What is Knowledge Management?

AI Summary: This guide explains what knowledge management (KM) is and why it matters for businesses. Knowledge management is the process of capturing, organizing, sharing, and using knowledge across an organisation — so that employees can access the right information when they need it. The guide covers the two core types of knowledge (explicit and tacit), common KM tools like knowledge bases, wikis, and document management systems, real-world examples from Microsoft and IBM, and the key benefits including productivity gains, better decision-making, and expertise retention. According to McKinsey, effective knowledge sharing can increase workplace productivity by 20–25%. If your organization is losing time to information silos or struggling to retain institutional knowledge, this guide is a practical starting point.

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Organisations produce a tremendous volume of information every day — documents, processes, research findings, and employee expertise. Without a system for managing it, valuable knowledge becomes scattered, hard to locate, or lost entirely when people move on.

Knowledge management helps businesses gather, organise, and share information so that employees can use it effectively. According to a study by Panopto, employees spend around 20% of their working time searching for information internally. When knowledge is more accessible, that time is recovered — and productivity improves.

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What Is Knowledge Management?

Knowledge management (KM) is the process of capturing, organising, sharing, and using knowledge within an organisation. The goal is to make the right information available to the right people at the right time.

Knowledge takes many forms. Some is formally documented — in manuals, reports, and procedures. Other knowledge exists as the experience and expertise held by individual employees.

Common knowledge management tools:

• Knowledge bases — structured repositories of articles, guides, and answers
• Document management systems — centralised storage for policies, procedures, and reports
• Internal wikis — collaborative spaces where teams document processes and insights
• Training materials — structured learning resources for new and existing staff
• Collaboration platforms — tools like Slack, Confluence, or Notion where knowledge is shared in real time

The core purpose of knowledge management is to ensure that information is not lost — and that employees can find what they need quickly, without interrupting colleagues or searching across disconnected systems.

For a deeper look at structured content resources, see: What Is a Knowledge Base Used For?

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Why Knowledge Management Matters

Effective knowledge management has a direct impact on organisational efficiency. When employees have easy access to relevant information, they spend less time searching for answers and more time doing productive work.

Without a KM system, information often gets scattered across departments or stored in personal files. This slows down collaboration, delays decision-making, and means the same problems get solved repeatedly by different people.

The business case:

• According to research by McKinsey & Company, effective knowledge sharing can increase workplace productivity by 20–25%
• When experienced employees leave without documented knowledge, that expertise is gone — unless it has been captured
• Support teams with well-maintained knowledge bases resolve issues faster and handle more queries without additional headcount

Knowledge management also supports organisational continuity. By documenting processes and expertise systematically, businesses ensure that valuable information remains available regardless of staff changes.

See how knowledge management applies to customer support specifically: AI in Customer Service: The Complete Guide for 2026

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Two Types of Knowledge

Knowledge management generally deals with two distinct types of knowledge, each requiring a different approach.

Explicit Knowledge

Explicit knowledge is information that can be easily written down and shared. It includes:

• Policies and procedures
• Technical manuals and guides
• Research reports and data
• Training materials and onboarding documents

Because it is documented, explicit knowledge is straightforward to store, search, and distribute. It forms the backbone of most knowledge bases and document management systems.

Tacit Knowledge

Tacit knowledge comes from individual experience, skills, and judgement — the kind of know-how that is difficult to put into words. An experienced employee might instinctively know how to handle a complex client situation based on years of exposure, even if they could not easily write down the rules they follow.

Capturing tacit knowledge requires different approaches:

• Mentoring and shadowing — pairing experienced staff with newer colleagues
• Interview-based documentation — structured conversations that draw out expertise
• Collaborative wikis — spaces where teams record lessons learned and best practices

By combining both explicit and tacit knowledge into a managed system, organisations build a more complete and useful knowledge resource.

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Real-World Examples

Many well-known organisations use knowledge management systems to drive collaboration and consistency at scale.

Microsoft

Microsoft uses internal knowledge systems to document development processes, technical standards, and engineering practices. These resources give teams across the organisation access to shared knowledge, helping maintain consistency across large, distributed projects.

IBM

IBM has invested heavily in knowledge management tools to capture expertise from its global workforce. Internal platforms allow employees to share technical solutions, best practices, and lessons learned across departments — reducing duplicated effort and accelerating problem-solving.

Customer Support Teams

Many businesses apply knowledge management directly to customer support. Support teams build knowledge bases containing answers to common questions and troubleshooting guides — both for internal agent use and as self-service resources for customers.

A well-organised knowledge base reduces repeat support requests, speeds up resolution times, and allows agents to focus on complex issues rather than answering the same questions repeatedly.

Research from Harvard Business Review shows that effective knowledge sharing enhances collaboration and helps organisations solve problems more efficiently.

Want to build a customer-facing knowledge resource? See: The Best Help Center Software

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Key Benefits of Knowledge Management

Investing in knowledge management delivers measurable advantages across the organisation.

These benefits compound over time. The more consistently knowledge is documented and shared, the more valuable the system becomes — and the less the organisation depends on any single individual holding critical information in their head.

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Getting Started with Knowledge Management

Organisations do not need a large budget or complex technology to begin. A few focused steps are enough to establish a working system.

1. Audit existing knowledge — identify what information exists, where it lives, and what is missing or out of date
2. Choose the right tools — select a knowledge base, wiki, or document management system that fits your team's size and workflow
3. Start with high-value content — document the most frequently needed information first: common support questions, onboarding guides, key processes
4. Assign ownership — give specific people responsibility for keeping content accurate and up to date
5. Make it easy to find — invest in clear structure, consistent naming, and good search functionality

For guidance on creating clear, useful documentation, see: How to Write Technical Documentation

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Summary

Knowledge management helps organisations capture, organise, and share the information their employees need to work effectively. By building systems that make both explicit and tacit knowledge accessible, businesses reduce wasted time, improve collaboration, and retain valuable expertise as teams evolve.

As organisations grow and generate more information, a structured approach to knowledge management becomes not just useful — but essential.

For help structuring content for your support team or customers, also see: Hiring a Technical Writer for Help Centers

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