You've come across ScreenSteps and it looks interesting. But you already have a knowledge management system (KMS). Do you really need to purchase and start using another tool?
You like what you see with ScreenSteps, but you aren’t sure if you can justify having two knowledge management systems in your company.You’re worried that if you have two knowledge management systems you might end up with information in multiple places. It takes a lot of work to implement a new tool from setting up the system and training your team on how to use it. Plus, you don’t want to pay for tools you already have.
Now you need to decide: Should you add ScreenSteps if you already have a knowledge management tool?
As CEO of ScreenSteps, I have been in your shoes many times. When I sign off on new software for our company, I don’t want to waste our time or money with products that won’t improve our performance or worker’s productivity. Nor do I want a program that will duplicate functionality that we already have in another product.
Below, I’ll explain situations where you should probably stick with your current tools and NOT add ScreenSteps to your existing knowledge management system — and situations where adding ScreenSteps might make a lot of sense. Hopefully, this information will help you decide if it is worth it for your company to add ScreenSteps.
I’ll also share 3 problems that we hear a lot of people have with their knowledge management systems. These problems can be indicators that your company would benefit from adding ScreenSteps.
When you don’t need to add ScreenSteps
If you already have a knowledge management system, you may not need to add ScreenSteps. Some common knowledge management tools include:
- SharePoint
- Salesforce Knowledge
- Confluence
- Homegrown wiki
- Google Docs
- Other 3rd-party knowledge bases
The important thing is to determine whether ScreenSteps will fill in any gaps that your other knowledge management system isn’t taking care of.
Of course, if you prefer one knowledge base to the other, you can swap one knowledge management system for another. But switching software can take a lot of work, so you want to make sure the change will have an impact on your business operations.
To determine whether you should add ScreenSteps to your current knowledge management software (or switch it out), ask yourself two questions:
- What performance result are you trying to achieve?
- Is your current knowledge management tool helping you achieve that result?
If your answer is “yes” to that second question, then there is no reason to add ScreenSteps. You don't really have a problem, so you don't need a new solution.
Even if ScreenSteps is going to improve your business by 10%, you probably don't want it. It's not worth the effort it will take to implement a new system in your company. The payout isn’t high enough.
If you answered “no” to that second question, that’s when it’s time to consider adding ScreenSteps to your mix.
3 situations when you could consider adding ScreenSteps to your knowledge management system
Before you can find solutions to the problem, you have to diagnose the issue. You don’t go to the doctor for a procedure without understanding what is wrong first. You don’t want to remove your kidney when the problem was your gallbladder.
Determine what your problem is with your current knowledge management system and what performance results you want to achieve.
If you identify and diagnose your knowledge management software issues, it will help you find the solutions you need. Here are three problems that ScreenSteps helps solve:
1. Employees can’t find the right content
The purpose of a knowledge management system is to provide your employees access to the resources they need to do their jobs.
If your employees can’t find the resources they need when they need them, then your knowledge base isn’t doing its job. You wouldn’t create guides for your day-to-day tasks then store them away in the attic where no one could access them. Your knowledge base should not be your electronic attic.
There are many reasons your employees may not be able to find your content. The obvious reason is it doesn’t exist.
Maybe you haven’t had time to document your procedures yet, or maybe documentation hasn’t been a priority in your company. Either way, the help guide for the procedure your employees need doesn’t exist, yet.
Another reason employees can’t find the right content is that the search capabilities in your knowledge base are poor. When employees type terms into the search bar, your knowledge management system doesn’t pull up the appropriate content.
When you’ve tried to optimize your knowledge base for search, you may have noticed that you don’t have the necessary data and tools to improve search results.
📽️ Related: 5 Ways ScreenSteps Improves Search
2. Employees are making costly mistakes
If your employees can find the help guides they need and they are still making mistakes, that is a red flag that something may be off in your knowledge management system.
To pinpoint why employees are making mistakes, there are a few things to investigate.
Check to see if the content is out of date. If there was a new step added to a procedure — like a new health screening question for technicians to enter homes during the COVID-19 pandemic — then those changes need to be added immediately.
If employees don’t have the correct information in front of them, then they can’t be held accountable for the information they don’t know.
Another issue is that the guides contain too much information. Employees get confused when there are too many words and not enough visuals to explain and show them how to complete a procedure.
Often, companies need to help employees through complex procedures that have multiple outcomes. When employees encounter a lot of “if-then” situations, it can be difficult to follow the path to the right way to get things done.
On the other end of the spectrum, sometimes guides don’t contain enough information to help employees complete a procedure. There might be missing steps. Or maybe employees are expected to remember little details about each procedure from training.
🔍 Related: How Does My Learning Management System Fit In With ScreenSteps?
3. Your authors can’t create content quickly enough
The authoring team is responsible for writing new content and keeping your guides up to date with the most current information. And often teams struggle to keep up with all the demands on their time.
One issue we’ve seen holding authoring teams back is they are working with cumbersome or complicated authoring tools. Some tools slow down the authoring process.
For example, if you don’t have an integrated screen capture — as we do with ScreenSteps — then every time your authors want to add a screenshot to a help guide they need to (1) take a screenshot, (2) save it to a folder, (3) upload the image, and (4) position it in the article.
How much time would they save if they could take a screenshot that immediately placed the image in their article?
You may consider asking your authoring team a few questions about their experience creating content in your knowledge management system. Ask them:
- What type of authoring tools does your knowledge management system have?
- How are they slowing down your team?
- What content creation tools would help simplify and speed up your content creation process?
How ScreenSteps helps fill the gaps of your current knowledge management system
Your knowledge management system is the home to your content and has helped your company, but right now it isn’t taking care of all of your company’s needs.
So, should you use ScreenSteps in addition to your current knowledge management tool?
If you have one of the problems described above, ScreenSteps could be the solution you are looking for. ScreenSteps might be an option if the overall issue entails a need for better search capabilities, clearer documentation, and quicker content creation.
If you have a performance problem that is costing your company money, then it’s up to you whether you can live with that performance problem or not. With ScreenSteps, you could help fix those performance issues and save money doing it.
ScreenSteps offers a knowledge base that has:
- Simple search capabilities that make it easy to find articles
- Article design options that make it easy for employees to follow complex procedures without making mistakes
- Authoring tools that are simple and fast to use
Want to see how ScreenSteps works? Watch these five demo videos that give a good overview of ScreenSteps. You’ll see what it looks like in the software, how you can create content, what types of articles exist, and more.
