{"id":4053,"date":"2025-06-09T11:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-09T11:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/?p=4053"},"modified":"2025-06-14T11:46:32","modified_gmt":"2025-06-14T11:46:32","slug":"internal-knowledge-base-what-it-is-and-how-to-implement-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/09\/internal-knowledge-base-what-it-is-and-how-to-implement-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Internal knowledge base: What it is and how to implement it"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-size: 16px;background-color: transparent\">This might be a strange personality quirk, but I love systems and processes \u2014 especially when they\u2019re stored in a well-organized internal <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.hubspot.com\/service\/what-is-a-knowledge-base\" style=\"font-size: 16px\">knowledge base<\/a><span style=\"font-size: 16px;background-color: transparent\">. I&#8217;ve created training documents, where there were previously none, for my replacement when I was leaving several jobs. You can imagine how excited I was to join a company like HubSpot, which has an internal knowledge base where standardized systems and processes are kept.<a class=\"cta_button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hubspot.com\/cs\/ci\/?pg=51b243ff-6931-4d5a-ae28-898ad2847646&amp;pid=53&amp;ecid=&amp;hseid=&amp;hsic=\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"hs-cta-img \" style=\"height: auto !important;width: auto !important;max-width: 100% !important;border-width: 0px;margin: 0 auto;margin-top: 20px;margin-bottom: 20px\" alt=\"\u2192 Access Now: 5 Free Customer Support Templates\" height=\"59\" width=\"466\" src=\"https:\/\/no-cache.hubspot.com\/cta\/default\/53\/51b243ff-6931-4d5a-ae28-898ad2847646.png\" align=\"middle\" \/><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>When your employees need to find information, collaborate with other teams, or are in training, an internal knowledge base can be extremely helpful.<\/p>\n<p>In this post, let\u2018s review what an internal knowledge base is and the best software to implement one. I\u2019ll cover:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"#what-is-an-internal-knowledge-base\">What is an internal knowledge base?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#internal-knowledge-base-software\">Internal Knowledge Base Software<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#benefits-of-internal-knowledge-bases\">Benefits of Internal Knowledge Bases<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#how-to-create-an-internal-knowledge-base\">How to Create an Internal Knowledge Base<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a><\/a> <\/p>\n<p><strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>With an internal knowledge base, you can store policies, handbooks, guidelines, and share information and findings cross-departmentally. Whether you\u2018re sharing short- or long-form documents, an internal knowledge base acts as a Wikipedia for your company. It\u2019s an internal help center where employees can get information quickly.<\/p>\n<p><a><\/a> <\/p>\n<h2><strong>Benefits of Internal Knowledge Bases<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3>Save Employees Time<\/h3>\n<p>When your employees need to find information, they don&#8217;t need to wait for an email response or spend hours trying to figure it out themselves. They can easily search your internal knowledge base to find information they need, boosting productivity.<\/p>\n<h3>Efficient Way to Disperse Information<\/h3>\n<p>Sending emails to your entire company isn&#8217;t the most efficient way to disseminate information that employees will need to continue referencing. When you want to share information like employee benefits, holiday schedules, or FAQs, an internal knowledge base is the way to go.<\/p>\n<h3>Team Collaboration<\/h3>\n<p>It can be hard to communicate what all departments are up to. With an internal knowledge base, teams can share their experiments and findings with the entire company. For instance, your support staff could share information about support tickets with each other and other departments that want to review customer pain points.<\/p>\n<h3>Centralized Information<\/h3>\n<p>Finally, one place to find everything you might need. Having a single source of truth for information is important for companies that want to streamline, scale, and grow.<\/p>\n<h3>Assists With Onboarding<\/h3>\n<p>An internal knowledge base helps onboard new employees so they can review documentation and policies.<\/p>\n<p>As a customer service team, you might store customer FAQs and troubleshooting guides on an internal knowledge base. With these types of articles, your support staff can bookmark and continue referencing them during their calls.<\/p>\n<p><a><\/a> <\/p>\n<h2><strong>How to Create an Internal Knowledge Base<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Building an internal knowledge base isn\u2019t just about storing documents \u2014 it\u2019s about creating a system your team actually <em>wants<\/em> to use. It should feel like a helpful colleague, not a cluttered file cabinet.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s a simple framework to help you create one that\u2019s useful, organized, and easy to maintain.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/internal-knowledge-base-2-20250605-5548074.webp\" style=\"margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;width: 650px;height: auto;max-width: 100%\" title=\"\" alt=\"how to create an internal knowledge base\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>1. <strong>Identify what internal knowledge needs to be shared.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Start by figuring out what types of information your team needs most. Think: onboarding guides, IT help, HR policies, process checklists, tool walkthroughs \u2014 any piece of knowledge that lives in someone\u2019s head or a hidden folder.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019re not starting from scratch \u2014 you\u2019re centralizing what already exists across emails, Google Docs, Slack threads, and people\u2019s brains. A good internal knowledge base makes this tribal knowledge accessible to everyone, not just the tenured few.