Introduction
Knowledge management has come a long way from the enormous company handbooks collecting dust on our parents’ desks or the clunky internal wikis from the late ’90s. Now, knowledge workers rely more heavily on technology to do their work. Knowledge management trends that help streamline workflows and improve productivity are on the rise.
More and more companies are realizing that to attract and keep high-quality remote knowledge workers, they need to provide them with the right tools. In 2024 and beyond, technology-driven knowledge management tools enable teams to be more productive than ever, regardless of where they work.
TL;DR: Knowledge management trends
- Knowledge management has evolved with technology, enabling remote teams to be more productive.
- Visual collaboration tools like Lucidchart and Miro facilitate remote teamwork and brainstorming.
- Cloud-based resource management improves accessibility for remote workers.
- AI data mining enhances knowledge discovery and decision-making.
- Knowledge-sharing tools like Trello and Scribe break down silos and improve productivity for remote teams.
1. Visual knowledge management tools are making remote collaboration easier
Visual collaboration tools are a must for remote teams. One of the biggest hurdles for knowledge workers who work remotely is collaboration. At the beginning of the pandemic, figuring out how to collaborate with everyone working in a different place was especially challenging. Enter visual collaboration tools. At their core, these tools are an online whiteboard for remote workers and teams to collaborate.
Platforms like Lucidchart and Miro have over 20 million users around the world and make it easier to interactively brainstorm, problem-solve, and work together in a remote setting. They are the next best thing to face-to-face meetings.
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These tools are especially effective in the early stages of a project when ideas are still flowing, problems need solving, and input is needed from multiple people or teams. Everyone can share ideas and brainstorm at the same time in the same document.
Lucidchart, Miro, and other popular visual collaboration tools like MURAL and Creately are user-friendly and easy to adopt for remote teams. Plus, all four tools have a free version.
2. Accessibility is improving thanks to cloud-based resource management
As more companies move toward remote and hybrid environments, they’re looking for the best ways to improve the accessibility of resources for their remote workers. One way to do this is by switching all your documents, forms, data, and resources from your local network to cloud computing. Switching to the cloud means that users can “access all of the features and files of the system without having to keep the bulk of that system on their own computers.
"Companies continue to adopt cloud technology for their remote workers. In fact, the cloud computing industry is expected to grow to $2,432 billion by 2030."
This comes from companies feeling a sense of urgency to make sure remote workers have what they need to do their jobs effectively; cloud computing has become a necessity if companies want to stay competitive.
Cloud-based resource management is especially beneficial for remote knowledge workers who work odd hours or live in different time zones than their colleagues. Remote workers can access their files 24/7 without support from IT or in-office staff.
Companies like IBM and Salesforce offer cloud computing as a software service, making it easy for your remote teams to adopt.
3. AI data mining is driving more efficient knowledge discovery
Many remote teams are adopting AI for productivity. One way to use AI in knowledge management is data mining, which allows your remote workers to turn raw data into useful data. Data mining is the “process of finding anomalies, patterns and correlations within large data sets to predict outcomes.” It’s an automated process that enables knowledge workers to understand data quickly and precisely.
AI data mining also replaces older methods of searching through data manually. This way, knowledge workers are able to efficiently collect, classify, analyze, share, and use data to develop insights and make informed business decisions.
When your remote knowledge workers can quickly gather and assess the data they need, they can work through tasks more efficiently without spending a ton of extra time searching for data. Try tools like H20 and Oracle that can help you with knowledge discovery through AI and data mining. Both H20 and Oracle offer an array of educational resources and information that makes it easy for businesses of any size to adopt AI.
4. Remote teams are breaking down silos with knowledge-sharing tools
Your remote workers want an easy way to support colleagues in the workplace.
However, in a recent survey, 60 percent of employees said it’s “difficult, very difficult, or nearly impossible to obtain information” they need to do their job. The solution? To adopt knowledge-sharing tools. These tools allow you to share files and information with colleagues, provide feedback, or collaborate on a project. Being able to share information freely helps prevent data silos between remote workers.
It can be difficult for your employees to find information when it’s not located in a shared knowledge base because they don’t know what they don’t know. In other words, they don’t know who to contact or where to even start. And in a remote setting, this can feel especially frustrating — workers feel like they have nowhere to turn. Plus, when remote workers can’t share information with each other, it can create information silos and bottlenecks that slow down workflows.
Knowledge-sharing tools prevent those stoppages and improve productivity by creating a standard for storing and sharing information.
When the pandemic first hit, communication applications like Slack and Zoom quickly became the remote stand-in for information sharing. While great for quick messages or video meetings, these tools aren’t always efficient for sharing information company-wide. Now, your remote teams need more advanced and collaborative methods. Tools like Trello, Notion and Asana continue to grow in the knowledge-sharing space because of their comprehensive set of features and how easy it is for remote workers to retain and share information across the company.
Also, knowledge-sharing tools like Scribe help you break down those information silos by making it easy for your knowledge workers to document and share their processes. Scribe users simply turn on the extension while they work online, and they’ll receive an editable step-by-step guide with text and screenshots that can be shared with anyone.
Scribe user Scott Friesen shares how easy it is to create step-by-step guides in seconds with Scribe:
Build stronger business SOPs and beef up your knowledge management strategy — fast.
Here's an example of a Scribe at work!
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Scribes are easy to store in-platform, share via link or embed in any knowledge base. And with Scribe's newest feature, Pages, you can combine Scribes with images, videos and more. Here's one in action.
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4. Lean on knowledge management trends to support your remote teams and improve productivity
To boost productivity for your remote knowledge workers, they need support. They need to be able to collaborate with each other, easily access files and information, and share resources. When your remote workers aren’t able to perform these tasks, productivity goes down because they’re spending more time searching for information or waiting for answers.
So what’s the best way to support your remote workers? Ask them what they need. Send a survey to your remote workers to understand where you need to improve. Include questions like, “On a scale of 1-10, how well do our current tools and resources help you with your tasks and productivity?” Asking these questions will help you gauge the amount of support your remote workers already have and where they’re lacking support.
As more and more businesses compete for remote workers, you need to give them a reason to stay with your company. Implementing effective knowledge management trends is crucial for remote team productivity in 2024. Give them what they need to do their jobs effectively.
