As every industry works to modernize its teams, businesses are moving to implement the use of corporate wikis. Many companies have used wikis to increase productivity by allowing employees and members to collaborate and share knowledge and relevant information. This improvement makes company data accessible in a hierarchical and organized structure, as well as with features like search and hyperlinks. Corporate wikis have been shown in studies to significantly increase productivity in the workplace, allowing for more work to be done and improved.
Every modernization method is known to have pros and cons, and corporate wiki is no exception. Even with these issues, the overall benefits that a wiki can provide to employees are to create a collaborative environment. The ability to store, retrieve, and share knowledge has become the norm and a requirement of every business in the twenty-first century.
A wiki, also known as a corporate wiki, is an information database in which employees can contribute and edit content about their company's processes, initiatives, items, and services. The goal of a corporate wiki is to provide a space for different inputs from information about their demographic, functions in the company, and models they can use for their business. All information they can update and regularly add to their employees and team members are present in this software and sites. These wikis' data can also be searched and categorized by employees, making information searching more accessible and organized.
The earliest model of wikis and its predecessors can be dated back to 1945 when companies introduced recommendations for collaborative information databases and some systems similar to wikis. Ward Cunningham's concept in 1994 is credited with the first official wiki idea, creating the first website with pages that users can edit via browser. This site also comes with a version history for each edit. Released in 1995, Cunningham used the term "wiki," which is Hawaiian for "quick." Many websites with similar concepts sprang up in the years that followed. Users quickly developed an evolving "wiki culture" in which users contributed hundreds of pieces of information to various sites.
With the widespread use of the internet in the new millennium, more sites that provide wikis with extra features and extensions began to appear everywhere. Companies, corporations, industries, and communities started to use wikis. These wiki-based sites are among the most popular on the internet today. Developers then introduced corporate wikis focused on work-related features, with a preference for primary corporate backing and venture capital.
Companies typically provide their employees with a knowledge base and an online archive of the company's policies, services, and other pertinent information. These knowledge bases generally are found online and can aid in customer self-service by providing relevant information ready to be presented. Collaboration, in contrast to wikis, isn’t available in knowledge bases. In the case of corporate wikis, providing the relevant information is permitted to any team member for their corporation or organization, allowing for more room for ideas and collaboration. This reason is why most businesses now use corporate wikis.
If you’re planning to consider using a wiki for your team, here are some ways that wikis can help a company or a group with knowledge sharing that may help you with your decision.
Traditionally, various papers, handbooks, and folders hold corporation data scattered and divided. However, a wiki allows finding all of this in one place, accessible to anyone on their computers. A wiki allows you to save, organize, and search all of your knowledge. This improvement can save a lot of time for the entire team while securing all the critical data in one place.
Instead of using paper and filing every piece of information and company-related data, the modernization of workplaces through corporate wikis enables easy searching of information categorized by detail, date, and content. This feature saves time and effort when looking for information, increasing overall team productivity. Crowdsourcing information is also more straightforward, making data accessible to all team members. Using this method allows a company's target demographic to be easily identified. It provides appropriate interventions and improvements for needs and problems encountered.
A dashboard for calendaring is an essential feature of a corporate wiki, allowing the organization of schedules and events in one place. Dashboards also make informing every team member less hassle and don’t require multiple announcements. Employees can set dates for providing information with details visible to everyone with wiki access. Essential plans and dates can be done and systematized in these wikis. Calendaring allows data to be easily accessible and managed with proper prioritization.
One of the essential characteristics of a wiki is that it allows the team to access, contribute, and edit the information that they can enter on the wiki. This component allows for more ideas and perspectives to be considered, which can significantly contribute to the company's progress. It also allows employees to address concerns and contribute ideas relevant to their current work. At the same time, this allows a company that offers products or services to be more in tune with their demographic or to address and pinpoint issues more efficiently and with less hassle.
The feature of hyperlinking documents, relevant links, apps, and other information makes accessing easier for all team members who wish to view documents. Anybody can use wiki link syntax to create a page, link to an existing page in the same wiki, or link to another. The text can display the wiki page title or something else. You can also include links to both internal and external URLs. Along with the search feature, this makes a wiki an accessible tool to utilize in a work setting, cutting less time and effort wasted on manual search.
With the widespread use of wiki in businesses, there has been upgrading from traditional information production to asynchronous and remote collaboration supported by wiki sites. The asynchronous system allows the team to choose when and where to contribute with fewer time constraints and less pressure to be present at a specific time. This feature also allows for faster wiki updates without waiting for office hours or a synchronous schedule. The team will save time and be more productive due to this.
A study conducted by IBM's analytics states that employees feel a greater sense of belonging, purpose, and happiness with their team members in the presence of a corporate wiki. A database that allows employees to contribute and share their ideas gives them confidence. This method lets them know they are part of the team they are working with, with their information being heard and viewed by their coworkers. The research found that wikis enhance team satisfaction and increase productivity in the workplace.
A corporate wiki can make how-to guides and training materials for new team members easily accessible. Newcomers can use this information as a guide, and employees can update it with further information from wikis provided by other team members. One of the most critical aspects of wikis is the archive history, which new members can access and learn from to stay updated on their company's products, services, and policies.
Wikis can be a handy tool for your business, but you must keep in mind that there are other features you must keep up with and provide a solution for when using a wiki. Information on this may become outdated over time, so the team must update it regularly. Extensive knowledge to enter your wiki may pose a challenge, and you’ll need organizational skills to avoid stumbling.
A large number of contributors can also be problematic for your wiki, so keep the group small or use guidelines to keep the wiki organized with a large number of contributors. Finally, instruct your non-technical team members on using the wiki so they can contribute and collaborate on information.
Suppose you’re considering a corporate wiki for your community or company. In that case, there are several factors that you should consider to utilize these wikis correctly and at their best.
Considering the information and benefits of wikis, a wiki for your company or team would be a wise choice. Wikis are essential tools for organizing, categorizing, and planning team ideas and information, shaping collaboration, increasing overall productivity, and adequately addressing your company's issues and needs.