<\/p>\n<p>You can:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Interview team leads to surface frequently asked questions.<\/li>\n<li>Review recurring internal support tickets or Slack threads.<\/li>\n<li>Ask new hires what information they wish they had on day one.<\/li>\n<li>Review the recent or most viewed documents in your Google Workspace.<\/li>\n<li>Analyze where work is delayed or blocked due to missing info.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This step ensures your knowledge base solves real internal problems from the start \u2014 not hypothetical ones. It also helps you prioritize what to document first based on demand and impact.<\/p>\n<h3>2. <strong>Choose the right platform for your team.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The right software makes or breaks adoption. For internal teams, choose a tool that\u2019s intuitive, integrates with your daily tools (like Slack or your CRM), and supports permissioning so you can control access by department or role.<\/p>\n<p>You want something your team won\u2019t resist using. If it feels clunky, they\u2019ll go back to asking in Slack. The ideal platform is one that fades into the background and simply works \u2014 available when you need it, invisible when you don\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re already using HubSpot, our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hubspot.com\/products\/service\/knowledge-base\">Knowledge Base Software<\/a> is a no-brainer \u2014 it\u2019s tightly integrated with your support tools and lets you manage everything in one place. Plus, you get reporting tools to see what people are searching for, what\u2019s helping, and what needs improvement.<\/p>\n<h3>3. <strong>Structure it like a library.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Group your content into clear categories: think \u201cHR,\u201d \u201cIT,\u201d \u201cCustomer Success,\u201d \u201cSales Enablement,\u201d etc. Then use tags or filters to help people drill down quickly.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t overcomplicate the structure at first \u2014 aim for clarity, not perfection. You can always expand as your library grows. What matters most is consistency. If your HR policies are in four different folders with four different naming conventions, no one will ever find them.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Pro tip: <\/strong>Mirror how your org already talks about things. If your sales team calls it \u201cbattle cards,\u201d don\u2019t label that section \u201ccompetitive intel.\u201d Naming conventions matter more than you think. A familiar name is the fastest shortcut to findability.<\/p>\n<h3>4. <strong>Write articles that are clear, brief, and actionable.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Internal knowledge doesn\u2019t have to read like legal copy. Use plain language, bullet points, and screenshots or video walkthroughs when helpful. The goal is to make it skimmable and useful <em>in the moment <\/em>someone needs it.<\/p>\n<p>Every article should solve a specific problem or answer a clear question. Think one task, one page. The shorter and more direct the content, the more likely it\u2019ll be used.<\/p>\n<p>Include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A clear title that describes the task or question.<\/li>\n<li>Step-by-step instructions with formatting.<\/li>\n<li>Last updated date (so people trust the info).<\/li>\n<li>Owner or contact for follow-up questions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It\u2019s also helpful to include common \u201cgotchas\u201d or mistakes at the bottom of each article \u2014 things like \u201cBe sure to click Save before exiting\u201d or \u201cThis only works in Chrome.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>5. <strong>Set access and editing permissions.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Not all knowledge is meant for everyone. Set clear access rules \u2014 especially for documents that involve finance, HR, or leadership decisions.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ll also want to protect your content from unintentional edits. Choose who can view, edit, and approve updates. Version control is your friend here \u2014 you don\u2019t want to lose a well-written article to a rushed copy\/paste.<\/p>\n<p>Also decide: Who can edit articles? Is there an approval process? Version control? Even basic permissioning helps you avoid the \u201ceveryone edits everything\u201d chaos.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s worth creating a short internal style guide or contributor checklist to maintain consistency and quality across articles, especially as more people get involved.<\/p>\n<h3>6. <strong>Train your team to use it (and contribute).<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Don\u2019t assume people will just \u201cfind it.\u201d During onboarding and team meetings, show how to use the knowledge base. Make it part of daily workflows by linking to it often and encouraging questions to be answered there first.<\/p>\n<p>This isn\u2019t a one-time announcement. You need ongoing visibility and gentle nudges. Reinforce the habit by pointing people to relevant articles when they ask questions \u2014 and recognizing when they contribute updates.<\/p>\n<p>You could even:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Create a #knowledge-base Slack channel for updates.<\/li>\n<li>Recognize top contributors each quarter.<\/li>\n<li>Link to articles in everyday comms (like onboarding checklists).<\/li>\n<li>Assign content champions in each department to keep docs relevant.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The more your team contributes, the more accurate, complete, and helpful your knowledge base becomes.<\/p>\n<h3>7. <strong>Keep it updated and useful.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>A dead knowledge base is worse than none at all. Set up recurring check-ins (monthly or quarterly) to review outdated content, flag missing articles, and archive irrelevant docs.<\/p>\n<p>Treat your knowledge base like a product \u2014 it needs a roadmap, ownership, and regular iterations. Otherwise, it becomes the digital junk drawer everyone avoids.