I recently commented on a post from a colleague with information that could be beneficial for other members of this community, so I’m making a dedicated post with 7 Guidelines for creating a helpful knowledge base with MeisterNote.
The saying goes like this:

“The hardest part of any important task is getting started on it in the first place. Once you actually begin work on a valuable task, you seem to be aturally motivated to continue.”

Brian Tracy

Creating usability is probably the hardest part of making a knowledge base. That should be the starting point, and it’s likely the thing most people struggle with.
Whether you’re starting from scratch or wanting to improve your existing documentation, here are some tips and best practices to help you get started.
My recommendation in any case would be to take the “Agile” approach.

The Agile Methodology

This means to produce small chunks of the product (documentation in this case), and test it out with a small portion of your intended audience. Take feedback, iterate, and continue.
A good starting goal could be this:

Document the 5 most common responses to questions received by your sales or support teams.

Focus on that only for a while, and produce a mini version of your knowledge base with 5 articles only.
Then:

• Distribute with your team
• Discuss internally
• Take notes of changes and suggestions
• Iterate (change the initial output using the obtained feedback)
• Rinse and repeat

You could even involve a couple of your most trusted customers in the feedback process and build loyalty to your brand by telling them:

• Their input is crucial in this new stage of the company
• They are an essential part of the company
• They have a chance to shape the future of the company

In the process of writing this, I consulted a colleague of mine, and he shared 7 guidelines he uses as a tech lead for making documentation:

1. Define your purpose and goals
2. Keep it organized
3. Make it searchable
4. Write clear and concise articles
5. Use visuals
6. Keep it updated
7. Get feedback

Remember: your customer is above all!

In the following lines, I’ll describe in my words what each of those guidelines mean.

1. Define your purpose and goals

Before you start building your knowledge base, it’s important to first define its purpose and goals. What do you want it to achieve? Do you want it to be a self-service resource for customers? A training tool for new employees? Or both? Once you’ve defined its purpose, you can then determine what content needs to be included.

2. Keep it organized

If your knowledge base is disorganized, it will be difficult for users to find the information they need. Remember to focus always on your customer. That’s why it’s essential to keep it well organized. Create clear and concise categories and subcategories, and use descriptive titles that make it easy for users to find what they’re looking for.

3. Make it searchable

Your knowledge base should be easy to search so that users can quickly find the information they are looking for. Include a search function on your knowledge base, and make sure that all of your content is properly tagged and indexed so that it can be found easily.

4. Write clear and concise articles

The articles in your knowledge base should be clear, concise, and free of jargon. Use simple language that can be understood by everyone, and break down complex topics into smaller, more manageable pieces.

5. Use visuals

Include images, videos, and infographics in your articles to make them more visually appealing and easy to understand. Furthermore, visuals can also help break up long blocks of text and make your knowledge base more engaging. You could even embed a mind map to show the relationship between several of your products or services.

6. Keep it updated

It’s important to keep your knowledge base up-to-date with the latest information.Regularly review and update your articles to ensure that they are accurate and relevant.

7. Get feedback

Finally, don’t forget to get feedback from users on how you can improve your knowledge base. Ask for input on what content is most useful, what needs to be added, and what can be improved. If possible, include an “up vote” or “like” function. Use this feedback to continuously improve your knowledge base over time.

One tool, everything you need

Fortunately, MeisterNote is an intuitive online solution that will help you create documentation and knowledge bases collaboratively.

All the tips found in this article can be implemented quick and easy through MeisterNote because it allows you yo create content in 15 different formats, from text, images, videos, etc. Integration with your favorite apps is also available (Google Drive, Dropbox, Office, etc.)

I hope this publication helps you clear the path towards a successful start of your knowledge base.

Please leave your comments below, tell me what do you think of this article, and what else should I cover in this site.

Remember to subscribe to receive periodically my best practices, tactics, and strategies about creative problem-solving, remote work, asynchronous collaboration, management methodologies and service protocols to transform your company’s operations.

Best regards.

The post 7 Guidelines for creating a helpful knowledge base with MeisterNote appeared first on Technopreneuring.

As a manager, founder, or leader of a company, you know by now that a culture of accountability is essential to maintain the highest level of quality and compliance with the deadlines and results committed to your clients.

But, did you know that a culture of accountability isn’t something that can be imposed on a team?

