An internal wiki is one of the business tools that can centralize the management of information within a company and improve operational efficiency. Since business deals with a large amount of information, an increasing number of companies are introducing internal wikis to improve operational efficiency while adapting to diverse work styles.
However, there may be many people who are considering the introduction of an internal wiki, but are unable to take the plunge because they do not have an image of how it will be used, or who are worried that it has not been effective even though it has been introduced.
In this issue, we will introduce the best practices and cautions of internal wikis, for below people.
- “I want to know in advance how to use an internal wiki without making mistakes.”
- “To understand the practices and cautions of internal wiki and realize smooth operation.”
- “To compare and find the best internal wiki for our company.”
If you are a person in charge of this project, this article will help you understand the usage and operation rules of internal wiki tools, so that you can make efficient use of information throughout the entire company.
Contents
- 1 Best practices to use internal wikis
- 2 Benefits of introducing an internal wiki
- 3 3 ways to organize an internal wiki
- 4 3 points to consider when selecting an internal wiki
- 5 The best tool for creating internal wiki and organizing information
- 6 Summary of best practice and organization tips internal wiki
Best practices to use internal wikis
From here, we will introduce 3 specific practices to use internal wikis. It is important to understand the usage patterns of internal wiki tools and check whether they match the usage methods you have imagined for your company.
Sharing internal rules
The first step is to share internal rules.
For example, there are many rules in the company that all employees should know in common, such as “how to fill out an application form” or “how to put out the trash”. However, sharing them verbally may require interrupting work or taking time and effort to reiterate them.
By posting them on the internal wiki, the company rules are always available to the public, and employees can view the company wiki at their convenience.
Description of requirements for projects
The wiki can also be used to summarize requirements and specifications for a project, or other information that should be known by the members of the project team.
Many internal wiki tools have the ability to categorize wikis by project, department, etc. By grouping information into categories and managing them in one place, only the necessary information can be shared among any members, preventing conflicts of understanding.
In this way, sharing information through a wiki not only throughout the company, but also by team, avoids a situation where different information within the company is buried and project management becomes impossible.
Knowledge sharing
Internal wikis can also be used to share the knowledge accumulated in the course of day-to-day work.
By sharing the knowledge within the company, you can expect to raise the level of knowledge of the entire company, improve productivity, and reduce training costs. However, if an internal wiki is to be used as a place for sharing knowledge, it must be made easy to write and view the knowledge.
Therefore, a tool like Stock, which allows anyone to easily leave information and has excellent accessibility to information, will quickly spread within the company, thus speeding up the sharing of knowledge.
Benefits of introducing an internal wiki
Here are some of the benefits of implementing an internal wiki. Companies that have successfully implemented an internal wiki are already able to share the following benefits throughout the company.
- Improved work efficiency
Accumulating individual knowledge and experience as knowledge in an internal wiki will lead to a reduction in work time for the next member of the team who takes on the same task, thereby improving the efficiency of the entire operation.
- Improved accessibility of information
When information is dispersed, it is difficult to know “where and which information is where”, and it takes time to find it. By centrally managing all information on an internal wiki, you can quickly access the information you want.
Storing information in an internal wiki in this way enables a workflow that could not be achieved with analog management.
3 ways to organize an internal wiki
This section describes how to get the entire company to use an in-house wiki as soon as possible after its introduction. The following points should be kept in mind to ensure effective use of the internal wiki.
Establish minimum operating rules
To promote the continued use of the internal wiki, the person in charge of administration and the in-ternal wiki operation team should establish the minimum rules necessary for its operation.
Even if an in-house wiki is introduced, if there are no rules for its operation, the effectiveness of its operation will be left to individual usage, which may in turn be counterproductive. Therefore, it is better to have only one internal wiki, rather than separate wikis for each department, and to unify the rules for its operation throughout the entire company, so that it becomes firmly established.
However, be careful to keep the rules to a “minimum,” as multiple rules can complicate operations.
It is also important to limit the number of administrators and restrict access to certain information.
For example, in an environment where anyone can access information, there is a risk that someone will accidentally edit or delete information on the internal wiki and the accurate information will be lost. This may cause some members to hesitate to post new information on the internal wiki.
Thus, there are cases in which not setting permissions can indirectly hinder the progress of a project. Therefore, clearly set the employees who can create, view, and edit each content of the internal wiki.
Utilize templates
When employees contribute their own knowledge to an internal wiki, many are unsure of how to structure and post content.
By introducing a tool with templates, it becomes clear what to write, and employees are more motivated to create wiki because they can easily contribute. It is also easier for the viewer to read if it is written in the same format.