<\/p>\n<p>Some platforms (like Tettra or Guru) even remind you when articles haven\u2019t been updated in a while \u2014 a great failsafe to keep content fresh.<\/p>\n<p>You can also use data to drive updates: look at search terms with no results, articles with low ratings, or common feedback to see where improvements are needed.<\/p>\n<p><a><\/a> <\/p>\n<p><strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There are a lot of tools that say they can help you build an internal knowledge base \u2014 but only a few that actually make it easy for your team to find and share knowledge without a headache.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve explored, tested, and used plenty of them, and these are the five I\u2019d actually recommend.<\/p>\n<p>Each one solves a different kind of problem \u2014 some are great for fast onboarding, others for real-time collaboration, and a few for making sure your documentation doesn\u2019t collect dust.<\/p>\n<p>Whether you are starting from scratch or upgrading a messy wiki, these tools are worth a serious look. Below is a list of the top internal knowledge base software to use.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>1. <\/strong><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hubspot.com\/products\/service\/knowledge-base\">HubSpot Knowledge Base Software<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Best for: <\/strong>Teams already using HubSpot \u2014 or ready to scale fast<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hubspot.com\/products\/service\/knowledge-base\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/internal-knowledge-base-3-20250605-298344.webp\" style=\"margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;width: 650px;height: auto;max-width: 100%\" title=\"\" alt=\"knowledge base softwares, hubspothttps:\/\/www.hubspot.com\/products\/service\/knowledge-base\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>If you want an internal knowledge base that looks clean, works seamlessly, and ties into your CRM, support desk, and reporting without any duct tape \u2014 <strong>HubSpot is the one.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>What impressed me most when I started using it was how simple it was to create polished articles with zero friction, all while having built-in analytics to see what people were actually searching for.<\/p>\n<p>Plus, you can categorize content, customize the design, and track what articles are most helpful. That means you\u2019re not just storing information \u2014 you\u2019re learning from it and improving team workflows over time.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why I recommend it:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Fully integrated with your CRM, chat, and help desk.<\/li>\n<li>Beginner-friendly without sacrificing power.<\/li>\n<li>Insightful analytics to continuously improve content.<\/li>\n<li>Ideal for both internal and customer-facing knowledge bases.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>2. <\/strong><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.getguru.com\/\">Guru<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Best for: <\/strong>Enabling teams directly inside Slack, Chrome, or Teams<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/internal-knowledge-base-4-20250605-8222691.webp\" style=\"margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;width: 650px;height: auto;max-width: 100%\" title=\"\" alt=\"knowledge base softwares, getguruhttps:\/\/www.getguru.com\/\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Guru is like having a smart assistant that knows where everything lives \u2014 without having to leave your workspace. It uses AI to surface answers right when and where you need them. I\u2019ve seen sales reps get real-time talk tracks and objection-handling docs in Slack threads or on calls, without even asking.<\/p>\n<p>Guru doesn\u2019t require employees to go \u201clook something up\u201d in a separate system. It brings the knowledge to them. It is the right option for teams of all sizes looking for an internal knowledge base that will boost productivity without a complicated setup process.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why I recommend it:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Contextual AI suggestions in Slack, Chrome, and beyond.<\/li>\n<li>Easy to set up and adopt \u2014 no steep learning curve.<\/li>\n<li>Great for real-time enablement across sales, support, and ops.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>3. <\/strong><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.atlassian.com\/software\/confluence\">Confluence<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Best for: <\/strong>Structured documentation in technical or cross-functional teams<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/internal-knowledge-base-5-20250605-990224.webp\" style=\"margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;width: 650px;height: auto;max-width: 100%\" title=\"\" alt=\"knowledge base softwares, confluencehttps:\/\/www.atlassian.com\/software\/confluence\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Confluence, by Atlassian, is a workhorse. If your teams are used to Jira, or if you run lots of cross-functional projects that need structured documentation, Confluence keeps everything organized and searchable. It is a software where you can create an online team workspace. It makes collaboration in your internal knowledge base easy with its focus on social interaction.<\/p>\n<p>The thing I appreciate about Confluence is its depth \u2014 you can go lightweight with sample pages or get really technical with layered permissions, embedded Jira tickets, and templates for things like retrospectives or meeting notes.<\/p>\n<p>There are both free and paid versions of this tool for both small and large businesses.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why I recommend it:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Strong integration with other Atlassian tools (Jira, Trello).<\/li>\n<li>Ideal for teams with complex workflows.<\/li>\n<li>Endless flexibility for documentation style and depth.