All About Corporate Wikis

Effective corporate communication and knowledge sharing are the basic factors of success. You can ensure their implementation via a corporate wiki. A corporate wiki is a type of business wiki that functions as an internal knowledge base software where employees can share information, collaborate, and access the company’s knowledge from a single platform.

Take, for instance, a large retailer (let’s call it XYZ Inc.) with multiple stores across the country. Given the complexity of its inventory management system, tracking information related to product availability, pricing, and promotions can be challenging. A corporate wiki can provide XYZ Inc. with a centralized platform where employees can access information about products, store operations, and policies. It could include detailed descriptions of products, their pricing, and promotional materials, making it easier for employees to find what they need when serving customers.

Additionally, a corporate wiki can be used to share best practices, training materials, and company news, ensuring that everyone stays informed. This can improve communication, reduce errors, and enhance worker efficiency, which ultimately leads to better customer service and higher sales. By adopting a corporate wiki, an organization can operate more efficiently.

What Is a Corporate Wiki

A corporate wiki is an internal, private platform created for use within organizations. 

It serves as a central hub where employees can create, share, and access information about the company, its products, services, and policies. Primarily, corporate wikis are used for internal communication, knowledge sharing, and collaboration. They are not accessible to external audiences.

The term “wiki” is derived from the Hawaiian word “wiki wiki,” meaning “fast” or “quick.” In a business context, the name suggests the need for speed and efficiency in information flow and collaboration, fostering a communal and cooperative working environment. A corporate wiki should provide employees with quick access to essential information, facilitating better decision-making and prompt action.

The corporate wiki’s name also reflects its goal: to make information available to employees wherever they are, regardless of their function. By calling itself a “wiki,” a corporate wiki emphasizes values such as fast collaboration, a sense of community, and easy access to information.

How a Corporate Wiki Works

A corporate wiki is a powerful tool for employee collaboration and knowledge sharing within an organization. At its core, it uses wiki software and provides employees with a web-based interface to create, edit, and manage content.

Here are some key features of a corporate wiki:

• Web-based interface: employees can access the wiki from any location at any time using a web browser.
• Content: users can create new pages, edit existing ones, and update content in real time.
• Linking and organizing: related pages can be linked, and content can be categorized by department, team, or topic for easy access.
• Collaboration and feedback: multiple employees can collaborate on a single page and provide feedback and comments to ensure information is accurate and relevant.
• Change control: all changes and updates are tracked, allowing employees to roll back to earlier versions of documents if needed.
• Search and navigation: the search function and navigation tools make it easy for employees to find and orient themselves within the wiki.

Employees can interact with a corporate wiki in several ways:

• Creating new content: workers can contribute by creating new pages based on their knowledge, expertise, and experience.
• Editing of existing content: employees can update existing pages to ensure accuracy, relevance, and completeness.
• Linking related pages: users can link related pages to create a well-structured knowledge base.
• Feedback and comments: employees can ensure the accuracy of pages by offering feedback and comments. As noted by KMT, “The biggest benefit of an internal wiki for business is the ability for users to add or edit information on the fly. Anyone with access to the wiki can update content with no lag time and without the need for administrative intervention. All changes are ‘live’ instantly”.
• Searching and browsing: employees can search or browse the wiki for information.

In general, the corporate wiki is a tool that enables organizations to tap into the collective knowledge and expertise within the organization, facilitating collaboration, innovation, and success.

Benefits of Corporate Wiki

According to a survey of 168 corporate wiki users published in a research paper ‘Corporate wiki users: Results of a survey,’ respondents identified three main benefits of corporate wikis: enhanced reputation, easier work processes, and improved organizational processes.

Other benefits of using a corporate wiki include:

• Improved communication. A corporate wiki serves as a single platform where employees can access the necessary company information. This helps avoid miscommunication and ensures that all employees are on the same page.
• Knowledge sharing. Corporate wikis enable employees to share their knowledge with others, reducing the risk of knowledge loss and further enhancing collaboration.
• Increased productivity. With a corporate wiki, employees can quickly access the information they need, spend less time searching for it, and be more productive overall.
• Improved collaboration. Provides a platform where employees can work together on projects and generate new ideas.

In summary, a corporate wiki is a strategic tool with numerous benefits for organizations. It offers a centralized space for communication, sharing, and collaboration, thereby improving productivity, facilitating teamwork, and fostering a culture of accountability and transparency. By harnessing the collective knowledge and expertise of employees, a corporate wiki empowers an organization to achieve its goals.

Creating a Corporate Wiki with ClickHelp

While ClickHelp is primarily designed for creating and managing documentation, its features make it suitable for wiki-like functionalities within an organization.  Creating a corporate wiki with ClickHelp is quite easy to implement in a few steps. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you get started:

Step 1: Plan Your Wiki

Before setting up your corporate wiki, strategize its structure and content. This planning phase should include identifying the types of information that will be housed in your wiki, as well as the categories and departments (teams) involved. This way, you can design a clear and organized wiki that meets the needs of your organization.

Step 2: Set Up Your Wiki

Now you can build your wiki. This involves registering an account and performing the initial configuration by setting up user roles, creating projects and topics, and personalizing your site with design settings.

Step 3: Create Content

Once your wiki is set up, start adding new pages, editing existing ones, and linking related pages to each other. You can easily format your content using the ClickHelp editor, add images and videos, create tables, lists, and more.

Step 4: Promote Your Wiki

Publish your wiki within the organization to encourage widespread adoption and usage. Provide training and support documentation to help employees get up to speed with the wiki and make full use of its features.

Step 5: Maintain and Improve

Regularly run reports on your wiki’s performance and refresh the content as needed to keep it current and relevant for your organization.

By following these steps, you’ll have a full-fledged and collaborative corporate wiki in the ClickHelp platform, addressing the needs of your organization and setting the stage for success.

Creating a Customer Wiki

Along with the corporate wiki, organizations may also create a customer wiki in certain instances. A customer wiki is a public wiki that contains information presented to customers about the products and services a company offers.

According to Hiver, “A customer-facing wiki is a knowledge management system designed to provide customers with easy access to information about a company’s product or service. Think of it as a collection of information in diverse formats, such as product documentation, user guides, troubleshooting tips, FAQs, and more that can be organized into specific categories and topics”.

Customer wikis can be used to:

• Provide product information. Offer in-depth product and service information to customers.
• Offer support. Provide support and troubleshooting information to customers.
• Encourage collaboration: Foster collaboration among customers by allowing them to share experiences with one another.

Setting up a customer wiki is a worthwhile investment for any business seeking to enhance customer satisfaction, reduce support queries, and build customer loyalty. It enables the creation of trust and community, driving long-term success through a centralized platform where customers can access information, ask questions, and share their knowledge. All that needs to be done is to implement the right set of tools and strategies to make a customer wiki a valuable asset for an organization in creating a loyal customer base.

Conclusion

A corporate wiki can positively transform communication and disseminate knowledge, thus improving collaboration. By creating a corporate wiki, organizations guide employees to access company information housed in one place. This reduces misinformation and increases efficiency. Whether building a corporate wiki or a customer wiki, the advantages are clear. Why not get started today? Book a demo or start a free trial.

Good luck with your technical writing!

ClickHelp Team

Author, host, and deliver documentation across platforms and devices.