In order to encourage information sharing on internal wikis, it is recommended to introduce a tool such as Stock, which allows you to recall standardized descriptions at the touch of a button and manage the information.
3 points to consider when selecting an internal wiki
The following is an explanation of the points to consider when actually selecting an internal wiki. Although an internal wiki has useful functions and features, if it is not suitable for your company, it will be wasted without being used, so consider carefully.
(1) Is it easy to accumulate information?
The prerequisite for creating an internal wiki is that employees must write and provide information themselves. However, there is a possibility that this stage will be a stumbling block and information will not be accumulated properly.
One reason for this is that the rules for creating an internal wiki were not defined, and the tool was introduced without clear rules on who should create the wiki and when. Therefore, it is important to first establish rules regarding “who creates wikis” and “how often they are created” in order to get all employees in the habit of sharing information.
In addition, choose a tool that has a simple hierarchy and information structure and is easy to operate so that creating a wiki does not cause burden.
(2) Can anyone operate it easily?
When implementing an in-house wiki, choose a tool that is easy to understand and operate, even for employees who are not familiar with IT.
An internal wiki is used to share information throughout the company, and it should be used by as many users as possible to unify information within the company. However, if the tool is complicated to use, it may be left unused by those with low IT literacy.
Therefore, it is important to choose a tool that can be used frequently by all employees and that anyone can use intuitively. Before introducing an internal wiki firmly, use a free trial to check its operability.
(3) Are security measures stronger?
Internal wikis store a variety of company information, including personal information, sales records, and other important information that can never be leaked to the outside world.
If personal or customer information is leaked, the company’s credibility will be greatly affected. In addition, if trade secrets, such as information on new products or new technologies, are leaked to outside parties, there is possibility about imitation by competitors.
In order to solve the above risks, it is advisable to check and consider what kind of security measures are in place before implementing them. For example, if Stock has acquired ISO27001, an international security certification, you can be assured that it is safe.
The best tool for creating internal wiki and organizing information
Below is the best tool for creating internal wiki easily.
When employees’ knowledge and information are accumulated in an internal wiki tool, it forms an information asset that can be used repeatedly. On the other hand, the benefits cannot be received without regular wiki creation and utilization of the posted wiki.
The person in charge must select a tool that establishes a “rhythm wiki creation and information utilization”. However, highly functional internal wiki tools are not intuitive to use and their functions are complicated, which causes burden to users and prevents the tool from taking root.
Therefore, we recommend that you choose a tool such as Stock, which has the necessary functions of “Note”, “Message”, and “Task” for an internal wiki, and can be easily used by anyone.
“Note” of Stock can be easily organized into “Folder” so that information is immediately accessible. In addition, Stock can be set up with 4 types of permissions, such as “Administrator Authority,” allowing for smooth operation of the internal wiki.
Stock｜The easiest tool to operate an internal wiki
The simplest tool to stock information "Stock"
https://www.stock-app.info/en/
Stock is the simplest tool to stock information. Stock solves the problem, "there is no easy way to stock information within the company".
With Stock, anyone can easily store all kinds of information, including text information such as requirements, images, and files, using the Note feature.
In addition, by using the "Task" and "Message" functions, you can communicate with each topic described in the Note, so that information is not dispersed here and there and work can always be carried out in an organized manner.
＜Why do we recommend Stock?＞
- A tool for companies that are not familiar with ITYou don't need to have any IT expertise to get started.
- Simple and usable by anyoneStock is so simple that anyone can use it without any unnecessary features.
- Amazingly easy information storing and task managementIt is amazingly easy to store information such as shared information within a company, and intuitive task management is also possible.
＜Stock's pricing＞
- Free plan ：Free
- Business plan ：$5 / User / Month
- Enterprise plan ：$10 / User / Month
*Minimum number of users: 5 users
Summary of best practice and organization tips internal wiki
We have introduced best practices how to use an internal wiki tool without making mistakes, the rules of operation.
The usage of an internal wiki varies from sharing company rules to sharing information about a project, and the company must set its own operating rules for the penetration and utilization of internal wikis.
On the other hand, if the functionality is not simple enough for anyone to use, information may not be stored in the first place, or even if it is stored, it may not be organized properly, which may cause burden for employees. Therefore, the basic premise is that it should be an “internal wiki that anyone can use, regardless of IT literacy”.
In conclusion, the IT tool useful for an internal wiki that should be introduced is “Stock,” which is simple to use and can be easily used even by non-IT company members over 65 years old. In fact, more than 240,000 companies, mainly non-IT companies, have achieved operational efficiency by introducing it.
Free registration takes only 1 minute to complete, so using Stock to operate your company wiki and make effective use of useful information within your team.
