Whether you are a novice or a seasoned knowledge manager, you are likely familiar with the challenges of content harvesting. Breaking through the mental barriers of employees who are accustomed to a certain way of working can be a daunting task when trying to encourage them to willingly share their knowledge and content.

To successfully transition employees to a knowledge management (KM) style of working, persistence and consistency are key. It is not about pressuring them to share content and knowledge through leadership or KPIs, but rather fostering a cultural shift where employees recognize the value of their knowledge and understand why, where, and how to share it.

While capturing explicit knowledge may be relatively simpler, capturing tacit knowledge – a crucial component of employee experience – presents a significant challenge. Creativity is essential in encouraging team members to share their unique insights, experiences, thoughts, and interactions with clients and customers.

This knowledge can change the game regarding employee onboarding, and offboarding from a project or organization. A new employee can easily refer to training and documents to understand the working of a project but it is tacit knowledge that can quickly bring him or her up to speed on the customer’s style of working, their weaknesses, and preferences, and this wisdom can only come from an employee who has been previously working with the customer.

Similarly, when an employee leaves an organization or a team, if the key experiences, insights, lessons learned, and best practices are not documented in a KM format, the knowledge directly proportional to the employee’s tenure is lost and gone forever

This is one topic that cannot and should not be taken lightly and should be on the forefront of any KM strategy design.

Let’s explore innovative strategies that can assist you in capturing both tacit and explicit knowledge from your teams while fostering a culture of knowledge sharing. To achieve sustainable success in knowledge management, it is crucial to focus on instigating a cultural shift within your organization.

This shift should encourage employees to recognize the importance of sharing their knowledge and insights and understand how their contributions can significantly impact the overall success of their team and the organization as a whole.

Effective knowledge management is all about ensuring that your employees have the skills, education, data, and know-how to be successful. However, many aging employees find that the skills and insights that served them well 30 years ago no longer apply. Rather than reducing aging employees’ workload, invest in knowledge management strategies that improve skill transfer and put folks in positions to succeed. This can make a world of difference for folks who have the experience necessary to excel but need to tweak their approach to work.

Investing in knowledge management for more experienced employees can generate interesting insights and help your firm make the most of older staff members. This can improve your operational agility, increase employee retention, and enhance your knowledge management strategies.

Reverse Mentorship

Reverse mentorship is a potentially powerful form of knowledge management that encourages younger hires to re-train their more experienced peers. Effective reverse mentoring gives older employees a chance to learn from recent graduates. This improves their knowledge base and helps older employees recognize shortcomings in their skills or education. Reverse mentoring can help break down barriers between management and staff, too, as younger employees will have a chance to show off their expertise in front of folks who are higher up on the corporate ladder.

However, for reverse mentorship to work, you need to create a productive, positive environment for all participants. This is crucial, as more experienced employees may naturally resent being “mentored” by younger peers, and younger employees may be too nervous to effectively mentor someone who has been in the business for decades.

Jim Berry, director of the MBA program at University College London, explains that effective reverse mentoring “should be a two-way street” in which folks feel free to share their concerns and questions. Respect is a must when reverse mentoring and oversights should be in place to ensure that coworkers treat each other with the dignity that they deserve. This, Berry explains, can develop “intergenerational awareness,” that alleviates the stress that stereotypes may cause.

Continued Learning

Continuous learning opportunities are crucial for aging teams. Without regular investment in education and training, your employees are almost certain to fall behind the curve and lose their competitive edge. Continued learning opportunities improve retention and help folks feel valued at work. Additional benefits of continued learning include:

●      Increased Innovation: Older employees have a wealth of experience to draw from. However, many still rely on outdated data points and skills that undermine their ability to innovate. Continued learning opportunities can reverse this paradigm and empower employees to utilize the experience while working with up-to-date insights.

●      Adapting to Trends: All modern industries move quickly. Continuous learning can help folks adapt to trends and adapt their approach to work. This is particularly important if you work in a tech-driven industry and fear that your aging workforce is becoming tech-illiterate.

●      Drawing Talent: Drawing more experienced, older employees to your business can offer a real competitive advantage. You immediately gain reliable, knowledgeable staff and don’t have to spend as much time onboarding them. However, you do need to offer continuous learning opportunities if you want to appeal to experienced, highly talented employees.

Continuous learning opportunities can also help you stay up to date with compliance regulations and laws. This is key, as failing to comply with new laws due to poor knowledge management practices will result in hefty fines. 

Revising Organizational Systems

When was the last time you analyzed your knowledge management systems? Most businesses only revise their systems when forced to, and, as such, are unknowingly impeding their own progress. You can revise your organizational systems to better support an aging workforce by analyzing your:

●      Vision: What goals do you have for your KM strategy? Which principles will you follow to improve existing systems?

