Everyone makes the odd mistake when it comes to consistency. But one of the most common mistakes is underestimating the significance of consistency.
It’s often treated as a minor detail, rather than a fundamental principle for achieving goals.
Some businesses profess certain values or principles but fail to consistently act in accordance with them, which ultimately leads to a loss of trust and credibility.
The same applies to your knowledge implementation. Fail to be consistent and you lose trust and credibility.
Let’s take a look at the key areas of your knowledge implementation that rely greatly on consistency.
Portal design and layout
Imagine entering a library where each section used a different classification system, and books were randomly placed on shelves. Chaos, right?
The same principle applies to your company’s knowledge bases. Consistency in portal design and layout ensures that employees can navigate easily and efficiently. Here’s why it matters:
- User Experience: A consistent layout across multiple knowledge bases ensures that users don’t have to re-learn how to find information when switching from one knowledge base or portal to another.
- Onboarding: Training new employees becomes more straightforward when you can teach them one set of navigation principles that apply across the board. It reduces the learning curve and increases efficiency.
- Professionalism: Consistency in branding and design elements, like logos, colour schemes, and typography, reflect upon your professionalism and commitment to your brand identity.
Article templates
Your article templates are the blueprint for how you communicate to your audiences. It’s not just about aesthetics; it’s about clarity, comprehension, and ease of maintenance.
A well-defined template ensures that articles follow a logical structure. This consistency makes it easier for readers to quickly grasp the information, even if they are consulting different sources.
As your knowledge base grows, maintaining uniformity in article templates simplifies the process of creating new knowledge. It helps your authors focus on the content itself rather than the formatting.
Consistent templates can also improve accessibility, ensuring that all employees, including those with disabilities, can access and understand the information.
Language and voice
Consistency in the language and voice used within articles is just as vital as portal design and templates. A unified language style enhances your company’s image and ensures that information is communicated effectively.
Using a consistent tone and terminology simplifies complex concepts and reduces the chances of misunderstandings among readers.
Ensuring that language and voice are consistent across knowledge bases helps maintain cultural sensitivity, especially in multinational companies, where linguistic differences can be a concern.
Remember the cumulative effect
Consistency is about accumulating small, daily efforts over time. People often underestimate the power of these small, consistent actions and think that grand, infrequent efforts are more effective. However, the cumulative effect of consistency can be transformative.
keep your eye on the goal: to establish and sustain a culture of continuous learning, collaboration, and innovation. It’s a long-term commitment but stick at it, and you should see substantial results.
