Why continuous knowledge retention is essential for stable value creation and sustainable corporate success.
Information and experience relating to processes and procedures are a company’s key resources. The value of this knowledge often only comes into focus when it is suddenly unavailable – for example, when key employees, whose memory is the only repository of crucial know-how, are absent. In such situations, the crucial role of knowledge retention becomes particularly clear.
To avoid getting into such acute situations in the first place, companies should start securing knowledge at an early stage – and implement this on an ongoing basis. After all, it is not only against the backdrop of the severe shortage of skilled workers that it becomes clear that employees are both literally and figuratively the company’s greatest asset.
So-called key personnel have a wealth of experience and in-depth know-how.
Knowledge carriers should not wear everything, but share a lot
Whether the strongest or weakest link: a value chain becomes increasingly fragile with uneven weighting. The example of a specialist who has been with the company for decades and forms a so-called head monopoly makes it clear that entire processes and workflows can be dependent on a single person – but definitely shouldn’t be!
Head monopoly means that the crucial company knowledge is available, but only in the heads of individual specialists or managers. Like any person in the company, such a key person can suddenly and unexpectedly disappear – temporarily due to illness or parental leave, but also permanently due to a move to another company or retirement.
In view of the generally increasing risk of ageing and illness as well as the growing challenges of attracting competent new recruits, knowledge retention is being cast in a whole new light. Long-serving, loyal employees in particular are veritable stores of information who should pass on their expertise and routines within the company for as long as possible. The tepcon developers also focused on this aspect. The tepcon instructor is a tool for digital instructions that builds on the crucial specialist knowledge in the company and is always accessible to everyone involved.
Knowledge value: Differentiation and identification of relevant information
Above all, it is crucial that knowledge about processes and procedures, as well as about equipment, its maintenance and repair, is made centrally accessible to everyone involved. This applies in particular to any empirical values and individual processes that cannot be taken from operating instructions or standardized guidelines.
A distinction must be made here between explicit and implicit knowledge. Implicit know-how, which is held exclusively by individual players, must be captured and transformed into explicit knowledge that is freely accessible and understandable for everyone. Well-organized knowledge management forms a stable framework for this. It identifies, collects, secures and distributes the relevant wealth of knowledge. The tepcon instructor solves this requirement, for example, through an agile and flexible system with a central repository that clearly and comprehensibly reproduces clear process steps.
Sharing know-how, making knowledge accessible, documenting processes
Everything that has been gathered from practical experience, further developments, training and further education in individual heads is bundled in a central knowledge pool. Past mistakes and corresponding solutions to problems as well as information on customers, suppliers or a trained view of the market can also be relevant and flow into this pool.
People carry knowledge with them, so they are also the first starting point. Their skills, experience and knowledge are irreplaceable and priceless, but can also be transferred with active knowledge management.
How can knowledge be secured as effectively and efficiently as possible?
From the outset, it makes sense to distribute knowledge evenly. Measures such as training, further training and documentation should directly affect as many team members as possible in order to lay a broad foundation and prevent a fragile head monopoly. Internal and external networking of employees and a healthy, organized communication culture are particularly effective in strengthening this foundation.
In addition to human resources, a “digital employee” can act as a comprehensive knowledge manager. A tool such as the tepcon instructor forms the central hub for a company’s basic know-how. From here, the relevant specialists can call up the information they urgently need, which has previously been documented and entered by other colleagues.
tepcon has taken an in-depth look at the topic of knowledge assurance and compiled valuable recommendations for action.