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>4. <\/strong><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/tettra.com\/\">Tettra<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Best for: <\/strong>Fast-growing teams who need to keep knowledge fresh<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/internal-knowledge-base-6-20250605-530802.webp\" style=\"margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;width: 650px;height: auto;max-width: 100%\" title=\"\" alt=\"knowledge base softwares, tettrahttps:\/\/tettra.com\/\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Tettra is clean, fast, and purpose-built for internal documentation. Tettra is an internal knowledge base and company wiki software. If you\u2019ve ever had a team wiki go stale (and who hasn\u2019t?), Tettra is a breath of fresh air. It gently prompts you when content is outdated, missing, or redundant, so your internal knowledge base doesn\u2019t rot over time.<\/p>\n<p>It also plays really well with Slack. You can ask a question in Slack, and Tettra will suggest relevant pages. I\u2019ve found it\u2019s perfect for growing startups that don\u2019t have time for heavy admin work but still want to build reliable documentation.<\/p>\n<p>Again, this tool can be used by any-sized business as there are free and paid options.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why I recommend it:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Smart nudges to update or archive outdated content.<\/li>\n<li>Tight Slack integration for real-time answers.<\/li>\n<li>Clean UI that doesn\u2019t intimidate new users.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>5. <\/strong><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iorad.com\/\">Iorad<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Best for: <\/strong>creating step-by-step tutorials with zero design skills.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/internal-knowledge-base-7-20250605-2860939.webp\" style=\"margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;width: 650px;height: auto;max-width: 100%\" title=\"\" alt=\"knowledge base softwares, ioradhttps:\/\/www.iorad.com\/\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Iorad is your go-to tool when you need to show someone how to do something, especially if it involves multiple steps or tools. It records your screen as you click around, then turns that into a polished, interactive tutorial with text instructions.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve used Iorad for onboarding guides, software walkthroughs, and internal training docs. And because it integrates directly with HubSpot, you can embed those tutorials inside your knowledge base for even faster adoption.<\/p>\n<p>With an <a href=\"https:\/\/ecosystem.hubspot.com\/marketplace\/apps\/iorad-205751?eco_budget%3Dnone\">integration of HubSpot&#8217;s Knowledge base and Iorad<\/a>, you can create onboarding and training systems within minutes.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why I recommend it:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Auto-generates step-by-step guides from screen recordings.<\/li>\n<li>Great for onboarding, support, and training documentation.<\/li>\n<li>Pairs perfectly with HubSpot Knowledge Base for rich content.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a><\/a> <\/p>\n<h2><strong>Build and Rebuild Your Knowledge Base<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>If there\u2019s one thing I\u2019ve learned from building (and rebuilding) internal systems over the years, it\u2019s this: <strong>The best internal knowledge base isn\u2019t the one with the most articles \u2014 it\u2019s the one your team actually uses<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>And honestly, it\u2019s not about perfection. You don\u2019t need to have every document in place before launching. Start small. Focus on the questions people ask every week, the how-tos you keep repeating, or the policies buried three clicks too deep in someone\u2019s Drive folder. That\u2019s your foundation.<\/p>\n<p>From there, choose a platform that fits the way your team already works. If you\u2019re using HubSpot, the Knowledge Base Software is a solid choice \u2014 it\u2019s integrated, easy to manage, and comes with the kind of reporting and permissions features that make scaling feel simple. But even if you go with a different tool, the most important thing is that your team trusts it, finds it useful, and sees it as a go-to resource.<\/p>\n<p>At the end of the day, creating an internal knowledge base is one of the highest-leverage things you can do to support your team. The sooner you start, the sooner your future self (and your entire company) will thank you.<\/p>\n<p><em>Editor&#8217;s note: This post was originally published in August 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/track.hubspot.com\/__ptq.gif?a=53&amp;k=14&amp;r=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.hubspot.com%2Fservice%2Finternal-knowledge-base&amp;bu=https%253A%252F%252Fblog.hubspot.com%252Fservice&amp;bvt=rss\" alt=\"\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" style=\"min-height:1px!important;width:1px!important;border-width:0!important;margin-top:0!important;margin-bottom:0!important;margin-right:0!important;margin-left:0!important;padding-top:0!important;padding-bottom:0!important;padding-right:0!important;padding-left:0!important\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"text-justify mb-2\" >This might be a strange personality quirk, but I love systems and processes \u2014 especially when they\u2019re stored in a well-organized internal knowledge base. I&#8217;ve created training documents, where there were previously none, for my replacement when I was leaving several jobs. You can imagine [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4057,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-service"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4053","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4053"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4053\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4082,"href":"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4053\/revisions\/4082"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}