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Knowledge transfer is the proverbial passing of the torch — it is the process of imparting essential information from one part of your business (or person) to another. And it is critical to your business’s success because, when done effectively, it increases the efficiency and productivity of your organization.
Simply put, the more your employees are up to speed on critical working knowledge, the more they will be able to make the right choices on their own. Having the right info at their fingertips empowers your teams to work faster and with fewer errors.
And since it is estimated that poor knowledge-sharing practices cost Fortune 500 companies $31.5 billion annually, it is safe to say that effective information flow is essential to your success. Knowledge transfer encompasses much more than communication or training. Yes, it includes all the aspects of internal communications, like documentation or operating procedures. But effective knowledge transfers are about creating a culture where people freely share their experience and expertise.
Generational Shifts Increase the Need for Effective Knowledge Transfer
Research from the Charted Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) suggests that the workforce will soon encompass five generations: veterans (born between 1939 and 1947), baby boomers (1948 and 1963), Generation X (1964 and 1978), millennials (1979 and 1999), and Generation Z (post-2000).
This is important because there are stark contrasts between the beliefs and expectations of different generations. For example, the lure of a high salary and a steady career trajectory is no longer of the utmost importance for millennials — some estimate that they will change jobs at least four times by the age of 32 — and all that change will affect the transfer of knowledge.
Furthermore, nearly half of all baby boomers have already retired, with the entire other half eligible to retire within the next 10 years. That means a lot of unspoken knowledge will leave organizations all over the world.
Four Ways to Encourage Effective Knowledge Transfer
While your company culture drives effective knowledge transfer, it is up to the leaders to spearhead the cultural changes that create that environment. To help foster a workplace culture that promotes the free flow of knowledge, below are a few simple tactics.
1. Foster trust and openness.
If your team does not trust who they work with, they will not share their knowledge with them. It is how organizational silos form and why they are so harmful for a business of any size.
And it is why this might be the most critical point on this list. When silos form, it slows or stops the flow of valuable information and knowledge between departments and employees. Most importantly, it kills the desire to share that knowledge.
That is why it is critical that leaders break down any silos and encourage a culture of openness and collaboration.
The key to doing that, according to a two-year study by Google, is to create what is known as “psychological safety.” The safer your employees feel to speak their minds without fear of repercussions (embarrassment, shaming, etc.), the more likely they are to share their knowledge, work together more effectively, and even stick with the company longer.
In her TEDx talk, Harvard behavioral scientist Amy Edmondson offers three things you can do to foster that safety within your business:
- Framework as a learning opportunity. Treating work as an opportunity to learn takes the pressure off your team and gives them the space to figure out how to best execute.
- Acknowledge your own failures. No one is perfect, and if you take this approach as a leader, those who work under you will be more likely to follow suit.
- Ask lots of questions and be curious. If you are modeling the desire to learn and acknowledging that you do not have all the answers, your team will be more likely to do the same.
Keep in mind that creating psychological safety is also in the little things, like giving and receiving feedback, communicating, or simply becoming a better listener. These small acts can send an important signal to employees about the value you place on their contributions and experience, which helps them open up to you and each other.
2. Encourage experienced employees to “show their work.”
Much of the information your employees need to do their jobs effectively is hard to pass on because it’s embedded (sometimes subconsciously) in the minds of your more experienced employees.
That’s where a strategy that Jane Bozarth, a PhD in training and development and the Director of Research at The eLearning Guild, outlines in her book Show Your Work provides a more intentional solution to effective knowledge transfer.
By having your more experienced employees document their work as they would on a high school math test, the practice brings to light a lot of that subtle, tacit knowledge embedded in how their work gets done.
For example, if one of your senior salespeople was adept at closing deals, having them record their calls would help newer sales hires understand the process they use for success.
Alternatively, you could also have employees show their work by writing it down after they’ve completed it. But by sharing the exact process you use to complete tasks; other employees can recognize and acquire the subtle expertise that otherwise might not be communicated.
Then, once it is documented, keep in mind that it is equally important to store and organize those work examples in an accessible knowledge base for later. If future employees cannot find it when they need it, it limits how useful that document/video/etc. really is.
3. Use the rules of three.
Determining when and where something should be documented can sometimes be a challenge. Should it go in Slack? An email? A Google Doc?
There are two simple rules that can help you determine when something should be documented. One focuses on the number of steps in a process, and the other focuses on how often you need certain information.
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The Three-Step Rule: Think about all the processes you use on your team. It may prove helpful to go department by department as you are producing your list of processes. Now, pinpoint all the processes that have three or more steps. Those are the ones to document.
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The Three-Repetitions Rule: Simply put, whether it is your product road map, the way you process a refund, or your company values, write down anything that you have had to explain three times or more. If you have already repeated it (when onboarding a new person or planning feature launches with your marketing team, for example), you are likely to need that info again in the future.
4. Document new projects and processes.
One of the most important ways you can nurture a culture of sharing is to ensure that teams know how to transfer knowledge and when it is appropriate. And one of the simplest ways you can do this is by helping your employees understand their role within any given process or project.
Your team is similar. Whenever you embark on a new project or initiative, encourage people to document the process and dependencies. Dependencies refer to steps that need to occur for others to move ahead with subsequent steps. Documenting new projects will increase your team’s familiarity with documentation, helping to create a culture of knowledge transfer.
Effective Knowledge Transfer is Essential for Growing Businesses
The tacit expertise your teams have is critical for the success of your business’s future and competitive advantage. Not only will it save you money, but it will also help you increase productivity, employee retention, and improve culture.
Thanks to Tettra for the great article: https://tettra.com/article/knowledge-transfer-why-its-important-and-how-to-use-it/
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