Knowledge management in a large organization

Large organizations that embrace the benefit of knowledge management have made better use of their employees’ knowledge, How-to, and opinions.

Achieving greater efficiency with knowledge sharing and management help save organizations both time and money.
For effective knowledge management, an organization must tie experts from the different departments together to work on projects that require in-depth knowledge. In order to make meaningful decisions, knowledge managers have to look beyond departmental boundaries.

Providing transparent information to all employees and employees who are interested in acquiring knowledge in all key areas is the first step to improving knowledge management.

In this article, we also show more benefits of knowledge management in large organizations.

What is organizational knowledge management?

Coined by Tom Davenport in 1994, knowledge management is the process of handling all the knowledge in the company. This also includes the capturing, distribution, and effective usage of knowledge for organizational gains. With knowledge management, organizations can streamline the flow of knowledge to make the most out of it. There are three main kinds of knowledge present in an organization:

• Explicit Knowledge: Tangible information in the form of newspapers, publications, and books.
• Implicit Knowledge: Information that is transferrable to tangible for example through speeches or experiences.
• Tacit Knowledge: Information that is hard to turn into a tangible form, for example, perceptions, feelings, etc.

How is knowledge management used in organizations?

Organizations use knowledge management in a variety of different ways that often coexist in the company. Here are some common forms of knowledge management used in organizations:

Cross-Training

Organizations use cross-training programs such as mentoring or shadowing to help employees learn and grow using their colleagues’ experience.

Content Management Systems

Most organizations use a content management system these days. Such systems present knowledge in a consolidated way and allow employees all over the organization to access and update information.

Document Management

Businesses utilize document management systems to store, organize, and share documents on the go. This also gives companies a high level of control over who can access and update the documents.

Company Chatbots

Modern organizations are utilizing AI and machine learning to automate knowledge management through chatbots. Chatbots provide employees with relevant answers to their queries without the need for manual searches.

Social Networking

Companies are leveraging the power of social media tools to make knowledge sharing much easier among employees across the organization.

What is the major challenge for knowledge management in large organizations?

The major challenge for knowledge management in large organizations is streamlining the flow of information and making it accessible for the relevant people. As the organization grows bigger, knowledge of different departments often ends up being siloed. This may be because different departments are wary of sharing important information with each other or that the coordination and communication within the company are lacking (How Various Departments in Enterprise work in partnership with each other for continuous and sustainable growth and success learn here). Large companies need to make an active effort to release policies, programs, and tools that facilitate knowledge sharing and learning within the organization. Making use of existing knowledge can help save employees a lot of valuable time, making business operations more efficient than ever before.

What are the key features of a knowledge management system?

A knowledge management system may consist of the following components:

Content Management

The most obvious way to distribute, manage, update, and access the knowledge in an organization is through a content management system. Modern CMS presents information in a user-friendly manner through portals and dashboards. Hence, content management is a crucial part of any Knowledge Management System.

Expertise Location Systems

One of the best ways to acquire new knowledge that facilitates growth is to contact an expert. Systems that connect you to an expert in the field are called expertise location systems. Such systems can help you find veterans inside your organization who are experts in the relevant field of work. There are many ways through which organizations can supply data to these systems including employee resumes or through analyzing their communications.

Databases for Lessons Learned

These databases capture knowledge that has been previously acquired to accomplish something in the organization.

Communities of Practice (CoPs)

In CoPs, groups of people with a common interest share their stories, discuss issues and talk about new opportunities, best practices, and more. This is to facilitate the natural knowledge sharing in an organization may it be virtual or in person.

What are the challenges of knowledge management?

Security Concerns

Not all knowledge is meant to be shared with everyone in the organization. Organizations need to be careful of the information that they reveal. There should be proper security and compliance measures in place with information only available to those with the relevant credentials.

Motivating the Workforce

Getting people to engage with new knowledge management practices can be a challenge for organizations. Companies need to ensure that employees feel comfortable sharing knowledge and participating in a culture that rewards learning and growth.

Ensuring Latest Technology is Used

Organizations need to learn how to respond quickly to rapidly changing technological trends and utilize them in the company for an optimized knowledge sharing system.

Knowledge Measurement

It can be challenging to quantify complex knowledge that arises from human experiences.

Accuracy of Data

Data that is maintained needs to be accurate to be beneficial to the organization.

What are the benefits of knowledge management in large organizations?

As information becomes a commodity, knowledge management becomes more and more important for organizations. Here are some major benefits of knowledge management:

• Boosts Efficiency in the workplace.
• Facilitates informed and Effective decision making.
• Improves Collaboration.
• Promotes Growth and Learning
• Streamlines the Training and Onboarding process.
• Increases employee satisfaction
• Makes knowledge tangible to derive useful insights.
• Saves time through knowledge sharing
• Empowers employees and gives them an opportunity for professional and personal growth.
• Helps organizations expand their bottom line and stay competitive.

How do you implement knowledge management in the workplace using KanBo?

KanBo uses its user-friendly digital solution to make knowledge sharing and management easier in the workplace. Here are some of KanBo’s useful knowledge management features:

1. KanBo Questions

KanBo gives every piece of information a context, making knowledge more comprehensive. Through KanBo questions, teams can ask and answer questions within contexts to help each other overcome challenges. This results in a highly collaborative problem-solving environment where all knowledge is captured and stored for later use. Additionally, KanBo also routes questions to relevant experts in the organization and helps employees find the right answers at the right time.

2. KanBo Insights

True knowledge is often buried in the interactions that people have, may it be through mail, messages, or old documents. KanBo gives structure to this knowledge, saving and capturing it in cards, lists, boards, documents, and more. This knowledge can easily be turned into useful insights that can be game-changing for a large organization. KanBo uses AI to help guide you to relevant contexts from its autonomous and centralized reservoir of knowledge.

3. Augmenting Knowledge

KanBo provides a thriving ecosystem of knowledge that combines different work contexts and perspectives. KanBo’s knowledge augmentation provides:

• Clarity and Structure
• Knowledge distribution
• Easy accessibility
• Knowledge retention

4. KanBo Notes

KanBo notes encapsulate all ideas, personal thoughts, and inspirations that you may need in the future. Notes help you jot down those small strokes of genius through unlimited space, the ability to mention others, and rich formatting options to turn ideas into reality.

5. KanBo Bookmarks

With such an excess of information, important content and messages can often get lost in the limitless streams of data. KanBo helps you preserve these important tidbits of information through KanBo bookmarks. With KanBo you can easily bookmark comments or any actions in the stream to view them later.

Conclusion

It is often said that knowledge is power and large organizations can be a true example of that. Amid the Information Technology age, having a bulk of information puts you at a strategic advantage. It is up to organizations how they use this knowledge to progress fast and stay at the top.