Knowledge management best practices for your IT service desk

Is your IT service desk overrun with recurring incidents like password resets? There’s a solution which doesn’t require a complete overhaul of the way you work: knowledge management. With knowledge management, you use the collective knowledge of your service desk employees to resolve incidents instead of constantly having to reinvent the wheel with every new incident. This blog will share practical knowledge management best practices that will help you reap the benefits of knowledge management for your IT department.

What is knowledge management?

Before you can start adopting knowledge management best practices, you first need to understand what knowledge management is. The key components of knowledge management are knowledge capture, knowledge storage, knowledge sharing and knowledge application.

Knowledge capture

Knowledge capture entails gathering both the clear, structured facts (explicit knowledge) and the hidden wisdom (tacit knowledge) within your team. Explicit knowledge is easy to document in manuals or guides, while tacit knowledge comes from personal experiences and insights.

Knowledge storage

Once knowledge is captured, it needs to be stored in an organized and accessible way, for example in a knowledge base. Think of it as creating a digital library where every resource is easy to find, ready to support your team whenever they need it. This makes their day-to-day tasks much more efficient.

What is a knowledge base?

A knowledge base is exactly what it sounds like: a place where the collective knowledge of your IT service desk lives, neatly organized into specific categories. With the help of so-called knowledge items, your service desk employees can quickly resolve incidents without any help.

You can even make certain knowledge items available to your end-users, so they can find the answers to simple questions like “How do I connect to Wi-Fi?” themselves.

Knowledge sharing

A strong culture of knowledge sharing breaks down barriers between teams, unlocking collaboration and innovation. By encouraging open communication, you create an environment where ideas flow freely, driving creativity and helping everyone work smarter together.

Knowledge application

Effective knowledge management isn’t just about collecting information—it’s about putting it to work. Applying your team’s shared knowledge improves decision-making, enhances customer experience, and fosters a culture of continuous improvement.

The benefits of adopting knowledge management best practices

Adopting knowledge management best practices has the following benefits for your IT service desk:

Save up to 20% on recurring calls: Implementing knowledge management improves the way you handle recurring calls, significantly cutting down resolution times. Many organizations see a 20% reduction in time spent on these calls within just 2–4 months of adopting knowledge management best practices.

Increase customer satisfaction: Your end users expect fast and accurate answers, and a well-organized knowledge base delivers exactly that. By enabling your first-line support team to resolve more queries efficiently and ensuring high-quality responses based on collective team expertise, knowledge management can noticeably boost customer satisfaction levels.

Speed up onboarding for new hires: Training new employees can be time-consuming, especially in service desk roles. With a knowledge base at their fingertips, new team members can quickly access essential information, allowing them to start handling simple queries sooner. According to the KCS Academy, this approach can improve time-to-proficiency by up to 70%.

How to start using knowledge management best practices

Step 1: identify improvement areas

A successful knowledge management strategy starts by pinpointing what needs attention. Bring your team together to uncover knowledge gaps—whether it’s recurring challenges or feedback from end users that highlights areas for growth. Closing these gaps sets the stage for smoother IT operations and effective knowledge management.

Step 2: create high-quality resources

Once you’ve identified areas to improve, focus on building high-quality documentation. Develop a mix of resources, like step-by-step guides and troubleshooting manuals, in formats that suit different learning preferences—think videos, interactive modules, or written instructions. This ensures your team is equipped to handle challenges confidently.

Step 3: foster a knowledge-sharing culture

A thriving knowledge-sharing culture drives collaboration and innovation. Celebrate contributions, big and small, from every team member, and consider reward programs to keep morale high. This encourages the free flow of ideas, enriching your organization’s knowledge base and strengthening teamwork.

Step 4: keep your knowledge updated

Regular updates are key to maintaining a reliable knowledge base. Schedule periodic reviews and invite input from your team to keep resources accurate. A collaborative approach ensures your knowledge stays fresh and relevant.

Step 5: gather feedback

Feedback channels can help you evaluate the accuracy and usefulness of your knowledge items and resources. Stay open to improvements and adapt as needed, so your team remains agile and ready to tackle new challenges with confidence.

