What to Put Into Your Wiki (Hint: All Things Essential)

If companies dedicate themselves to set up an in-house Wiki, questions about content, structure, and architecture raise up. We suggest picking a project owner who knows about the fundamentals of your teams and projects and who can answer what data is permanently relevant to your organization.

Wiki’s can be used to store any kind of data – but shouldn’t. Always check the importance of stored information first. If something is relevant for two people or more, make it available to everyone. If it is only of short interest due to project work, keep in in your project folders. However, some essential parts should never be missed in a company Wiki.

Information for Staff and Employees

Efficiency and productivity begin with all information that is necessary for a smooth work process. Organizational charts and employee directories should not be missed as a basis at this point. The structure of the company and the corresponding contact persons must be visible and stored with all the various contact details such as e-mail, phone, and extensions.

Furthermore, administrative documents, which include vacation requests, planning lists, instructions for internal software, should also find their authorization in your Wiki. Additional sources of information such as internal newsletters or employee newspapers can also be made available to all employees via the tool.

Instructions for Projects and Processes

A good source of information is only one part that your Wiki takes over. At the same time, it should serve to optimize processes that are to be made leaner and more effective. Operations and the corresponding procedure can be viewed with one click and do not require a repeated briefing. The refreshment of unclear processes and handling is thus in the hands of the employees themselves.

The setup of project folders, adherence to the structure, and information chains between colleagues can be checked. Besides, your Wiki helps with questions about organizational planning such as meetings, access to operating instructions, or the most used answers to FAQs from customers. Time-consuming e-mails like "Could you send me the template again?" are a thing of the past from now on.

Company Content for External and Internal Partners

Your Wiki can speed up internal processes, but it should also serve as a collection of externally released material. Regarding cooperations, image material, image data, and logos are always asked for, which handed out in consideration of the CI. You can also add marketing relevant documents like brochures that inform about strategies, history, and philosophy of the company, press reviews, annual reports, and all things related to your purpose and vision.

Just make sure those external communication materials are well maintained. Changes to the CI or updated versions of presentations must, therefore, be promptly updated on the Wiki by the responsible departments.

Current Overview of the Service Portfolio

The product and service offerings are subject to constant change in equal measure. What are the characteristics of the latest product? Are there changes in the price lists? Is an article no longer available? Depending on the size of the company, your portfolio can be extremely diverse that the status of the range changes at short notice. Detailed information on the company's respective product range should be listed in detail in your Wiki.

With these four major parts, the basic structure of a Wiki is on the right track. However, the initial filling is only the start for intensive and consistent maintenance, which results in time savings and productive work in the long run.