You can preserve knowledge within your organization by systematically documenting valuable information, work methods, and expertise, making them accessible, and actively sharing them—so that this knowledge isn’t lost when employees leave or change roles. This requires a combination of the right processes, tools, and a culture in which knowledge sharing is second nature. In this article, we answer the most frequently asked questions about internal knowledge sharing, ranging from the risks of poor knowledge retention to the tools you can start using right away.
What happens if knowledge isn’t preserved?
If knowledge isn’t preserved, valuable expertise is lost as soon as employees leave, get sick, or change roles. As a result, colleagues repeat the same mistakes, customers receive inconsistent answers, and onboarding new employees takes an unnecessarily long time. The organization pays the price in terms of time, quality, and customer satisfaction.
This phenomenon is also known as knowledge loss or brain drain. It is one of the most underestimated risks in organizations with a high volume of customer contact. Consider the experienced employee who leaves after ten years, taking with them hundreds of undocumented work procedures, customer insights, and problem-solving strategies. New colleagues then have to start from scratch, while the customer notices that the quality of service fluctuates.
In addition to personnel changes, internal growth also plays a role. When teams grow or undergo reorganization, informal knowledge networks are disrupted. What used to be “common knowledge” within a small team is suddenly no longer self-evident to new or other departments. Without proper documentation, pockets of knowledge emerge that hinder collaboration.
What are the different types of knowledge preservation?
There are two main forms of knowledge preservation: explicit knowledge preservation, in which information is recorded in documents, manuals, or systems, and implicit knowledge preservation, in which experiences and insights are transferred through collaboration, mentoring, and structured discussions. Effective knowledge preservation combines both forms.
Explicit knowledge is relatively easy to capture. Examples include process descriptions, FAQ documents, product information, scripts for customer interactions, and policy guidelines. This type of knowledge is well-suited for a central knowledge base or intranet.
Implicit knowledge is harder to document, but just as valuable. It includes the intuition of an experienced employee who can sense when a customer is at risk of churning, or the creative solution someone comes up with in an exceptional situation. This knowledge resides in people’s minds and requires different methods of preservation, such as knowledge-sharing sessions, video recordings of work processes, or structured exit interviews.
How do you capture tacit knowledge within an organization?
You can capture tacit knowledge by actively asking employees about their work methods, decisions, and experiences, and then translating those insights into structured formats such as step-by-step guides, decision trees, or short explanatory videos. Mentoring and knowledge-sharing sessions are powerful complements to written documentation.
A practical approach is to conduct what are known as “knowledge interviews.” Don’t ask an experienced employee, “What do you do?” but rather, “What do you do differently than a new colleague would?” and “What do you pay attention to that others overlook?” Those questions reveal the true expertise. You can then turn the answers into useful documentation or training materials.
Other effective methods include:
- Shadowing: New employees shadow experienced colleagues and document what they observe
- Retrospectives: After completing projects or complex client cases, you discuss what went well and what could have been done differently, and document those insights
- Video instructions: Short videos of an employee explaining a process are often more accessible than long text documents
- Communities of practice: informal groups centered around a specific field where employees exchange experiences and tips
The key is accessibility. If documenting knowledge takes too much effort, employees won’t do it. So make sure to use simple formats and incorporate knowledge sharing into the daily routine rather than treating it as an extra task.
What tools help with knowledge retention?
Tools that help preserve knowledge include knowledge base systems, intranet platforms, wiki tools, and specialized customer contact software with built-in knowledge features. The best tool is the one that employees actually use, so ease of use and integration with existing systems are crucial.
For organizations with a customer service team, a customer service knowledge base is a particularly valuable investment. Such a system enables employees to quickly find the right answer during a conversation, without having to search through multiple systems or consult a colleague. This shortens resolution time and increases the consistency of responses.
Popular categories of tools for internal knowledge sharing include:
- Wiki platforms such as Confluence or Notion, suitable for building a structured internal knowledge base
- Knowledge base software specifically designed for customer interactions, integrated into the contact center platform
- Collaboration tools such as Microsoft Teams or SharePoint, which combine knowledge sharing with day-to-day communication
- AI-powered search functions that instantly show employees the most relevant answer based on their question
When making your choice, pay attention to integration capabilities. A knowledge base that’s separate from your CRM or contact center system creates yet another silo. Choose solutions that integrate seamlessly with your existing infrastructure.
How do you ensure that employees actually use the knowledge base?
Employees will consistently use a knowledge base if its content is up-to-date and reliable, the search function quickly provides the right answer, and its use fits into their daily workflow. Adoption is not a technical issue but a behavioral one: people take the path of least resistance.
The most common mistake is investing in a tool without considering adoption. A knowledge base full of outdated or incomplete information will quickly be abandoned in favor of asking a colleague informally. Therefore, establish clear ownership: who is responsible for which part of the knowledge base, and who keeps the content up to date?
Practical tips to encourage use:
- Make the knowledge base accessible through the tools employees already use every day, so they don’t have to log in separately to access it
- Introduce a feedback mechanism that allows employees to easily indicate whether an article was helpful or needs to be updated
- Celebrate successes: share internal examples of situations where the knowledge base quickly helped an employee
- Involve employees in building the knowledge base so they feel a sense of ownership over the content
- Train new employees from day one on how to use the knowledge base as part of the onboarding process
When is knowledge retention particularly important for customer interactions?
