Knowledge Management
Led by Jasmine Labelle of Velavu
Recap by Social Success Marketing
August 4
As companies focus on a workplace environment where team members have access to information and resources, the ability to perform, learn, and adapt will be key. That environment will demand more from employees, who will need to collaborate across departments.
The result? A new type of worker: one who can work effectively in an open-space office while also collaborating with others at home or over the Internet. This new type of worker requires a different knowledge management system than traditional systems based on paper files and filing cabinets.
A strong knowledge management system can decrease the time spent searching for information by up to 35 percent and boost organization-wide productivity by 20 to 25 percent, according to the McKinsey Global Institute Report.
In this chat hosted by Jasmine Labelle of Velavu, participants explored knowledge management from multiple perspectives and its potential to help companies and individuals.
Definition of Knowledge Management
“Knowledge management is the process of capturing, storing, sharing, and effectively managing the knowledge and experience of employees,” according to Labelle.
The #USAMfgHour community shared their interpretations of the term:
- “I think it’s the process of how you pass along and share historic and internal knowledge throughout your organization. But I’m here to learn!” — Kendie Bonner, Snaptron
- “Organizing and illuminating all the data and information an organization might collect so that it’s easily understood and accessed by all members of the organization.” — Kati McDermith, Manufacturers’ News, Inc.
- “Knowledge management is the term used to describe the processes a business utilizes to create, share, and manage information about how the business operates.” — Matt, Aviate Creative
- “A system of keeping all the company information, important processes, etc., accessible across departments and over time.” — Michelle Riccetto, Brash Inc.
- “Knowledge management is about capturing, processing, storing, and sharing data and information within your company.” — VirtuDesk
- “I’m new to that term, but it seems pretty straightforward.” — Paul Kiesche, Aviate Creative
- “Being able to locate and analyze the data that you gathered from your processes.” — Janice, Burger & Brown Engineering, Inc.
- “Knowledge management is the process of managing the data, knowledge, and information that a company collects through the years so it can be easily found and used when needed.” — Brett Kramer, FreightPOP
- “Organized thoughts. That’s the first thing that came to mind.” — Sue Nordman, Obsidian Manufacturing
Goal of Knowledge Management
A knowledge management plan should examine corporate goals and the tools—both traditional and technical—needed to address the organization’s needs.
According to Labelle, “The main goal of knowledge management is to streamline company knowledge and make it accessible to everyone.”
- “Sharing is caring. There is so much internal expertise that gets lost when people move on to other jobs—or simply because no one knows that someone has the secret answer key in the next room.” — Michelle Riccetto, Brash Inc.
- “To help with better problem solving and decision making?” — Emily Kite, Obsidian Manufacturing
- “To make informed decisions.” — Nigel T. Packer, PelaTis Online
- “To learn from previous experiences.” — John Buglino, Optessa
- “To get a true picture of systems and processes from employees for training purposes and to fill in any knowledge gaps.” — Whitney Koch, Welker, Inc.
- “Training purposes for future employees.” — Dan Bigger, Optessa
- “This is very important to us, as I want everyone currently on my team to not just gain knowledge but become knowledge stewards in the future for improved performance, competitive advantage, productivity, and profitability.” — Ruby Rusine
- “The goal of knowledge management would be to improve upon what already exists, in a general sense anyway.” — Rebecca Prox, Marketing Pro
- “Figuring out the best position for each employee and determining which projects they should participate in to make the most of their skill set.” — Chris Giglio, Rovere Media
Internal Knowledge Management Process
According to Labelle, “If your knowledge-sharing process is ineffective or nonexistent, you’re not alone. Research shows that U.S. workers waste 5.3 hours every week either waiting for vital information from their colleagues or working to recreate existing institutional knowledge.”
Participants shared how they pass along internal knowledge:
- “Right now, we are launching a Team Empowerment Program. We’re allowing team members to shadow one another’s jobs so they understand how everything works together.” — Kirsten Austin, DCSC Inc.
- “We have a company newsletter and weekly slideshow for employee communication. We also have some training through Office 365, primarily for onboarding.” — Whitney Koch
- “This is done during meetings and through company materials such as memos.” — Pavel Stepanov, VirtuDesk
- “We have work instructions for assembled parts, but many of our projects are one-offs. We keep specific customer requirements in the CRM system.” — Janice
- “At previous companies, it was built into the onboarding of new employees.” — John Buglino
- “At @MfrsNews, we have an intranet full of resources, recurring meetings, and newsletters to share knowledge.” — Kati McDermith
- “Typically, internal knowledge is passed on through meetings and sometimes email, if it is not confidential or proprietary.” — Jeanette Stevens, GENEDGE Alliance
- “We create a lot of standard operating procedures across departments. I’m excited to hear about other ways organizations handle this.” — Kendie Bonner
- “Our team has monthly meetings to discuss ongoing projects and uses scheduling software that keeps a detailed log of tasks. We also encourage one-on-one lessons if anyone is interested in learning a new skill that another team member is well trained in.” — Chris Giglio
- “We have a searchable ‘warehouse’ of information. From discussion boards to libraries, if you have a question, you only need to search a key phrase or two to find the information. We also record all training sessions and conferences.” — Adam Baker, Schooley Mitchell
- “We save everything to a shared drive that anyone can access. We regularly create presentations about project updates and share them with the team. I also worked for a company that made video recordings of clients and projects, which is a great idea.” — Michelle Riccetto
- “I talk to myself. I keep SOPs—standard operating procedures—so I can have the process and documents available as a reminder, especially if I have not delivered that particular job for some time.” — Nigel T. Packer
- “We have a very small business, so we can work directly with each other.” — Teitsch Kent Fay Architects
- “We have weekly meetings and an instant chat to share any company news. With two employees working hybrid schedules, it makes it much easier to keep everyone up to date.” — Emily Kite
- “We have several methods and processes that we use.” — Sue Nordman
- “I’ve experienced companies using intranets—do they still do that?—company memos, emails, and paper bulletins or newsletters.” — Rebecca Prox
- “Do you find intranets effective? At my last company, getting people to use the intranet was challenging. I wonder if there are more up-to-date tools available now.” — Kendie Bonner, Snaptron
- “We have a hub with a wiki to facilitate the transfer of knowledge to employees, in addition to regular training and productivity checks. Externally, we share our knowledge through blogs.” — Ruby Rusine
Effects of Improper Knowledge Management
In today’s knowledge economy, organizations must manage their intellectual capital—their people, processes, products, and services—to compete successfully. However, managing knowledge isn’t easy. It involves complex issues, including how to capture, store, share, reuse, and apply knowledge; how to make it accessible to all users; and how to ensure it remains relevant.
