The main goal of knowledge management is to improve an organization's efficiency and save knowledge within the company.

Knowledge management is an essential and conscious process within an organization. It has to do with the definition, retention, sharing, structuring of knowledge, and employee experience within the organization. With knowledge management, it is easy to improve work efficiency within the organization and retain knowledge.

In short words, knowledge management refers to how you train your employees and how they learn within the organization. Knowledge is created, audited, shared in a manner that ensures growth and effectiveness in the organization. Knowledge management also ensures that employees within the organization are knowledge seekers.

If knowledge management is successful in an organization, it will help the growth of the organization. This way, employees with specialized knowledge won’t leave the company void of their experience when they go to other companies or retire. Also, other employees will be able to use this knowledge in their presence or absence. This will also create a better awareness of the situation and opens the door for organizational learning and improvement.

Types of Knowledge

There are different types of knowledge, and when it comes to knowledge management, you have to consider them. The kind of knowledge determines the ease of sharing.

Two different types of knowledge can be discussed within the framework of knowledge management.

●      Explicit Knowledge

This type of knowledge can be taught and codified easily. This involves simple things like mathematical equations or changing a printer's toner.

●      Tacit Knowledge

This type of knowledge is not as easy to package or share as explicit knowledge, as it is more intuitive. Understanding body language and innovative thinking are good examples of tacit knowledge.

Reasons for Knowledge Management within Organizations

The decision-making ability and increase in work efficiency of an organization are some of the reasons why knowledge management is important. You have to build a smart workforce capable of making quick and informed decisions for the company’s good. This is how to ensure information is retained within your organization. Also, this ensures that you can easily foster innovation in your company. It reduces employee turnover and is also beneficial for your customers.

Year after year, we see knowledge management becoming more important within the business setting. The increased competitiveness of the marketplace makes knowledge management even more critical as you’re able to keep your knowledge and experience and remain ahead of the curve. With a good knowledge management strategy, you will be able to spot problems and deal with innovations and new information very decisively.

A few other reasons for knowledge management within an organization are as follows:

●      The need to retain knowledge within the organization due to the retirement of essential and experienced personnel

●      An acquisition or merger might be the apparent need to codify knowledge and encourage knowledge sharing among the different teams.

●      A recruitment drive that proves the importance of knowledge management in training new staff

Best practices for improving knowledge management

• Decision making: decentralized vs. centralized

The discussion on whether to centralize or centralized decision making is an important one for company executives. Emphasizing centralized, corporate, and hierarchical structures within the organization can negatively affect the executive’s ability to exert changes in the organization.

Meanwhile, a decentralized structure may help improve managerial and departmental interactions. Centralization of leadership may affect the opportunity for the growth of relationships among departments, business units, and managers.

In order be more effective, company execs have to reshape the organization’s structure. This means that the organization’s command center can pass information across a decentralized manner while being organic instead of through a centralized, hierarchical command center.

Another advantage of the decentralized structure is the power shift in decision-making down to the lowest levels. This would inspire the organization members to be creative and innovative with ideas and implement them as well. This won’t happen with centralized structures in which interdepartmental communications and the exchange of knowledge are inhibited.

• Knowledge Management and IT

There is no doubt that knowledge management signified an improvement in the organizational performance of a business. Many business scholars already affirm that knowledge management boosts an organization's performance through innovation, learning opportunities, quality of services and products, customer satisfaction, and increased sales. If the organization’s structure doesn’t fully favor knowledge management, company executives won’t be able to effectively manage the organization’s knowledge so that they can improve the organization's performance. In this case, the organization is at risk of losing its position within the industry and becoming obsolete.

In order to successfully ensure knowledge management within your organization, information technology is critical. This is because it facilitates communication and the flow of knowledge. IT can help you realize how effective your implementation of knowledge management is and how the employees have associated it with the use of IT, systems, and software to improve strategic decision-making. Company executives need to implement IT for the organization’s knowledge management by hiring IT professionals and ensuring that they get enough budgetary allocations to ensure the organization's sharing and utilization of knowledge.

All over the world, business executives have realized that to create the best atmosphere for growth and learning in their organizations, and then they have essential roles to play.  Executives must create an environment where learning is easy and where knowledge can be shared transparently among the employees. This will ensure that information that is sought is found can be used instantly. For this to happen, executives need information technology as a communication, deployment, mechanism manifestation, and decision-making tool.

