Institutional knowledge – such a big term. In essence, it means a collection of what everyone in the organization knows. This means everyone from the CEO to the customer service rep who knows exactly how to resolve that problem that keeps coming up that management doesn’t seem to have the answer for. You know the one.
But what happens if that one rep leaves or gets hit by a bus? How about that procurement person who has most of the details in their head about inventory and has never written them down? Or maybe that machine operator who knows just what to adjust when the machine stops functioning properly. The unexpected departure of even one key person can create all kinds of stress for you and everyone affected.
Institutional knowledge is, in many ways, more important that what you, the leader, knows. Don’t believe me? Try operating without these people for a week.
But here’s the thing. Most firms have no formal plan for preserving institutional knowledge, let alone having implemented that plan. This is especially true for small companies where every person is critical to just getting the work done. How about yours?
Preserving institutional knowledge is a complex issue that cannot be completely covered in a short post like this. But here are three simple things you can do right now to begin the process. For a more in-depth examination, check out the books I have listed in the comments.
First, raise awareness among managers and supervisors. It does not occur to most people to think about all the incidental knowledge and skills they acquire in a job. Over time, they just take it all for granted. Ask them to identify and explain all these intricacies, however, and they won’t know where to begin. Encourage your managers and supervisors to impress on those who report to them to become mindful of these details and how they can codify them.
This is especially true for the idiosyncratic knowledge about a particular machine works. Or perhaps the work-arounds for certain processes. Or maybe the conflict resolution approach they use with certain customers or vendors. These insights may not come to mind immediately. But when they do, they should be recorded in some manner.
Second, make knowledge collection and transfer a part of everyday communication. With all of today’s distractions, it is easy to forget to write down new processes and changes to existing ones. Regular reminders on meeting agendas, the house newsletter, the website and other communication channels is an effective way to keep knowledge collection front of mind. While workers may view it as “just one more task” at the beginning, gentle persistence will get them to buy in for doing so.
Third, assign a champion to oversee this effort. You, as the senior leader, should not take on this responsibility. Instead, ask one of your key people to devote some time in the next month to explore the complexities of preserving the corporate knowledge which has been established over time. Reading the books listed in the comments is a good place to start. Have this individual develop a plan for introducing the importance of this effort to everyone within the organization. The primary principle behind this is to instill presence of mind in employees.
In addition, have this person design a process for capturing this information as it is collected. This does not have to be complicated, but it does require four components.
Capture – The knowledge needs to be collected in diaries, interviews, forms, written narratives or some other form.
Verification – This means reviewing the knowledge for accuracy, currency and organization.
Codification – How will this knowledge be stored? A wiki? On an AI platform? Through a series of videos? Even manuals?
Delivery – How will it be accessed by those who need it? Keep in mind that the current workers may prefer to learn in different manners than those who will succeed them. Handing an emerging worker a manual to read, for example, is probably not the best way to transfer the knowledge he or she will need to know.
It is only natural to assume that busy people will place efforts like this on the back burner. It is not imminent. It will not impact day-to-function. It will take time to get people to accept the importance of it. But can you get blind-sided by the lack of having a process in place to capture and preserve institutional knowledge. How are you currently preserving the knowledge within your firm? We’d all like to know. Let us know in the comments below. I’m Bob Wendover.