●      Content: Which pieces of “content” are most important? Do your onboarding materials need to be revised? Are you going to shift the way you talk about your workflow management systems? Can you make it easier to access content?

●      People: Who will be impacted by changes to your KM strategy and how will they benefit? Will more experienced employees feel empowered by changes, or may they resent the changes you make?

●      Technology: Will you use new apps and software to revise your KM strategy? If so, what steps will you take to ensure that all employees, regardless of age, are able to access and effectively utilize unfamiliar systems?

Answering these questions will help you revise your organizational KM systems with older employees in mind. This is crucial, as more experienced employees may resist change if they are comfortable with existing operations. Accounting for the needs and motivations of aging employees will help you make cultural changes that break down KM barriers and raise the standard at your place of work.

You can also shift the way you tag and label knowledge to help folks find the information that you need. For example, you may want to consider adopting people-centric labeling while changing the way you store company data. People-centric labeling is accessible, inclusive, and encourages employees to engage in the changes you make. This ensures that aging employees feel appreciated and will help them adopt the changes that you make together.

Conclusion

Revising your approach to knowledge management can empower aging workforces and improve productivity at your place of work. Utilizing techniques like reverse mentoring can help younger team members share their insights and learn more about the wider goals and vision of the company. This creates a work environment that is conducive to continuous learning and puts older employees in a position to succeed.

Knowledge holds value when it can be turned into actionable insights, help you make smart decisions, or repurposed it to save time that might otherwise be spent in recreating data that already exists. 

Knowledge continuously evolves hence we need to continue to harvest, and review the knowledge to keep it relevant. The knowledge that can be acted upon is useful, and the framework that defines and streamlines the process to harvest, review, and make the knowledge available for the person who needs it to take action or decision is the knowledge management framework.

One of the key components of knowledge mapping and a key first step is knowledge mapping. The context of knowledge mapping differs from organization to organization depending upon their goals, and requirements. Knowledge mapping is a key entity for any service line or offering. It helps the stakeholders understand where the current knowledge resides, the key knowledge owners, gaps versus requirements, and how to establish the flow of knowledge from owners to the seeker while overcoming the gaps, and challenges.

It is a visual representation of knowledge flow in a team, project, or service line to identify:

• Knowledge sources both tacit and explicit
• Knowledge gaps
• Knowledge gap impact and areas at risk due to knowledge gaps

Here are simple steps to build your knowledge map. 

• Establish the objective – what we want to achieve through this exercise, your targeted goals, business outcome, and key stakeholders.
• Identify an area of concern and key sources – Once you have zeroed down the team or project, you want to start with, identifying the key skills or knowledge required for employees to perform their tasks, their current skill levels and gaps as well as current knowledge residing in your organization to help employees upskill.
• Connect the dots – Once you identify your knowledge sources and map them against the existing skill set, it is easy to identify the gaps and areas of concern.

Also, as we discussed knowledge mapping is just the starting point and not the end goal as it provides a visual goal of where knowledge resides, the current state of knowledge, and the gaps, and obstacles in the flow or use of knowledge which can then help you define your knowledge strategy to achieve efficiency and intended outcome. 

Part 2

As we already discussed in the last article, knowledge mapping is one of the most powerful KM tools to identify and inventorize knowledge gaps, risks, and sources and to build a bridge between the two, to ensure a seamless connection of knowledge and SMEs to the knowledge seeker. 

A knowledge map for a specific service line or business process gives a clear picture of the various knowledge sources, locations, owners, and criticality. This can help the knowledge managers and leads understand the knowledge gaps, bottlenecks, and employees who need this knowledge to successfully perform their roles and responsibilities for a specific project. 

Let’s start with the basics of how to create a knowledge map:

• Start with the process map of the business unit to understand the current flow of knowledge from people to system and reverse. This will help you understand the key knowledge owners, the skills required for the unit employees to perform their roles, and the knowledge gaps obstacles, and risks explicitly.
   
• The next step is to narrow down the risks, gaps, and bottlenecks and strategize ways to fill the knowledge gaps in areas where the skill gap can have maximum impact on role performance and business.
   
• Some of the questions to be considered while prioritizing knowledge gaps are:
  • What knowledge is critical for the successful completion of work and project execution
  • What knowledge is readily available and what is missing
  • How the knowledge flow can be achieved to fill the knowledge gaps
  • What are the specific steps required to achieve this outcome
     
• Creating a knowledge map is not the end result, it is a roadmap that needs to be continuously reviewed, audited, and updated to streamline the knowledge management process.
   
• Use the knowledge maps to create a successful knowledge management framework and measure it closely by leveraging metrics like stakeholder satisfaction, business outcome achievement, impact on quality, efficiency, and innovation.