Conclusion

Knowledge management is essential for the growth and improvement of performance within an organization. It is crucial in the business world today to ensure that companies can retain their position in the business world and grow innovatively. Knowledge management helps to create efficiency within the workplace and provides faster and more effective decision-making. It develops organizational knowledge and also boosts collaboration among departments. The process of training and onboarding an employee is optimized, and employee retention rises as you have happier employees.

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I have had the pleasure in writing three short articles to support the publication of my first book written with my good colleague and friend Jordan Richards. The three articles will cover the following areas that set context for the book as follows.

Part 1:  KM Primer – the Introduction

Part 2:  KM & Digital Transformation - the Connection

Part 3:  The Future for KM

Part 1. The KM Primer

With over 25 years plus experience in the Knowledge Management, Information Management and Digital Transformation field and with a specialism in the Energy sector (oil, gas and renewables) the Authors decided now was a perfect time to produce this practical and hopefully thought-provoking book to generate more interest on the opportunities KM Digital transformation can create together.  We wanted to communicate honestly our views of what really works in Knowledge Management and share lessons learned, experiences and insights from the field. Written in an easy-to-understand way, we offer numerous practical guidelines that you can apply in your organisation. In addition, the book will aid with your appreciation of how KM can bring real tangible benefits for personal, and professional achievements and recognition.

The first part of the book offers a `primer` for Knowledge Management aimed at both new entrants to the field and for those who need a quick refresher. The Authors offers practical examples of a Knowledge Management vision, definitions, the fundamentals, and the advantages that can be achieved with a structured approach, without being too prescriptive or academic.  We wanted to create a consistent understanding and generate enthusiasm for KM.

An interesting aspect is the fact that technology companies have changed the narrative around what is commonly understood as Knowledge Management.  A simple internet search can validate this confusion. There is now a struggle on what can be seen as a technologically managed ambiguity over what is Knowledge Management.  Is it Knowledge Base Software? Is it frequently asked questions? Hopefully, this KM primer and fundamentals guide is a step towards, clarifying and demonstrating to businesses the lasting value of Knowledge Management.

We offer the key building blocks or components that any KM programme should have, together with the `must have` high impact enablers that are crucial to have in place. This includes the important operational governance which is needed to give guidance and steerage to your KM programme and, the key roles and responsibilities required for KM success. We stress the need to have a KM Framework that works for your organisation and a KM Policy with supporting procedures and guidelines.  If at a later stage your organisation wants to be audited for ISO 30401 KM Systems Certification, these two elements will be key to have in place!

In part one we also discuss the 4 Phases or Releases of KM, an introduction to the benefits of KM and the fourteen key principles every KM programme should have, including having alignment to the organizational Digital strategy. This is a very new addition and brings both opportunities and threats to the traditional KM organization which they need to be prepared for sooner rather than later.

We will discuss the importance of this new connection between KM and Digital Transformation in Part 2 of the series together with a look at a range of the latest digital enablers now emerging.  

Initiating effective knowledge management in your organization often seems like a timely and complex procedure, but done right it can lead to powerful efficiency across all departments. However, this process often requires the confrontation of a number of significant challenges and there are common pitfalls that can ensure a project. Here are 5 mistakes that can cost your organization significantly when implementing knowledge management - awareness will enable you to prevent falling into these traps.

1) Doing Too Much At Once

When you’re taking on knowledge management in your organization it’s natural to shoot for the stars. You want to optimize every aspect of knowledge management to achieve the best possible outcomes for your business. However, by taking on too much you’ll often undermine your core goals, leading to worse outcomes overall.

There are a number of risks entailed in taking on too much when you approach knowledge management. A protracted process of knowledge management implementation risks alienating key stakeholders from your aims, and sometimes a quick victory with measurable outcomes builds momentum. When you set off on your knowledge management journey, phase your strategy with short term goals and realistic aims for the beginning period.

2) Failing To Identify Measurable Goals

Knowledge management, when it’s implemented effectively, provides your organization with strategic insights and solutions that are targeted to certain problems. It is not, as some understand it, a productive background operation, but a highly specific process. When you begin to implement knowledge management in your institution, it needs to be accompanied by specific goals to have an impact.

“Choosing the right goals for knowledge management should be the first step, along with identifying the key metrics that will enable you to track these goals,” says Steven Frost, a KM expert at PaperFellows and OXEssays. “Whether you’re trying to decrease the handling time of clients or improve compliance across the board, targeting and tracking goals will lead to better outcomes.”

3) Forgetting About End Users

When it comes to implementing a new technology across the hierarchies of your organization, and especially when that technology is built around the complexities of knowledge management, it’s easy for architects of these systems to get caught up in the details. However, once implemented, your knowledge management system will be living and breathing through the end users, so ensuring that this practice guides your design is key to a successful system.

