Wiki for Corporations: How Important Is It and Do You Need One?

What are the benefits of having a wiki for corporations? In this guide, we’ll explain what a corporate wiki is, pros and cons, and how traditional corporate wikis differ from knowledge bases.

Traditional corporate wikis serve as knowledge-sharing platforms for internal teams. And while both corporate wikis and knowledge bases exist for the purpose of knowledge management, corporate wikis come with their own specific benefits and drawbacks.

In this article, we’ll explain the difference between a corporate wiki vs. knowledge base, explain why your company’s corporate wiki can be a valuable tool for employees, and give you tips on how to create your own easily searchable internal wiki.

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What Is a Corporate Wiki?

A corporate wiki is a private online platform only for internal teams. It’s a place where employees can go to find, create, edit and share company information.

A company’s wiki functions as a single source of information about policies, procedures, projects and other business details. The following may be included in a company wiki:

• Company documents
• Company policies
• Detailed business processes
• Employee handbooks
• Essential documents for new employees
• General company information
• How-to guides
• Internal communication procedures
• Project plans
• Training materials for new employees

Think of a corporate wiki as a central knowledge base just for those who work for a company. It’s also comparable to Wikipedia, but if a company had its own Wikipedia site, one that any employee could contribute to.

Learn more about our Wikipedia solutions for businesses here.

Corporate Wiki vs. Knowledge Base

While both are knowledge-sharing platforms, there are a couple of major differences between a corporate wiki and a knowledge base. Let’s compare company wiki vs. knowledge base platforms:

Dynamic vs. Semi-Static

Corporate wikis are highly collaborative. Employees are able to create and edit content, creating a collective intelligence hub for workers. However, since people within the company can add to and update the corporate wiki, there are risks to accuracy and quality.

In contrast, knowledge bases are more controlled and structured. This ensures that only authoritative information is included on the platform. A dedicated team creates and maintains the knowledge base, providing consistent answers to common questions.

Internal vs. External Access

Corporate wikis are for internal use, while knowledge bases may be for internal or external use. In other words, only employees can access a corporate wiki, while both employees and customers can access a company’s knowledge base.

Company Wiki Pros and Cons

Corporate Wiki Pros

Internal knowledge bases come with a host of significant benefits. Let’s go over some of them.

Centralized Database of Knowledge

An internal wiki is a valuable resource because it acts as a centralized repository of company information. Both new and experienced employees can use a company wiki when looking for information, empowering them to act independently.

Collaborative Nature

A company wiki provides a space where employees can create new information and edit or update existing information, regardless of who initially posted it. This gets the entire team involved.

Employee Engagement

Anyone can edit and contribute to a company wiki in real time. This makes employees feel valued, as their company knowledge can enhance the internal wiki. Moreover, it reduces employee stress because they know there’s a thorough knowledge base where they can find answers to their questions.

Interconnected Company Knowledge

Internal knowledge bases can have pages that link to others to make it easier to access interconnected information. Employees are then able to continue exploring a topic by learning about related concepts and ideas.

Up-To-Date Information

Since anyone within the company can update a corporate wiki, information can be edited in real time as new information is released. This makes it easier for employees to stay up-to-date with company changes and adapt as needed.

Corporate Wiki Cons

Private wikis also have their fair share of drawbacks, especially if they’re created without a solid content strategy. Here are common pitfalls of internal knowledge bases.

Accuracy Issues

Traditional corporate wikis don’t always have clear owners or strict moderation. This can lead to employees posting inaccurate or outdated information that then gets spread to others.

Disorganization

Since traditional corporate wikis are open to editing, their free-form nature can lead to chaotic and disorganized content. While employee participation is an integral part of maintaining a corporate wiki, it’s also helpful to have a dedicated team of managers who can oversee content and organization.

Limited Search Functionality

Internal knowledge bases don’t always have the best search functionality. This can make it difficult for employees to find the company information they’re after.

Poor Quality Control

Your business’s corporate wiki is for preserving company knowledge. However, with content creation available to all employees, there’s the risk of low-quality or irrelevant content being created. There may also be major content gaps where more information is needed.

4 Must-Know Tips for Managing a Corporate Wiki

• Streamline employee onboarding by adding the forms, guides and other information new employees will need when starting. This will alleviate pressure on supervisors to walk new hires through every step of the onboarding process. It also allows new employees to go at their own pace, absorbing information thoroughly so they can truly grasp it.
• Whether it’s an internal wiki or a traditional knowledge base, the database should be user-friendly and easy to search. Make sure the search function is powerful enough to process all types of user queries and connect them with the information they’re looking for.
• Configure access rights so that only certain employees have full access to the corporate wiki. For example, employees who have been at the business for less than 3 months may not have the experience to add to the knowledge base. And only some departments, like HR, should be able to access sensitive information about employees.
• Consider tracking user behavior with analytics that can show you which content is accessed the most and the information that seems to be the most effective. From there, you can encourage employees to explore other parts of the knowledge base or fill in content gaps.

Final Thoughts About Creating a Corporate Wiki

Having a sophisticated knowledge-sharing system like a corporate wiki improves employee engagement; helps to save time when onboarding or training employees; and allows for easy access to all sorts of information about how a company runs, its goals, projects of focus, and more.

Advanced knowledge management means that employees have the information they need to do their job effectively. Moreover, as people move on to other workplaces, the corporate wiki will continue to preserve important information that might get lost otherwise.

At NetReputation, we work with businesses to help them build and take control of their online reputation. When it comes to knowledge sharing, transparency plays a big role in how your business is perceived by both employees and the public.

Give us a call at 844-461-3632 to learn more or fill out the contact form below.