The lack of a plan for managing knowledge can prevent an organization from making the best use of its human resources and collective intelligence.
Labelle said, “Without good knowledge management, you’re at risk of losing valuable information or creating knowledge silos. A company that fosters a knowledge-sharing culture is one that progresses and meets its goals unimpeded by a lack of communication or information.”
Participants shared examples of how improper knowledge management can affect an organization:
- “I can’t speak specifically for Obsidian, but in general, not having clear guidelines for certain processes can cause a negative spiral of events and waste time as people try to reinvent a wheel that’s already running smoothly.” — Emily Kite
- “This happened at a previous company where I worked. An equation we used to record project results was updated, and no one told me. We were giving everyone incorrect data for almost a year.” — Michelle Riccetto
- “With a small number of employees, we try to avoid improper knowledge management.” — Teitsch Kent Fay Architects
- “Improper knowledge management can affect business productivity, make training new employees difficult, and consume a great deal of time when retrieving forgotten information.” — Pavel Stepanov
- “Improper knowledge management is a huge time-waster. People spend a lot of time looking for an answer that someone else already has.” — Janice
- “I feel attacked. Right, @DanBiggerUSAMfg? No one knows what’s happening!” — John Buglino
- “A lack of organization can muddle deliverables, stall growth, confuse processes, and place valuable content at risk.” — Jeanette Stevens
- “It can really slow things down, cause miscommunication, and even cause mistakes that cost a lot of money.” — Sue Nordman
- “Personally, I spend far too much time searching for the piece of collateral I need or creating something that already exists. It is a time-waster and embarrassing.” — Kati McDermith
- “Missed or poor communication can lead to reduced productivity, delays or lag time on projects, and negative perceptions among employees.” — Rebecca Prox
- “It has made losing employees and then training new employees difficult.” — Whitney Koch
Tools and Processes for Improving Knowledge Management
In any organization, knowledge management is a key process for improving business performance and reaching strategic goals. Many tools and processes can help, and the most effective ones will be tailored to the organization’s specific needs.
Labelle asked, “What could your business do to improve knowledge management? Do you have any tools or processes you currently employ that you recommend?”
Participants offered the following recommendations:
- “We use good archival management to ensure our previous work is accessible to our current employees.” — Teitsch Kent Fay Architects
- “Do something—anything.” — Dan Bigger
- “We are pretty old-school when it comes to this type of thing. In some cases, we are working with 100-year-old documents because our brands are so well established, and that can make it more challenging.” — Sue Nordman
- “We use internal lingo to classify our information. That creates a steep learning curve for those who are new to the organization. If we used vocabulary that was more aligned with everyday language, it would shorten the ramp-up time.” — Adam Baker
- “Build a culture of knowledge sharing like @SocialSMktg describes. Those at the top should communicate the importance of documenting knowledge and processes and make setting up and maintaining the system a priority.” — Whitney Koch
- “We keep copies of every iteration or change in a design or project. Everyone in the company has access to files across the board, with no siloed folders for specific departments. We have many tool and media libraries, and we conduct project reviews.” — Michelle Riccetto
- “Quarterly and Monday meetings are tools that we employ at GENEDGE. We also maintain content in Box and communicate with each other as often as possible. The greatest tool at the root is a company culture that fosters trust and learning. That makes knowledge sharing easy.” — Jeanette Stevens
- “Do something. Take action. Just start.” — John Buglino
- “I often implement systems in client companies to help them better understand their customers. Having my own SOPs has helped immensely, with small adjustments for each client. Do it once and sell it many times.” — Nigel T. Packer
Labelle shared these additional tips:
- Establish a shared understanding of what knowledge management means to your company.
- Not everything needs to be a Word document. Try recording knowledge using a variety of media.
- Encourage employees to ask and answer questions.
- Adopt knowledge management as part of business as usual rather than treating it as an additional task.
Conclusion
Regardless of your industry, company size, or knowledge needs, you still need people to lead, support, and encourage knowledge sharing. A well-defined system is required to regulate and measure information flows. Information and IT resources must be available to connect people with the right materials at the right time. You need a strategy for using knowledge management to fulfill the organization’s most important and immediate business needs.