Throughout the process, pause at regular intervals to identify the pain points of your end users and proactively address these issues. Even small concerns of end users can snowball if they’re left unresolved, leading to significant inefficiencies as an end result.

4) Enforcing A One Size Fits All Approach

Successfully implementing knowledge management across your business requires building a system of access that works for all employees, regardless of their background, skills and styles. Building a functional system that doesn’t assume one was of thinking makes knowledge accessible to your whole organization, democratizing information and optimizing workflow.

To this end, knowledge should be available in a number of ways. Search terms should work both with specialized keywords and natural language and knowledge hierarchies should be built to be multifaceted, allowing access from a variety of directions. Building a range of paths to knowledge allows it to be distributed effectively and doesn’t presume one approach to accessing information.

5) Ignoring Feedback

“Any knowledge management infrastructure needs to find a way of collecting, incorporating and actioning feedback,” says Mona Hodge, a writer at State Of Writing and Essay Writer. “Feedback is itself a form of knowledge and it’s vital that as your organization starts producing knowledge that your users feel heard and recognized.”

Enable qualitative feedback to be issued from end users to article owners within your knowledge management infrastructure as well as identifying space for quantitative surveys of user experience. As these feed into the knowledge management system you’ll ultimately create an effective platform for all the users across your organization.

Signing Off

Knowledge management is a complex problem for organizations and there are a number of pitfalls that can doom a knowledge management project. However, by improving access to knowledge across your organization you can increase performance in every department. By avoiding these costly mistakes you’ll find a new level of efficiency within your business, and strive towards greater profits.
 

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Knowledge management should be a common practice in all businesses, no matter the field and purpose. It’s useful for both the internal and external development of the company. Benefits include optimizing teamwork, teaching newcomers, improving sales, and reviewing results.

And in the age of raging pandemic, knowledge management gains a new form and becomes more essential than ever. KM techniques and strategies become more flexible and adapt to the changes COVID-19 brought. After all, the inability to travel and attend meetings forced organizations to change most of their tactics.

The marketing field isn’t an exception. Knowledge management used to be helpful for optimizing commerce in the past. But nowadays, the connection becomes closer.

Why Is Knowledge Management Important for Marketing?

In brief, KM enhances efficiency and leads to faster, more constructive decision-making. Here are several benefits of implementing knowledge management practices:

●      Smarter specialists.
Your workforce learns from one credible source and becomes smarter. Consequently, it offers better ideas and potential marketing strategies.

●      Quick adaptation of newcomers.
New employees join the collective with ease and start working for the company’s benefit in shorter terms.

●      Lower turnover.
Employee turnover drops due to quick learning, thus increasing your reliability and authority.

●      Increased chances for beating the competition.
An intelligent company that works like one organism is always ahead of the competition. All teams, including marketers, detect and analyze vulnerabilities and find solutions to problems with lightning speed.

As market conditions are changing rapidly due to the new way of life we’re leading, a knowledgeable marketing team can:

●      React quickly to new trends;

●      Make fast, data-driven decisions that will make any situation beneficial for the company;

●      Offer better support and customer experience according to buyer’s needs;

●      Increase overall intelligence and efficiency of the team.

If we draw an analogy with a car maintenance service, then all the tools mentioned above represent a kind of a mechanic tool set. Each element of the set is responsible for a certain category of effects, and in the hands of a skilled craftsman, this set turns into a powerful "weapon".

It is quite understandable that each tool must be used to gain experience and hone skills. Try it and you will see the result.

3 Ways in Which Knowledge Management is Useful for Marketing

Marketing is all about knowledge. You need to know every detail about the market in general and the audience you want to get attention from. Customer data creates profiles leading strictly to the people who can benefit from your business. Further research helps to understand buyer’s intentions and demands.

As a result, small adjustments will create a strategy catering to the core of your target audience.

These three ways of incorporating KM in any marketing strategy will draw more attention and leads to your business.

1: Knowledge of Company Operation

Creating a KM system with the data about your company’s teams, hires, fires, feedback, and reviews will help to manage the marketing team, among all others. You will get valuable insight into your own organization’s work, see marketing results by month, and analyze the team’s performance.

This method allows for an objective view of the inside operation of the company.

2: Research of the Market

While new research must be conducted frequently, the analysis should include existing knowledge. Otherwise, there will be no data to compare the new results to. By adding the information you already have to current research, the marketing team understands the changes more deeply.

