Why You Can’t Build a Knowledge Base Alone
When people think about building a knowledge base, they often imagine a dedicated team of technical writers quietly churning out articles behind the scenes. But the truth is, even the best knowledge managers can’t do it alone. To create truly useful content – relevant, accurate, and actionable – you need Subject Matter Experts (SMEs).
SMEs are the ones who’ve lived through the edge cases. They know which solutions actually work in real-life situations, not just in theory. Whether they’re product managers, heads of department, compliance officers, or senior support staff, they carry the expertise your users and frontline teams rely on.
But here’s the catch: most SMEs are busy. Their days are packed with meetings, strategic work, and firefighting. So when you ask them to contribute to a knowledge base, you’re essentially asking them to pause everything and document something that’s second nature to them.
It’s no surprise that the typical response is:
- “I don’t have time.”
- “Didn’t I already explain this to someone?”
- “I’m not sure what you need from me.”
As a Knowledge Manager, I’ve learned that asking for knowledge isn’t enough. You need a process that makes it easy, fast, and worthwhile for SMEs to share what they know without turning it into a burden.
This article is about exactly that: a realistic, tested approach to working with SMEs that respects their time, builds trust, and helps you extract their knowledge in a way that benefits everyone.
Let’s start with why this even matters.
Why SME Involvement Really Matters
Let’s say your knowledge base is growing. You have categories, templates, maybe even a search bar that actually works. But unless the content is grounded in real expertise, it won’t go far.
Here’s what happens when SMEs aren’t involved:
- Articles stay too high-level or vague.
- Important edge cases are missing.
- Content becomes outdated and irrelevant fast.
- Frontline teams keep asking the same questions over and over again.
- Worst of all, the knowledge becomes siloed, locked inside inboxes, meetings, or someone’s head.
That creates friction for everyone:
- Support agents spend more time figuring things out instead of resolving tickets.
- Customers spend time looking for answers that don’t exist or wait longer for resolutions.
- SMEs themselves are interrupted constantly because they’re the only source of truth.
Now, imagine the opposite.
When SMEs are involved:
- You get accurate, practical content that reflects how things actually work.
- Agents and customers can confidently self-serve answers.
- Internal processes go smoothly.
- The same questions stop landing in SME inboxes.
- Customers get better experiences.
- And your team builds a living system of shared knowledge, not a dumping ground of outdated docs.
In other words, investing a bit of SME time upfront creates massive time savings down the line, for everyone involved.
Show the Value (For Everyone)
Before you ask an SME to contribute, make it clear why it’s worth their time.
Most SMEs aren’t against helping; they just don’t want to waste effort on something that won’t be used, or that will turn into another task on their overflowing to-do list. So instead of saying, “We need documentation,” show them the real impact their input will make.
Focus on the outcome:
- For SMEs: They won’t have to repeat themselves constantly. Every time someone asks, “How does this work?” they can point to the article instead of typing out the same answer or jumping on a call. Sharing knowledge once = saving hours later = focus on more strategic work.
- For teams: Other departments stop chasing the same answers and get reliable information faster.
- For customers: 24/7 self-service allows them to get faster, more consistent answers. They don’t have to wait for someone to respond to a ticket or escalate their issue.
- For the business: Fewer tickets, fewer escalations, fewer errors, better onboarding of new hires, no more knowledge loss when people leave or change roles, because key knowledge is captured, centralized, and easy to access.
You can even make it more concrete:
“That one-page article you helped us with last quarter? It’s already been viewed 300 times and referenced in five support tickets. That’s time you didn’t have to spend explaining the same thing again.”
It’s not just about writing things down. It’s about building a system that makes everyone’s job easier, and SMEs are the cornerstone of that system.
And here’s a bonus: your SME becomes more scalable. Instead of being a bottleneck, their expertise is multiplied across the whole team. This isn’t just documentation, it’s operational efficiency.
Make It Easy for Them
Even when an SME is willing to help, the second barrier appears quickly: “I don’t have time to write this up.”
