Fundamentally knowledge management is about making the right
knowledge available to the right people at the
right time. So why is it many employees and employers fail to share valuable
information that could save someone else time or win someone else new
business. Also, I strongly believe what goes around comes around, so share
knowledge how you would like knowledge to be shared with you, don’t hoard it away
like a squirrel stashing nuts.
Many would say the purpose of knowledge sharing is to help your company meet its business objectives. However, knowledge is often seen as information, but I read a great article recently that is spot on. It used a cake as a metaphor. It stated that the ingredients was the information. It then stated a good cook would probably be able to make the cake and a good cake, however a not so experienced cook may not. The reason is there is no recipe. The knowledge is the recipe. Now the good cook will make an excellent cake.
There is also a lot of information on the internet today, however they say 70% of statistics are made up, so what do you believe? Therefore the success of knowledge sharing between peers is crucial, but it can depend on the habit and willingness of you and your employees to seek out, and be receptive to, these knowledge sources. It also relies heavily on implementing and using the right tools to share knowledge.
Here are some key areas where knowledge sharing can aid the business;
- Staff turnover. Knowledge doesn't walk out the door when staff leave and when new staff join, knowledge gives your new employees a much better chance to get into the flow of day to day work at a quicker rate. Think how much time you spend training new staff the same subject matter over and over.
- Knowledge sharing can save time. Think how much time you spend searching for information in many systems, and how many times do you find nothing relevant or you question the validity. Knowledge sharing by the people you know and work with should build trust in the information.
- Competitive advantage. If you aren't doing it you can be damn sure one of your competitors are. Why would you turn down the chance to gain competitive edge?
One point to note. We are in a world of accelerated change these days, so keeping knowledge up to date is just as key as starting it in the first place.
In
conclusion, you need to be creating the right knowledge sharing culture. To do
that, the right knowledge tool can make all the difference, and companies that
centrally collaborate are far more successful than their not so open
counterparts.
*Plato
Nikec Solutions [ www.nikecsolutions.com ]
Nikec Hub is a powerful file sharing and collaboration platform that makes sharing knowledge between colleagues and clients simple.
Nikec Hub provides firms with a secure and efficient way of managing information, while enhancing communications and collaboration with colleague and clients. It integrates seamlessly with your document management system allowing users to create their own extranet in a few quick steps. It also integrates with many practice management systems enabling firms to provide up-to-date management information to their clients all from within a single, powerful portal. Visit Nikec Hub page