Such insights allow for building more adequate strategies and adapting them according to the patterns detected during analysis.

When researching the market, don’t waste an opportunity and opt for buying backlinks from a good backlink service such as Linksmanagement.

3: Marketing and Sales Connection

Cross-team communication via knowledge management leads to data flow from one team to another. This method can fill many gaps focused research may leave. This flow has to be up-to-date and consistent to provide the best results.

Marketing and Sales teams are the closest to one another. And if each works in its own bubble, the lack of knowledge is unavoidable. To make data-based decisions, you need to be updated on the latest patterns, trends, and techniques each company uses.

2 KM Systems to Implement

Two central knowledge management systems will increase your marketing team productivity:

●      Shared research information.
While outlining a new project, create a file or a folder with all research data. Include everything about your target audience, partners, current market, and forecasts there. Then, share the folder or file with all teams, including marketing, as a base for further research and development.

●      Feedback compilation.

Gather feedback from all teams that took part in a project and ask customer support to share clients’ reviews. Create an easily accessible database everyone can turn to before making an important decision. Informed adjustments can improve marketing strategies significantly.

Common Issues with Knowledge Management in Marketing

The primary issue businesses may encounter is poor management. For instance:

●      High competitiveness between teams to the point where knowledge sharing is halted;

●      Poor analysis of marketing results and no knowledge acquired for the future improvements;

●      Lack of learning opportunities for new employees;

●      Poor distribution of information.

All knowledge management stages have to work like a clock, from gathering data to analyzing it and using results to make strategies better. Interaction between teams is also a crucial factor.

For example, the marketing team, along with doing its research, should be in touch with customer service. Cooperation helps to tackle commonly reported issues and adapt their techniques accordingly. The stage potential clients are in when approaching the ad, frequently asked questions, concerns, etc., have to be a part of marketing analysis. A good example is a photo processing website. They built the ability not only to communicate, but also to place an order in all convenient ways - a page on Facebook, Instagram, email and website.

The Prospects of KM Considering Tech Development

Incorporating KM and AI in marketing content creation will deliver better results. Chatbots are a great example of a knowledge base that offers answers to potential customers. The range of topics is diverse, from questions about your business strategy, goal, and the benefits you provide to product and service descriptions, prices, and special offers.

Some might think that KM may become a thing of the past due to technological development and the implementation of artificial intelligence and automation services. However, instead of substituting knowledge management, tech enhances it. This combination creates a whole new version of the practice.

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Innovation is at the heart of any organization. All organizations strive towards:

• creating products and services for improved customer experiences.
• overcoming complex business problems using innovative processes and business models for increased impact and revenue.

In this era of digital disruptions and uncertainties, innovation is the key to create a competitive advantage and “design-thinking” is one of the most innovative tools to achieve Innovation and streamline organization knowledge.

So how does design thinking align with KM?

Knowledge Management helps organizations retain their experiences and knowledge to innovate, improve efficiency and productivity. However, many a times true KM transformation remains a struggle for many organizations when it is not seamlessly integrated with employees needs and challenges.  KM framework cannot be a success if it is too technology driven, people find it as an extra task, and they do not want to change especially when they do not see any direct benefit out of it.

Knowledge management should not be an abstract concept but should focus on solving concrete issues of employees by providing them seamless access to relevant information round the clock. Design thinking can be the key to meet employee needs and encourage the knowledge sharing culture.

Below are my thoughts on how design thinking can be a lifesaver and help organizations establish a successful knowledge management framework and enable it to thrive.

• Design thinking inspires innovation by putting end-users at center of the real challenges to be solved.
• Embracing collaboration by breaking silo culture and bring people together to come up with innovative ideas for increased business value and feedback for evolving KM framework.
• Empowering the end-users by putting into perspective their needs and creating solutions centered around their problems.
• Design thinking follows a progressive approach with room and tolerance for failure, making KM an iterative process for designing more appropriate solutions that are aligned to the needs of end-user.
• Focus on solution: Design thinking is the way to ideate on a solution to address a problem. It is focused on solutions coming from end-users rather than problems. It makes the solutions directly relevant to end users ensuring its absorption and adaptability.  

Follows a bottom-up approach for problem solving factoring 360-degree input from stakeholders from management to the end-user employee.

By following a design thinking centered approach while tailoring KM solutions, organizations can foster innovation, and develop KM solutions that are end-user centric resulting in improved work-experiences and innovative empowerment for improved business results.

Stay tuned for my next article on step-by-step approach on incorporating design thinking in your KM framework.

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