Knowledge retention is especially important for customer service teams when there is high employee turnover, during seasonal peaks that require the rapid training of new staff, and when customers contact the company through multiple channels and expect consistent responses. In these situations, retained knowledge is immediately reflected in the quality of the customer experience.
Customer contact is, by its very nature, an environment where a loss of knowledge has direct consequences for the customer. If an agent transfers a call or cannot provide the correct answer right away, the customer perceives this as poor service, regardless of the reason. Good contact center technology therefore combines knowledge retention with smart routing and omnichannel accessibility.
Specific situations in which knowledge retention makes a difference in customer interactions:
- In the event of product changes or new services: employees must have quick access to up-to-date information so that all channels provide the same response
- In the event of incidents or outages: a centralized, instantly searchable knowledge base prevents employees from having to search for the correct communication on their own
- When training temporary staff: effective knowledge retention enables rapid scaling up without compromising quality
- During channel transitions: if a customer switches from chat to phone, the employee must have the same information at their fingertips
How Pegamento Helps Preserve Knowledge in Customer Interactions
We understand that internal knowledge sharing for customer service teams is not just an internal issue, but directly impacts the customer experience. Pegamento offers customized solutions using standard building blocks that integrate knowledge retention into your broader customer service infrastructure, without the need for costly and time-consuming custom development.
What we can do for you:
- An integrated knowledge base that is immediately available within the contact center platform, allowing agents to quickly find the right answer during calls
- Omnichannel knowledge consistency so that customers always receive the same answer via phone, chat, WhatsApp, and email
- AI-driven knowledge support via our Agentic AI assistants, which proactively provide agents with relevant information based on the context of the conversation
- Everything under one roof—from implementation to management and ongoing development—so you have a single point of contact and avoid complex vendor coordination
Our Agentic AI solutions go beyond traditional automation. While traditional bots follow instructions, our self-thinking assistants take the initiative on their own and act proactively, including when it comes to knowledge management and making information accessible to employees and customers.
Would you like to know how we can integrate knowledge management into your customer engagement environment? Contact us, and we’d be happy to work with you to develop an approach that fits your organization.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get started with knowledge management if nothing has been documented within my organization yet?
Start small and be pragmatic: first, identify the three to five most critical areas of knowledge, such as frequently asked customer questions or processes that depend on a single person. Document these first in a simple format, such as an FAQ document or a brief process description, before setting up a full-fledged system. A perfect knowledge base that’s never finished is less valuable than a limited but usable knowledge base that employees can use today.
What is a realistic timeline for setting up a knowledge base for a customer contact team?
A basic setup with the most essential content can be achieved within four to eight weeks for most customer contact teams, provided there is a clear owner and employees actively contribute. After that, expect an ongoing process of adding and updating content: a knowledge base is never ‘finished,’ but grows along with your organization. Therefore, schedule regular maintenance sessions from the start—for example, monthly or after every product change.
How do I prevent the knowledge base from becoming outdated quickly?
Assign a content owner for each knowledge domain who is responsible for keeping the articles up to date, and link knowledge reviews to existing processes, such as product launches, policy changes, or quarterly evaluations. In addition, introduce a feedback mechanism that allows employees to immediately report when information is incorrect or outdated. This way, maintaining the knowledge base becomes a shared responsibility rather than a task assigned to a single person.
What if employees are reluctant to share their knowledge?
Resistance to knowledge sharing often stems from uncertainty: employees sometimes fear that they will become less indispensable if their expertise is widely available. Address this by framing knowledge sharing as a sign of professionalism and by rewarding it—for example, by tracking who makes the most valuable contributions. Also, make it as simple as possible, because if knowledge sharing means too much extra work, it will always get buried under the daily workload.
How do I measure whether knowledge retention actually has an effect on the quality of customer interactions?
Look at specific KPIs such as average handling time (AHT), the percentage of questions resolved in a single interaction (First Contact Resolution), and the onboarding time for new employees. Compare these figures before and after implementing your knowledge management system. Additionally, you can periodically survey employees about their confidence in finding the right information, which is a direct indicator of how well the knowledge base functions in practice.
Is a separate knowledge base necessary, or is a shared folder in SharePoint or Teams sufficient?
A shared folder in SharePoint or Teams can work as a temporary solution, but it generally lacks the search functionality, structure, and feedback capabilities that a dedicated knowledge base offers. For small teams with limited information needs, it may be sufficient, but as soon as the volume of content grows or employees need to be able to search quickly during customer conversations, a simple folder structure falls short. A specialized knowledge base pays for itself through faster search times and greater consistency in responses.
How do I ensure that knowledge is consistent across all channels, such as phone, chat, and email?
You achieve consistency across channels by working from a single central knowledge source that all channels draw from, rather than maintaining separate documents or scripts for each channel. When information is updated in one place, that change is immediately visible to agents on the phone, chat, and email. Combine this with clear guidelines on tone of voice for each channel, so that the content of the response remains the same but the wording is tailored to the medium.
