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Centralizing Isn’t Enough: Why Businesses Need to Socialize Information Too

When you think of information, you might think of it as static collateral or media content. Maybe it’s a video tutorial, or a product fact sheet PDF—something concrete you can turn to for quick answers. But information that is vital to your organization is inclusive of so much more than that, such as ideas, opinions, tips—or to be more precise, your people.

Your employees and members are vessels of knowledge, intellectually absorbing and framing the answers and insights they’ve uncovered into new applications and ideas. So why is it that when it comes to better information sharing, companies work only to centralize it, and not socialize it?

This has become even more important as businesses and organizations cater to audiences that are spread out geographically or working remote. It’s gotten harder for people to access one another “in-person” where they might trade a top-of-mind tip at the water cooler. Can companies afford to lose that sense of community that is inherently a part of knowledge sharing? The short answer is they can’t. 

People can add real-time, real-world color and detail that a document never could. Imagine reading the latest sales tactic from a tip sheet. It may walk you through the steps of execution and how to react to possible scenarios, but a person can give you an actual example of how they applied it successfully. In fact, according to a recent study, 55% of workers turn to peers to learn a new skill—and that’s second only to bosses and mentors, and before they decide to scour for information online. Simply put, people like learning from people—and attaching experience to knowledge humanizes it, making it more approachable. 

This trend is evident with the rise of tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams—which boast 12 million and 13 million users, respectively. People are putting a premium on having instant access to their network to exchange information quickly and easily. The problem with these tools? They’re siloed—meaning many employee and member pools will have to bounce back-and-forth between platforms to source the insights and answers they need.

According to Deloitte, 75% of organizations say creating and preserving knowledge across workforces is important for their success in the next 12-18 months, but only a dismal 9% say they are prepared to address this trend. So, how do you do that? Well, you bring all sources of knowledge, from training manuals to the network of people themselves, under one roof. 

At CatalystXL, we help make this a reality with our Cardware platform, where we house your information and connect your audience all in one place via a custom branded mobile app. With CatalystXL, organizations can deliver bite-sized content and microlearning exercises via flashcard format, push real-time updates, disseminate corporate communications and more, all adjacent to smart filters and forms for surfacing pertinent information and analytics that track progress and identify better recommendations. Chat features allow people to have dynamic conversation about the information itself, elevating it with greater color and clarity. 

We know the importance of having answers when you need them. By putting all of your resources in one place, you can activate your knowledge for greater results.

Interested in a demo? Give us a shout.