Fair enough. Most SMEs aren’t writers. They don’t want to fight formatting, struggle with voice and tone guidelines, or figure out where the article belongs in the hierarchy of your knowledge base. And they shouldn’t have to.
Your job as a Knowledge Manager is to lower the effort to contribute as much as possible.
1. Offer multiple ways to contribute.
Different SMEs have different styles. Give them options.
Not everyone wants to write. Some prefer to:
- Book a quick call (don’t forget to record it, with permission, of course)
- Record a quick screen-share.
- Draft raw notes
- Build flowcharts or diagrams
Accept information in whatever form is easiest for them. You can always clean it up and turn it into structured, searchable content later.
2. Use templates to structure their input
If they prefer to write, don’t leave them hanging. Give them a template that breaks things down into sections like:
- When to use this process
- Who uses this process
- Step-by-step instructions
- Common mistakes or FAQs section
- Roles involved
This helps them focus and reduces the cognitive load of figuring out “how” to write.
3. Turn real conversations into content
If they answered a tricky question in Slack or explained something in the ticket, flag that as potential content. You can say:
“Hey, that answer you gave was gold. It would be great to have such valuable information in the Help Center. Mind if I turn that into an article?”
4. Set up the knowledge contribution process
This process allows SMEs to easily request updates or add new information to the Help Center. Set up an easy entry point, like a short internal form or ticket, where they can:
- Suggest a new article
- Initiate updating outdated content
- Clarifying something that is often misunderstood/missing
- Drop notes or a link to a resource
- Attach supporting material, etc.
The simpler the process, the more likely they’ll engage.
5. Take responsibility for quality and clarity
Make it clear that they don’t need to worry about formatting, structure, tone, or platform limitations. That’s your role. Their focus should be on the accuracy of the content, not how it’s written or presented.
Embed KM in Their Workflow
The biggest mistake you can make? Treating knowledge management as something separate, an “extra” task outside of someone’s real job.
If you want consistent SME contributions, you need to meet them where they already are. The more KM fits into their daily work, the more natural (and less burdensome) it becomes.
1. Make knowledge reviews part of standard routines
Rather than chasing SMEs randomly every few months, you can:
- Add knowledge review tasks to monthly or quarterly team rituals
- Initiate new content creation when a new process is released or updated
- Create a recurring, quick 30-minute “KB check-in” calendar event every month or quarter.
Even just 5 minutes in a recurring meeting can catch critical updates before they’re forgotten.
2. Make it Fast and Painless
- Pre-select articles: Don’t ask SMEs to “go check the knowledge base.” Instead, give them a few key articles to review.
- Use templates/checklists: Provide a short checklist for them to quickly assess accuracy, relevance, clarity, and completeness.
- Limit scope: Don’t expect a full rewrite, clarify if it’s just a spot-check for outdated info or a more in-depth review.
3. Use triggers, not reminders
Instead of sending vague “please update this doc” emails, tie KM updates to specific events:
- A process changes → update the related article.
- A major incident occurs → document what was learned.
- A feature launches → add new troubleshooting steps.
SMEs don’t want to manage a content calendar. But if you tie KM into what’s already happening, it becomes part of the flow.
4. Show the Value
- Share metrics (e.g., number of views, support deflection, positive feedback) so SMEs understand how their knowledge helps others.
- Mention their name in feedback: “This article by Alex helped resolve 20 tickets last month”, to build a sense of pride and impact.
When KM is embedded into the real work, not bolted on as an afterthought, you stop begging for contributions… and start building a culture where sharing knowledge just makes sense.
Gamification (Spoiler: Skip it)
Let’s be honest, badges, points, and leaderboards might work for community contributors or junior staff looking for recognition. But most SMEs? They’re senior, busy, and focused on real business outcomes.
So instead of offering gimmicks, offer clarity:
- What’s the purpose of the article?
- Who will use it?
- How often will it be updated?
- What’s their role in the process?
A smooth, respectful experience is far more motivating than a digital sticker.
Give Them Control (Without the Headache)
One of the most common reasons SMEs hesitate to share their knowledge is this fear:
“What if this gets published and then goes out of date or worse, causes confusion?”