This is a whole series where next we will discuss how to create a knowledge map aligned with the business unit, management goals, and business outcomes and the types of knowledge maps aligning to your specific needs.

Next, we will talk about the barriers, and how to keep them relevant and current and some successful knowledge mapping case studies and their outcome. Stay tuned and I hope this series of blog help you with your knowledge mapping process.

Knowledge management (KM) is a fast-paced, demanding field. As a KM professional, you’ll spend most of your day analyzing data, communicating with stakeholders, and making critical business decisions based on the insights that you uncover.

Left unchecked, this full-on approach to KM can cause stress and cognitive strain. Without adequate rest and recovery, this can undermine your ability to process data and may worsen your decision-making process.

Rather than letting stress impact your KM capabilities, take proactive steps to protect your mental focus and cognitive agility. Even simple exercises, like walking during your lunch break, can enhance your mental clarity and boost your ability to think critically while under pressure.

The Mind-Body Connection

If you’ve ever felt fatigued after a cold or low after a busy day at the office, you already understand the crucial connection between the mind and the body. When you put yourself through too much mental strain your physical health will falter. Conversely, failing to take care of your physical well-being will lead to diminishing cognitive function and ailing mental health.

This sentiment is supported by Dr. Scott McGinnis, an instructor in neurology at Harvard Medical School. McGinnis explains that “regular exercise of moderate intensity over six months or a year is associated with an increase in the volume of selected brain regions.” Researchers from the Harvard Medical School also posit that physical exercise can improve your:

●      Mood;

●      Memory;

●      Resilience when stressed;

●      Sleep;

●      Cognitive function.

This makes sense on an anecdotal level, too. You’re almost certainly more productive at work when you feel happy and are mentally alert. Similarly, you’re far more likely to spot errors and adjust to sudden changes when you’re well-rested and feel refreshed.

Improving your cognitive function through physical activity doesn’t require you to run marathons or become a bodybuilder, either. Sometimes simple changes, like walking more regularly and learning a new skill like Tai Chi, can give a mental boost and help you use your KM skills to lead healthy changes at work.

Finding Time

If you’re a busy KM professional, you probably don’t have time to swim a hundred lengths an evening or cycle to work. However, this doesn’t mean you should overlook physical activity or cancel your gym membership. Instead, focus on developing habits that embody the kinds of changes you want to see in the workplace.

If you work from home and want to spend more time working out, consider converting your garage into a home gym. A home gym makes it easier to work up a sweat when you’re on your work break and gives you all the tools you need to improve your health before or after work. If a home gym sounds appealing to you, get started by:

●      Decluttering and deep cleaning the space;

●      Create a floor plan with accurate estimations of how the equipment will fit in your space;

●      Upgrade the flooring to avoid cracking tiles or concrete;

●      Add insulation and an HVAC system to improve your comfort,

You don’t have to break the bank while buying home gym equipment, either. Look for used sports stores in the area or utilize sites like Craigslist and Facebook. Alternatively, if lifting weights isn’t your thing, consider signing up for subscription-based services like Peloton or Echelon. These spin-style services are perfect if you’re low on time but still want to boost your physical and mental health.

Long-Term Lifestyle Changes

You’ll need to make some lifestyle changes if you want to protect your physical health and improve your cognitive function. Without a health-positive approach to life, you’re almost certain to run into chronic health issues that will undermine your performance as a KM professional and will detract from your ability to lead a team.

Start by adjusting your desk setup to improve the ergonomics of your workplace. An ergonomic approach can mitigate the risk of injury and help you stay active for longer. When making adjustments to improve ergonomics, consider factors like:

●      Sit with your legs at ninety degrees;

●      Raise the monitor so the top of the screen is at eye level;

●      Get up and move your body at least once every 30 minutes;

●      Don’t hunch; instead, keep your arms at a right angle and use a laptop holder to maintain proper posture.

These simple changes can alleviate the risk of headaches due to poor posture and will ensure you do not pick up repetitive strain injuries. When you do decide to take breaks from the screen, consider rehydrating and eating a healthy, balanced snack. This might look something like:

●      A tall glass of water;

●      A water-dense fruit or vegetable (cucumbers, oranges, watermelon, etc);

●      Some kind of protein source (jerky, nuts, or Greek yogurt).

This will help you refresh mentally and energize you throughout the day. This is key if you’re working on an important KM project and are juggling the needs of multiple stakeholders. A healthy, hydrated diet will supercharge your mental focus, give you the motivation to exercise, and help you feel like you can take on the world.

Conclusion

Understanding the mind-body connection can improve your mental focus and help you stay energized throughout the day. Simple changes, like walking when on a break, can help you hit the “reset” button and return to work feeling sharp. This is key when working in KM, as you’ll need your full faculties to break down data sets, liaise with stakeholders, and make well-informed decisions.