Did you know that accountability should thrive naturally in the organizational culture of your company?

Did you know that a team accountable for its results collaborates better?

In a 20+ year career, I have forged highly competitive teams and businesses in several countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. First as an employee of small and large corporations. Then as the founder of my agency, BSF.company. And more recently as a consultant and leadership advisor to managers and companies of all sizes.

During that time, I learned 4 things about accountability that I will share with you in this article:

• Accountability has to do with trust, not guilt.
• To create a culture of accountability, you must first understand what it means.
• The lack of a culture of accountability is a disadvantage for your company.
• Fostering a culture of accountability is key to improving the results of your team.

What Is The Culture Of Accountability In The Work Environment

To be successful, companies must invariably hold themselves accountable to their customers and the results committed.

In the same way, employees and collaborators should do so with their respective supervisors, managers, and boards of directors. The reality, however, is quite different, since there is not always a culture of owning the failures or bad results among the collaborators that make up the value chain of a company.

More frequently than CEOs and founders like to admit, the organizational culture in their companies lack the features needed to achieve sustainable success.

As an illustration of what I mean, watch Mr. Delaney’s team in the commercial below. Please, bear with video quality, considering that the ad was aired in 2008. Video capturing tech wasn’t as advanced as today’s.

Although at first, it may seem quite a difficult challenge, transforming the organizational culture of your company is attainable.

Not only that, it’s also a must if you expect your business to stay relevant in an increasingly competitive market.

Key Advantages Of Building A Culture Of Accountability With Your Team

Below, I list some advantages you can experience when you work with a team accountable for their results:

• There is trust between co-workers.
• Group problem-solving is encouraged.
• Mistakes are learning opportunities and not witch hunts.
• There is better organizational cohesion and results in general.

Are you willing to know how accountable your team is for its results?

If you get questions with proposals, new ideas, or ways to do it better, then I commend you. Your company might already have a high sense of accountability built in its organizational culture.

At places where the above holds true, a typical day in the office looks like the following image.

If, on the other hand, you get silence, excuses, and explanations of how everything bad is actually due to external factors, then it’s of your interest to keep reading. The truth is, you might have a poor culture of accountability in your team. Surely, your business could be generating better results.

What Happens When Your Team Is Not Accountable For Its Results?

At some point in our careers, we all have experienced a work environment where there is no culture of accountability. It looks like the following image.

In a recent study from Partners in Leadership about accountability in the workplace, 82% of respondents said they have “limited or no” ability to hold others accountable for their results. Interestingly, a staggering 91% rated accountability as one of the most urgent priorities within their organization.

The lack of accountability in your organizational culture can have catastrophic consequences:

• Non-compliance with deadlines and commitments.
• Poor quality of the resulting product or service.
• Excessive operational costs.
• Widespread delays in the value chain, to name a few.

However, it can be solved, and the first thing you should check are the possible problems that may be causing this situation.

6 Challenges For The Culture Of Accountability In Your Company

According to Culture Partners, there are six key challenges that you must overcome if you want to implant a culture of accountability in your work team:

1. Low team morale.
2. Unclear priorities.
3. Rare or no commitment.
4. Ineffective execution.
5. Low levels of trust.
6. High staff turnover.

At first glance, the amount of work to overcome those challenges seem unsurmountable.

The good news is that in me, you have an ally with experience overcoming these challenges in practice, not only for the companies I have founded, but also for those of my clients.

I’ve been fortunate enough to have done it repeatedly in the second most competitive market of Latin America.

It is a rewarding experience to take dysfunctional teams, and transform them from the inside out to leave them looking like the following image.

That is why I have decided to compile the 6 tactics I frequently employ in my professional practice to overcome each of the 6 challenges listed in the previous lines.

It’s all in a white paper titled: 6 Tactics To Establish A Culture Of Accountability.

In the name of science, and as a request of my marketing automation team, you’ll be able to download that document free of charge for a limited time.

You’ll find detailed explanations of steps to follow, different strategies, and a great tool that I employ daily to seed and nurture accountability, trust, and commitment in the organizational culture of my teams.

The application of these solutions will help you to establish trust and accountability as core features of your organizational culture, which will inevitably lead to better results.

I hope it to be of help for you and your team.

Please let me know in the comments section below what you think about it, your questions, experiences, or how it went at the office.

Best regards.

Andrés D’Andrea
BSF.company

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