Imagine one of your most valued employees leaves the organization. Maybe he’s the one that fixed a key database for the past 10 years, or maybe it’s the employee that’s worked exclusively with a particular client for her entire career. When these key team members leave, they take valuable knowledge with them, the kind that you gain from experience and tenure. It’s not something that is easily downloaded and transferred, because it’s in their heads. This is when you could use knowledge management.

1. Knowledge Management
Handle information and
resources more effectively
You may need a
knowledge management strategy if your
employees are asking these questions:
Why do we keep having to relearn this?
Haven’t we done something like this before? I feel like I’m reinventing the wheel.
I don’t know where to find it, but I know someone did it before.
We used to have someone who knew
how to do that, but he took a new job.
Knowledge management: The 2 Forms
Explicit Knowledge
That which can be captured,
codified and referenced
Tacit Knowledge
That which is learned by doing
Customer preferences
Manuals
Policies
Communication
techniques
Reference guides
Business culture
Charts and diagrams
Process efficiencies
Knowledge capture: The 7 Steps
Create
knowledge
Identify
Collect, document
Review for
what’s critical
and store relevance and accuracy
Share with
others
Access or
download
Use knowledge for process
improvement, problem
solving and decision making
Knowledge management:
The 5 approaches. Do one or do all.
Identify support and team leaders:
senior leadership
Choose those passionate about the effort and
who have the business and technical know-how.
Establish
a knowledge management strategy:
Develop a plan describing how an organization
will manage its knowledge.
Conductassessment or audit:
a knowledge
Perform an audit to determine needs relative
to the current state of knowledge sharing
and collaboration.
Conductassessment:
a technology
Determine what applications and functionality
currently exist to support your business and
whether or not it will work for your KM efforts.
Develop and measurement approach:
a project plan
Define objectives, deliverables, roles and
responsibilities. Determine resource requirements.
Knowledge management: Methods
Storytelling
Gather people together to share
stories and experiences about
your work, clients and projects.
Communities of practice (CoPs)
Gather groups of people that share a common
interest. Knowledge is shared in the form of ideas,
concerns and lessons learned.
Collaborative workspaces
Promote interaction with open spaces for informal
interaction. Insert coffee, snacks, magazines and
books to stimulate thinking and conversation.
Knowledge cafés
Groups of people come together, led by a
facilitator. They share ideas, insights and collective
knowledge on a topic of mutual interest.
Knowledge management improves decision-making,
increases efficiency, saves time and money, and promotes innovation.
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Infographic created by www.4imprint.com, based on the
.
Knowledge Management Blue Paper® Download Blue Paper at:
http://info.4imprint.com/bluepapers/knowledge-management/
Sources
1. Stouffer, Tim, and Reid Smith. Making Knowledge Flow through Knowledge Connections. Working paper. APQC.org, 12 May 2012. Web. 17 July 2013.
<http://www.apqc.org/sites/default/files/files/Stouffer,%20Tim%20&%20Smith,%20Reid%20-%20Marathon%29.pdf>.
2. “It’s the Economy, Stupid.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 06 Apr. 2013. Web. 17 July 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It’s_the_economy,_stupid>.
3. “Are There More Older People in the Workplace?” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, July 2008. Web. 16 July 2013.
<http://www.bls.gov/spotlight/2008/older_workers/>.
4. Schmit, Achim. “Don’t Let Knowledge Walk Away: Knowledge Retention during Employee Downsizing.” Management Learning (2011): n. Nantes School of Management,, June 2011.
Web. 16 July 2013. <http://www.skgroup.ch/files/6813/5039/0067/Dont_let_knowledge_walk_away_12032012.pdf>.
5. Corney, Paul. “How to Create Innovative Knowledge Management Solutions Using Stories - Part 1.” Video. 16 July 2013. Find The Edge. Feb. 2013. Web. 16 July 2013.
<http://www.findtheedge.co.uk/interviews/how-to-create-innovative-knowledge-management-solutions-using-stories>.
6. “Mergers & Acquisitions.” The Case for HR Due Diligence in a Merger & Acquisition. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Aug. 2013.
<http://www.mercuriurval.com/Countries/Australia/Client-Services/Business-Transformation/Mergers-and-Acquisitions/flip-flop/>.
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