And it’s valid. Outdated content can be more harmful than no content at all.
Your job as a knowledge manager is to reassure them that you’ve got this covered and that they’ll never be left in the dark.
Here’s how:
1. Let them approve the final version
Even if you’re the one doing the writing, always send them a final review before publishing. A simple comment like:
“Here’s the draft, just need a thumbs-up or any tweaks you’d like to make. We’ll take care of formatting and tagging.”
This builds trust and avoids surprises.
2. Establish a review cadence that works for them
Some SMEs want to be notified every time their article changes. Others only want to review quarterly. Either way:
- Set expectations early
- Automate reminders if possible
- Make updates easy to approve
You want to give them control without burdening them with maintenance.
3. Document ownership, but share responsibility
It helps to assign SMEs as “owners” of the content, but also make it clear: you manage the process.
They don’t have to babysit it. You’ll:
- Monitor for outdated info
- Flag content after a certain age or usage drop
- Help rewrite or archive as needed
This way, they feel informed and respected, but not micromanaged.
4. Be transparent about updates
If you or someone else updates their article, ping them:
“We updated the screenshot and clarified step 3 based on a support ticket, just wanted to let you know.”
This kind of follow-through reinforces trust and signals that their content isn’t just “filed and forgotten.”
When SMEs feel confident that their knowledge won’t be misrepresented or go stale, they’re far more willing to contribute, and even more likely to initiate updates themselves over time.
Create a Feedback Loop That Works
Collaboration isn’t a one-time thing. If you want to build a sustainable knowledge culture, you need a feedback loop that actually works for both you and the SME.
This isn’t just about reviewing content. It’s about continuously improving how you work together.
Here’s what that looks like in practice:
1. Ask for feedback on the process, not just the article
After a piece goes live, take 2 minutes to ask:
- “Was the briefing clear enough?”
- “Did you feel rushed or overloaded?”
- “Was the review step easy or clunky?”
- “What could we do differently next time?”
Even if the content turned out great, the collaboration might’ve been stressful, and that’s what we want to fix for the future.
2. Adjust your workflow to match their reality
Your “ideal process” might look good on paper, but if your SME is in back-to-back calls or managing launches, they won’t follow it. And they shouldn’t have to.
Instead, build some flexibility:
- Can they drop a voice message instead of typing notes?
- Can you interview them instead of having them draft?
- Can reviews happen asynchronously in Slack or a shared doc?
Adapting your approach shows respect and increases the chance they’ll say “yes” again.
3. Track what’s working (and what’s not)
You don’t need a fancy dashboard. Just write down notes after each SME interaction:
- What helped them respond quickly?
- What caused delays or confusion?
- Did they sound frustrated or energized?
Over time, these small insights help you refine how you work, not just with one person, but with all SMEs.
4. Share impact stories
People want to know their effort mattered. If an article they contributed to helped reduce tickets, enabled faster onboarding, or got great feedback, tell them.
Something simple like:
“Just a heads up: that article you helped with dropped repeat questions by 40% last month. Total win 🙌”
That kind of validation creates a positive feedback loop and gets SMEs to volunteer their time the next time around.
When SMEs feel heard, supported, and appreciated, they become more than contributors, they become advocates. And when the feedback loop actually works, KM stops being a struggle… and starts becoming a habit.
In Conclusion
Getting SMEs involved in knowledge management doesn’t require magic or manipulation. It requires empathy, clarity, and a system that respects their time.
These people are already solving complex problems, guiding teams, and answering the same questions again and again. Your role as a Knowledge Manager is to help them share their expertise once and make it count.
Let’s recap the approach:
- Show the value: for the SME, the user, and the business.
- Make it easy: reduce the friction, do the heavy lifting.
- Build relationships: not just articles.
- Embed KM into their workflow: don’t make it extra, make it natural.
- Give them control: without overwhelming them.
- Create a feedback loop: so your process improves over time.
You don’t need gimmicks. You need a partnership.
When SMEs trust that their knowledge will be handled with care, used with purpose, and kept up to date, they’ll not only contribute but often come back with more.