issues arise. The information in the Common Problems Knowledge Base can also be continuously updated, on the fly.
- Document Repository – The repository can be used to store and update standard forms and company documents that employees, HR staff members, and customer service representatives can access and download. These documents can be stored as part of a case and delivered to the employee as part of the “Social Interactions” feature.
- The Wiki Knowledge Base – This gives employees and HR staff members easy access to the text of corporate documentation using a searchable engine in a format and style similar to using Windows Help. Policies, procedure manuals, benefits guides, forms, calendars, contact information, and many other informative documents can be made available in the Main Application and/or the Employee Portal and are categorized/indexed in a format for quick reference.
Ask yourself this question: How many HR cases have you handled that could have been avoided or resolved more easily if you could have given the front-line employee or manager easy, direct access to current, accurate, and relevant information from the start?
You don’t need to be swamped with employee-related documents, forms, policies, benefits information, and similar items. Employees and your HR staff can all be working from the same book all the time. For more on how HR HelpDesk can help your organization, download this white paper: Heightened Employee Engagement: Hidden Gold in an Automated HR Help Desk.
