Information Management vs Knowledge Management - How Each Affects Your Business
Effective information and knowledge management let you remove silos and share knowledge. We cover the ins and outs of information management vs. knowledge management.
Information management and knowledge management are often used interchangeably, but there are key differences.
Understanding these differences and how each affects your business lets you optimize your management strategy, streamline work processes, and boost productivity.
This article covers everything you need to know about information management vs. knowledge management. We'll talk about the benefits of each and how to effectively manage information and knowledge.
What are the differences between information management vs. knowledge management?
Before we get into the differences between information and knowledge management, we need to define each term.
Information is simply organized and refined data, while knowledge involves understanding a topic. So information becomes knowledge once it's processed and understood.
Using these definitions, we can say that information management is the collection and organization of refined data. This allows information to be accessible to your team when they need it, which prevents data silos.
And since knowledge is the understanding of information, knowledge management aims to access and share wisdom within your team or business.
This is more complex compared to information management because you aren't just managing pieces of information. You need to communicate value, experience, and know-how through videos, blog posts, and manuals.
Knowledge management includes shadowing, teaching, and mentoring employees.
Now that we know what information and knowledge management are, let's look at some examples.
Information management examples
Here are some examples of information management to illustrate it for you:
Collection:
The first step is to collect information. This is commonly done with text, graphs, audio, or video.
Storage:
Another information management example is the proper storage of information. Your storage methods must have sufficient security to prevent hackers from accessing private customer data.
Organization:
The most essential part of information management is organizing it so it's easily accessible. This means using a wiki tool like Kbee to ensure everyone has access to necessary information.
Distribution:
Information management also involves sharing information with executives, stakeholders, and leadership so everyone’s on the same page.
Destruction:
According to privacy laws like the
, if a customer wants you to delete all the data you have on them, you'll need to do it without a set timeframe. Failure to do so can result in hefty fines. So destroying customer data is also an essential part of information management.
Knowledge management examples
To give you a better idea of what knowledge management entails, here are some common examples:
Training programs: The most effective way to share and manage knowledge is through internal training programs. Here, senior employees share knowledge by coaching and shadowing junior trainees.
A lessons-learned team wiki: Another knowledge management example is creating a team wiki in Google Drive where everyone can share their lessons and mistakes. This collaboration ensures employees learn from one another.
CoPs: CoPs, or communities of practice, are team members within an organization who share similar interests. They can talk about problems and solutions inside company messaging apps.
Collaboration tools: Collaborative tools like Kbee allow teams to distribute critical knowledge within the interface. So if someone is stuck, they can simply visit the team wiki page for guidance. This is another form of knowledge management.
Now let's look at how information and knowledge management affect your business.
How do information management and knowledge management affect your business?
Information management and knowledge management positively affect workflow because:
Information management prevents work and data silos
Knowledge management ensures your staff is trained correctly
Information management prevents work and data silos
Siloed information is anything that only one person or a small group has access to. And this wreaks havoc on productivity since it costs hundreds of hours per year.
But if you're effectively managing information with a tool like Kbee, everyone in your team can access it since it's under one digital roof. This eliminates all work and information silos, encouraging productivity and engagement.
Knowledge management ensures your staff is trained correctly
If you're using a team wiki to train and mentor junior team members, the transfer of knowledge will be seamless, even if everyone is spread across the globe.
This allows your team to learn faster and adapt so you can take advantage of fast-moving market trends.
How to effectively manage information and knowledge
You might be wondering how to effectively manage information and knowledge. Well, team wiki tools like Kbee make this process super simple, and it only takes five minutes.
Sign up for a free Kbee trial, create documentation in Google Drive, point Kbee to that content, and view, manage, and share your wiki. This way, you remove all data silos because everyone has access to the necessary information. Senior employees can also share knowledge with trainees.
Managing your Google Drive is easy with Kbee
Information and knowledge management streamlines your work processes because all information is easy to find, and sharing knowledge is seamless.
So if you're looking to take your information and knowledge management to the next level, sign up for a free Kbee trial.