Moving from a Culture of Knowledge Hoarding to one of Knowledge Sharing

Today’s economy is increasingly driven by intangible values such as knowledge, inventiveness and creativity.

Knowledge being the new engine of corporate development has become one of the most important assets in the companies. There is no doubt therefore why successful companies tend to be those that continually innovate, relying on new technologies and the skills and knowledge of their employees rather than assets such as plant or machinery.

An internal knowledge base is a platform setup by the company that is only for internal use. Such a tool is a great way for companies to provide employees with important, easy to find information, but since it is internal only, there is no risk of sharing private or sensitive information with the general public.

Andrew Carnegie once observed and gave this statement:

“You take away all my Factories, you take away all my money, you take away all that I possess, but leave me my men and in next 5 years they can get me everything I had or even more.”

This was a very strong statement showing the importance of human resource in an organization, and the knowledge they possess.

Regarding this statement, sharing is arguably the most powerful tool for knowledge management. Through a culture of knowledge sharing and the addition of certain technologies, the company’s knowledge — which is often hidden away among multiple systems and which may be highly specific, rare, and generally difficult to access and use — becomes available to all employees. Otherwise, knowledge sitting idle is worthless because no return can be gained from it.

The question is, how can we create a knowledge sharing culture?

First of all, we have to educate people about what knowledge is valuable and how it can be used. One of the reasons people don’t share is that they don’t know that they have anything to share. Create a climate where people can be reassured and feel empowered to impart the knowledge and ideas that they share.

Second, knowledge is only powerful or valuable when it is continually updated and used. In this fast moving economy, knowledge has an increasingly short life and if it’s not used it quickly loses value. What we need to know changes so quickly that what is valuable today may be worthless tomorrow. It’s important that people understand how knowledge sharing can benefit them personally.

Third, people are brought up to believe that they are always supposed to have the answer, and therefore can be afraid to ask. This approach leaves very little room for learning and growth and shuts the door on knowledge sharing.

Sharing best practices is popular these days, but what about sharing worst practices or lessons learned? Worst practice sharing and highlighting bitter lessons learned leaves the door open for generating new ideas, and it provides people with valuable information about what to avoid.

Fourth, we have to integrate knowledge sharing into everyday work processes and job requirements. Knowledge activities must not be seen as something that the employees are forced to do at the end of the day.

Finally, using easy to use knowledge management platforms, make the knowledge sharing a social experience. People love to create and share in a social context. It will help the employees to categorise and sort documents and assets according to departments. This will make it easier for employees to find the most relevant information for their roles.

With Knowlocker, the visual aspect of knowledge management software has evolved. Our knowledge management platform relies on images and video, as well as text, to help the employees navigate more easily through the different channels, files and documents.

Find out more at knowlocker.com.