Knowledge management best practices for your knowledge base

Building and maintaining an effective knowledge base starts with a needs assessment, a cornerstone of knowledge management best practices. Engage key stakeholders to identify challenges and prioritize the resources that will address them effectively.

Next, focus on making sure your knowledge base has a user-friendly interface, as the success of a knowledge base relies heavily on its usability. An intuitive design with well-organized, searchable content ensures team members as well as end users can access information effortlessly.

Equally important is creating clear and concise content. Collaborate with experts to ensure accuracy and relevance, and use a mix of multimedia formats to cater to different learning styles.

By following these knowledge management best practices, you create a knowledge base that empowers your team and drives success.

Resolving incidents using knowledge management best practices

Here's how you resolve incidents at the IT service desk using knowledge management best practices and a knowledge base:

Step 1: search the knowledge base first

Handling an incident? Always, always, always search the knowledge base first, even if you know the answer by heart.

Why?

First of all, if the answer is in the knowledge base, using it will save you time typing out a response – even if it’s just a matter of seconds. But if you don’t know how to proceed with an incident, chances are the problem has been encountered and solved before. In that case, you can simply use the solution that’s in the knowledge base and resolve the incident.

If the answer isn’t available in the knowledge base, make sure to add a knowledge item yourself – however brief – so your colleagues can reap the benefits later.

Step 2: correct the knowledge base

Your knowledge base is only as effective as the information you feed it is.

Found a knowledge item that’s lacking something? Make sure you update it straightaway, for example when you’ve found a quicker solution to a certain problem. This way, your knowledge base becomes a continuously updated and reliable hub that will benefit the whole IT service desk.

Step 3: resolve the incident

Now, potentially armed with some new knowledge, you’re ready to resolve the incident. While doing so, keep an eye and an ear open for anything in the solution process that deviates from what was stated in the original knowledge item.

Step 4: close the incident

You resolved the incident and can now confidently close the call. Once you do, see if you can add to the answer in the knowledge base. Maybe you need to fix a typo, or the solution needs an update, or the knowledge item could do with a screenshot for extra clarification. Even small changes could be helpful.

Making knowledge management best practices effective

Setting and tracking knowledge base KPIs will help you maintain a healthy knowledge base. Useful KPIs include:

Resolution times: Keep an eye on how quickly issues are resolved using the knowledge base. Faster resolution times are a clear indicator of improved efficiency and the effectiveness of your knowledge items.

Knowledge base usage: Monitor how often your team accesses the knowledge base and which sections are most popular. These insights can guide updates and ensure content stays relevant and useful.

Recurring issue frequency: Look for patterns in recurring issues. If certain problems persist, even with use of the knowledge base, it might be time to add new resources or refine existing ones to address these challenges more effectively.

Tooling for knowledge management best practices

ITSM tools and software can help incorporate knowledge management best practices at your IT service desk. TOPdesk's ITSM software includes a knowledge base that makes it easy for your employees to store and share knowledge with each other and with end users. Use known solutions to solve recurring calls in a few clicks. Get new employees the necessary knowledge they need to start delivering great services from day one. And empower your end users to help themselves – freeing up time for your agents. Discover what our ITSM software can do for your IT department.

Final thoughts on using knowledge management best practices

Remember: knowledge management is a continuous process. If you’re new to it, it might take a while to build up your knowledge base. But as your team adds more and more knowledge items and starts to adopt knowledge management best practices, you’ll notice that they're able to resolve incidents more quickly and become more efficient.

Think of knowledge management as physiotherapy: you may need to do some tough exercises at first, but the long–term benefits are infinite.

Ready to start sharing knowledge in your organization? Download our Knowledge Management e-book for more knowledge management tips and tricks, including:

Download this 32-page e-book and learn everything about Knowledge Management, including:

• How to lower lead and resolution times using Knowledge Centered Service (KCS)
• How much you will save – including a calculator
• A step-by-step guide to implementing KCS