Help Desk Knowledge Base

Before digging into knowledge base management, it’s important to address what a knowledge base is in the first place. A knowledge base is essentially a library brimming with information about a range of topics. The most common “knowledge base” is the internet—a place millions of users turn to each day for insights on a vast variety of topics. But many IT departments establish and rely on their own user-friendly help desk knowledge base system to address employee queries and resolve technical issues in a timely manner.

This is where knowledge-based management comes into play. Knowledge-based management is the highly-organized, methodical management of the complex resources within the knowledge base—resources to help companies quickly and efficiently reach their target objectives. A knowledge-based management system sorts, catalogs, stores, shares, and even creates information on behalf of users.

IT administrators are responsible for implementing knowledge base management guidelines that define how the resources within their “library” are organized. Several approaches can be taken when crafting these guidelines. Which approach an IT administrator chooses isn’t as important as simply ensuring a set of procedures is in place.

In the same vein, IT administrators must create a process for reviewing information that enters the knowledge base. This is essential due to the wide array of information within the library—some of it of a higher quality than others. With a review system in place, IT administrators can filter out inaccurate or poorly formatted material, reserving space in the knowledge base for only the highest quality resources.

The knowledge base is where users turn when they have a question regarding a specific product, service, or system. The exact questions and concerns your specific users face depend on the nature of your business. Difficulty opening a large file, downloading documents from a USB, and loading webpages are just a few of the many technical troubles employees face on a daily basis.

Your IT technicians often turn to the knowledge base for different reasons than marketing, accounting, or HR employees. Here’s a quick overview of the uses for each group:

• General Employee Service: Your team of IT technicians serve as a go-to source of support for C-suite executives and frontline employees. But the sheer volume of help desk tickets is often hard for even the largest fleet of IT technicians to manage. The knowledge base provides employees with an alternative route for accessing need-to know information quickly and efficiently. Employees often turn to the help desk for answers to questions surrounding unexpected computer shutdowns, slow internet, faulty printers, defective USBs, and beyond.
• IT Technicians’ Solution Library: While some issues that arise are completely unique, often there’s overlap among the hundreds of queries. Rather than starting from scratch to identify the solution when a new ticket arrives, IT technicians can turn to the knowledge base to remind themselves of how similar issues were resolved in the past. This allows them to use their time more efficiently and address questions at a faster rate.

Individuals want access to in-depth information—and they want it fast. According to Salesforce data, 66% of millennials expect real-time responses and interactions. That’s no small percentage for a generation that comprises a hefty chunk of the workforce. This is what makes a knowledge base so important. Without access to a self-service portal of insights addressing their most common questions and concerns, employees are quick to express their grievances to upper management or come knocking with an armload of demands. It’s best to create a comprehensive knowledge base to empower employees with the resources they need to independently address those smaller, more common tech problems.

The knowledge is also important from an efficiency and productivity standpoint. The more accurate and informative your knowledge base is, the less likely employees are to submit a ticket to your help desk. This means your IT technicians can spend less time reading and resolving tickets pertaining to simple file or password problems, and more time tackling the countless other items on their to-do lists. A comprehensive knowledge base further helps your technicians by consolidating technical resources into one, easy-to-access location. When a complicated query arises, technicians can simply turn to the knowledge base for the most up-to-date articles and video tutorials, rather than wasting hours sifting through file folders for an answer. This is especially helpful for repeat issues, helping ensure recurring issues no longer mean recurring solutions.

While some knowledge base platforms are simply indexed encyclopedias, most of today’s platforms rely on artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence allows these data libraries to provide IT technicians and employees with step-by-step answers to common and complicated questions alike. Every time a new ticket enters the system, an AI-driven knowledge bases evaluates and aligns the ticket with the most relevant information within its repository of resources. For example, if a ticket is submitted regarding a computer shutting down unexpectedly, the knowledge base search engine—fueled by artificial intelligence—can quickly find the most appropriate resource on the topic.

Since learning is a critical component of knowledge base software, these platforms are considered CASE-based systems. A CASE-based system is one in which problems are solved by evaluating the solutions of similar past problems. Similarly, knowledge base platforms are also often categorized as intelligent tutoring systems.

A comprehensive knowledge base management system will efficiently sort and store hundreds of images, documents, and videos addressing a vast array of topics, but for a knowledge base to truly work effectively, IT administrators must begin with the basics. Here are a few tips to keep in mind when building a robust knowledge base:

1. Organize Existing Content: Prior to the launch of an AI-driven knowledge base system, it’s important to corral existing information. This means connecting with members of every department—from marketing to HR—to access the documents they turn to when questions arise.
2. Create Consistency: It’s important to craft a style guide for your knowledge base to ensure the information stored within it has the same look and feel. This allows for greater readability and helps ensure information can be accessed quickly and efficiently.
3. Keep It Accurate: Put a review process in place to ensure any new PDF or video entering your knowledge base features only the most relevant, up-to-date information. Inaccurate or poorly written information will only defeat the purpose of the self-service knowledge base, forcing employees to submit tickets when they can’t access accurate answers.

SolarWinds Service Desk relies on out-of-the box artificial intelligence technology to increase the efficiency of your service desk and boost your IT department’s productivity. With artificial intelligence, tickets are prioritized, categorized, and routed to the right teams quickly, so no manual sorting process is necessary. Artificial intelligence also helps SolarWinds Service Desk reduce resolution time by suggesting applicable knowledge articles for inbound tickets.

From a report management and service catalog perspective, SolarWinds Service Desk allows IT administrators to formalize the services they provide by building dynamic submission forms accompanied by a workflow engine. This helps streamline the fulfillment process for greater efficiency.