We’re close to the first half of 2019 and we’re gathering more and more evidence that a knowledge management solution is a must for any company that wants to reach the next level. In order to achieve that, you need a proper KM strategic plan and a firm grasp on knowledge management best practices.
However, implementing a KM platform is not an easy feat. You can run into quite a few knowledge management challenges, which we’ve already talked about on our blog.
For example, a lack of training and/or development can be one of the major setbacks for successful implementation. Sometimes, management can tend to focus more on maintaining staff training than continuously develop knowledge management practices. It’s essential for a company to do more than just embrace knowledge sharing to enjoy its benefits.
Creativity is needed to make it significantly easier for employees to add content, generate a great database of problems and solutions, and help them quickly find the piece of information they’re looking for.
Let’s take a closer look at the most important knowledge management best practices in 2019 and how they can ensure the success of your KM project.
1. Map and structure your knowledge assets
First and foremost, put some boundaries around what you’re trying to achieve. Correctly identifying and mapping strategic knowledge can be considered iterative. Or, to be more specific, you should start by assembling your Avengers — a multifunctional team — and ask the members to identify the key dimensions of the business’ competitive performance, but also the knowledge that underpins them.
After this, map your assets on a grid, considering two ‘filters’: unstructured versus structured and undiffused versus diffused.
2. Disseminate knowledge within the company
One of the most common knowledge management best practices — but, at the same time, essential — is to share knowledge with the entire ‘gang’ at the office.
There are situations in which a division is dealing with a problem that has been already solved by another division, so why not avoid wasting time looking for a solution when the solution is already within the company?
You can start with a written document with all the knowledge, but a complete management platform for all the information is definitely a better option.
3. Contextualize knowledge
Theoretically, codified knowledge can be applied in less structured spaces in a lot of ways. However, sometimes, it’s just about applying well-established routines to new businesses.
Contextualization can be extracted from combining both structured and unstructured knowledge. And, naturally, in order to apply codified knowledge in a new setting, it must be contextualized.
In order to better understand how this works, let’s say that a huge company in the US introduces a new production process, then sends the knowledge to China, as supporting documents. In this situation, the Chinese engineers will assimilate the knowledge and adapt it to their very own context. Simple as that.