Hi! Welcome to my Senior Project Blog Post. I’m sure you’ve read lots of these or will read lots of these, so I’ll give a brief introduction of myself and my project. I’m Keri Sheffield a Strategic Communications Major with a passion for people and making the workplace more enjoyable. Over 50 hours this semester I worked with the administrators in the HR office at BYU-Idaho to create, refine, and implement their knowledge base. I learned the importance of individuals and the value they bring to the workplace.
What is a Knowledge Base?
Just like individuals in the HR office were wondering, you too might be asking: what exactly is a knowledge base and how is it relevant to communication? Think of the knowledge base as Google for a specific organization. It’s where team members can quickly find the answers they need. It also speeds up how the office responds to students’ questions, making conversations in the HR office more effective and efficient. This is important in communications because clear communication of the knowledge found there is the key to an effective knowledge base.
I like to think of the knowledge base as a layered dessert. Without a knowledge base, you must go through the dessert layer by layer to understand what is in the dessert. Like in an office with no knowledge base you must go dept. by dept. until you find the answer that you need. With a knowledge base, you are given a recipe with a list of the ingredients in each layer and how to make the dessert. A knowledge base makes the processes in any office easily searchable to all individuals within that office. It is vital in creating understanding and efficiency throughout the office.
My Role in the HR Knowledge Base
Organizing: I took over the reorganization of the HR Office’s knowledge base, which was initially disorganized with 120 scattered categories. I streamlined it to 85 well-organized categories sitting within eight main sections. I meticulously edited and enhanced 350 articles for clarity and usability, removing 25 duplicates and ensuring all articles were searchable.
While I contributed to the entire HR knowledge base, I focused on optimizing sections for the Student Employment and Staff/Admin Teams. For the Student Employment Team, I edited, added images, and re-categorized articles to enhance functionality. Creating the Staff/Admin Team’s knowledge base was really fun. Since they are more organized in their roles I gained insights into their specific processes. I also simplified their navigation through the knowledge base making it user-friendly.
Working on the organization and functionality of the knowledge base took the most time but was also enjoyable because I was able to implement the communication skills I learned throughout my time here at BYU-Idaho.
Training: Many of the Administrators in the HR office have worked there for over 3-5 years and are comfortable keeping knowledge they have learned, stored in their brains. They refer to themselves as “Old Dogs” and as the saying goes “You can’t teach old dogs new tricks.” They believed they couldn’t learn to use the knowledge base. I knew I didn’t want to work on their knowledge base for 50 hours and leave them with no understanding of how to use it. I created a training that would teach them the simplest most important aspects of the knowledge base.
I took an hour to train them on those simple aspects of the knowledge base. It was a discussion-based training that allowed me to learn their needs and struggles with the knowledge base. Teaching them the basics enabled them to continue using the knowledge base even after I left. I learned that training to professionals is similar to the presentations given in many of my communication trainings. Having those presentation skills helped me train confidently. (see the training below)
Creating: While the organization and training were a major part of what I did, I also created articles that would be helpful to the HR office. I wrote articles about how to use the knowledge base and different functions that can be confusing. I created templates that allow HR professionals the opportunity to create an article quickly. I was also able to design the knowledge base. I added colors, icons, and banners to the knowledge base. I transformed the knowledge base from another boring screen to a resource individuals could get excited to use.
What I Learned
People Matter: While working on this project I felt blessed to work with so many professionals in the field I would love to pursue a career in. I learned more than just the importance of a knowledge base, I also learned the value of individuals that we work with in professional settings. While I had the pleasure of working with the Administrators, I also worked closely with some of the student employees. I learned that the attitudes that we bring to work create the culture.
Before this project I had lost sight of joy in work and school. As I worked with some of the kindest, most bright people, I again started loving work. I realized that I was important to the individuals I worked with. It reignited the excitement I have for the future.
My favorite thing about communications classes has been learning that people and businesses have the opportunity to make the world a better place through their actions and reactions to others they work with. This project reminded me of my love for communication skills. It reminded me of the need to understand individuals before judging them. This project opened my eyes to the need for communication skills in the workplace.
Feedback is Crucial: As I made changes and edits to the knowledge base, I neded to receive feedback from the professionals. Our different understandings made it easy to improve the knowledge base because sharing our perspectives allowed learning. It was also important because as I added new categories and design elements, like the banner, I was able to get feedback that made the overall look of the knowledge base what they desired. I’ve learned through conflict management and persuasion courses on campus that feedback isn’t a criticism, and working on this project allowed me to see that and use feedback as a tool. We should love and accept feedback, not fear it.
Sharing Knowledge is Valuable: The knowledge shared during this project went both ways. I shared knowledge with the Administrators about how to use the knowledge base and they shared the knowledge they had about HR policies and procedures with me. It was beautiful to see how the knowledge they had and go through the process of learning and sharing together. It made the office more unified and created a mutual understanding of processes as we shared.
Overall: As I have worked on this project and now spent time reflecting, I’ve been caught up in the importance of how we communicate. We have many ways to communicate. While written communication was my focus, I was able to see other aspects of communication in interactions had while training, sharing and, giving/receiving feedback. This project allowed my love for communication skills to grow. The HR knowledge base has a new and improved look and feel because of this project.
Thanks for following along!