94% of employees admit that they’d remain at a company long-term if they believe that the company invests in learning and development.
That’s a powerful statistic. 🔥
Knowledge sharing might not seem like an obvious investment, especially when you consider the plethora of L&D options available to organisations (coaching and mentoring, lectures and conferences, social and collaborative learning, etc.) but that doesn’t mean that it’s any less necessary to sustain prosperity.
Think of it this way, imagine for a moment that you have a resolute team of thought leaders shaping organisational direction.
They have authority. Knowledge. and make team, departmental, and company-wide decisions. They spearhead change. Innovation. They build relationships. 🙌🏼
There’s just one problem.
The thought leaders don’t consistently share knowledge, leaving colleagues feeling like they’re forever left out of the loop. Insecure in their role. Wondering if their input is valued. Unsure if they should take their talents elsewhere to make a bigger impact and evolve their career. 🤔
Knowledge sharing is important. But, more than that. It’s the bedrock of a profitable organisation.
And we’re not just talking about fiscal profit, we’re talking about everything that’s beneficial and will stimulate prosperity!
Let’s review the difference between knowledge and information, the benefits of knowledge sharing, the reasons why employees don’t share knowledge in the workplace, and why sharing knowledge in the workplace is so important.
So, if you want to foster a working environment that optimises everyone’s knowledge, whilst promoting employee happiness and creating a profitable learning culture, keep reading!👇
Knowledge or Information?
Knowledge and information. They sound the same. Used interchangeably.
However, it might surprise you to know that they each have distinct definitions. 😲
Let’s look at them both individually below.
Knowledge is personal. It draws on the specific, individual context of how someone understands and applies the details to any given circumstance. Information is the detail, the data, itself. How it’s organised, classified, and used to make decisions.
Imagine you’re standing over a tee shot on a long Par 5.
Information is how you swing the club to hit a draw and split the fairway.
Knowledge is the outcome of swinging the club in a particular way to achieve the desired result–an easy second shot to the pin. And the chance for a birdie. ⛳ 👏
Information is what you use to acquire the knowledge necessary to achieve any given objective.
The Benefits of Knowledge Sharing Explained
Spend even a cursory amount of time online reading about workplace knowledge sharing and you’ll uncover just why it’s so important.
Decision-makers or team leaders considering implementing dedicated knowledge sharing practices within a working environment should first understand what’s in it for them. 👨🏼💼 👍
Let’s review the key knowledge sharing benefits.
✅ Strong Collaboration
Two heads are better than one, right?
At its core knowledge sharing is collaborative.
This is especially important to organisations. Collaboration cultivates strong, successful foundations.
In today’s modern working environment where remote teams are commonplace, fostering a collaborative spirit is one of the cornerstones to ongoing prosperity.🏆 💸
✅ Evolution and Innovation
Knowledge sharing allows people to find better ways of doing things.
People can evolve and innovate processes, practices, communication, and so much more.
Organisations should champion individuals who elevate team spirit or share what they know.
This improves performance, making it easier for people to reach their professional–and personal goals.
The result?
A well-oiled workforce! 🤝 📈
✅ Increases Productivity
How much valuable time is lost because people don’t fully understand what they’re doing? We’re guessing quite a lot.
Let’s say, for example, that you’re stuck. Unsure how to use a software platform.
How much total time do you lose before getting up to speed?
An hour a day? Two?
One-and-a-half hours a day amounts to seven-and-a-half hours a week. Or a full working day!⏱️😧
Knowledge sharing initiatives foster a strong learning culture and collaboration.
This reduces bottlenecks and encourages ownership and engagement while improving an organisation’s performance.
✅ The Feel-Good Factor
A happy workforce is a productive workforce.
People want to be heard. To feel like they have a voice. Are valued.
Their contributions are recognised and rewarded, regardless of where they sit in the organisation’s hierarchy.
Knowledge sharing can do just this. It can cultivate that much-needed feel-good factor.
And best of all, it doesn’t matter if someone has been with the organisation for two days or twenty years, a feel-good factor can propel anyone to perform to the best of their ability. 🙂
✅ Community and Learning Culture
The Holy Grail of L&D is fostering a strong, dedicated learning culture that filters throughout the entire organisation.
And knowledge sharing is at the heart of this.
What’s interesting about community and learning culture is that they’re built brick by brick by everyday actions.
It’s a habit forming, often spearheaded by thought leaders and, of course, L&D departments. A strong learning culture demonstrates an organisation’s dedication to excelling.
Best of all? It’s so simple.
Sharing a relevant article or podcast. Hosting workshops. Inviting subject matter experts to speak to people throughout the organisation. These actions, and more, can help everyone to know more and be better. 📲 🤓
Why Don’t Employees Share Knowledge with One Another?
With such clear benefits, it seems almost infeasible that organisations don’t have dedicated teams tasked with promoting knowledge sharing as their sole purpose. Yet, this is oftentimes the case.
The sad reality is employees don’t always share information with one another. There can be several reasons for this which we’ve outlined below:
✅ Time Management
Let’s face it, time is finite.
No matter if you’re working a standard 9-5 or shift rotation. There are only so many hours in a day. Maximising your time is the key to achieving short and long-term results.
If everyone is running around like a headless chicken or typing frantically, smoke billowing from their keyboard, they’re quite unlikely to feel inclined to share knowledge with their colleagues.😰🕜⌛
To combat this, decision-makers should encourage delegation, streamline processes wherever possible and leverage additional training to upskill existing employees so that they’re equipped to manage more complicated duties with finesse.
✅ Failure to Understand the Importance of Knowledge Sharing
Hiring new starters has its advantages.
A fresh perspective is one.
Another is benefitting from the knowledge and experience they will bring to the organisation.
However, new starters will be at an immediate disadvantage: they won’t know the processes, the ins and outs of the organisation, their colleagues, and much more.
This can be alleviated by knowledge sharing.
Simply taking the time to educate new starters on organisational processes can help build solid foundations. Carry this ethos into all aspects of their role and you’ll build the foundations for success. 🤔
✅ Lack of Trust
One of the primary reasons why workplace sharing can be compromised or not encouraged is a lack of trust among colleagues.
This can be for many reasons and is a problem that organisational leaders and decision-makers should address immediately.
Why?
A lack of trust causes breakdowns in communication, reduced productivity, poor client service, tense atmospheres, and potential reputational damage.
Focus on team-building activities. Encourage colleagues to get to know one another better. This will improve understanding and empathy, improving trust. ⚽ 🍻🥇
✅ Refusal to Relinquish Control
This is as much psychological as it can be nurturing one’s career dedication–at the expense of others.
When employees feel vulnerable, their behaviour changes. This can manifest as hording information to safeguard workplace status.
To combat this, management must encourage and reward employees who are transparent, open, and collaborative.
Gatekeeping is unproductive. What happens when the gatekeeper is off sick, on maternity or paternity leave or decides to leave the organisation? 😮
✅ Digital Knowledge
According to McKinsey & Company, one of the world’s most respected strategy and management companies, the average employee wastes 20% of his or her time searching for essential information or looking for a colleague who can help them to complete a task. 💻🖥️
20% of a standard 40-hour week is 8 hours.
This means that employees can waste an entire working day looking for information and guidance to complete duties! 🤯
The good news is that by leveraging a knowledge sharing platform, like Google Workplace, Confluence, or even Slack can save valuable time and essential resources.
It might be time to upskill your workforce or leverage one of the UK’s most efficient L&D platforms, Thirst!
Knowledge Sharing is Intrinsic to L&D
Knowledge is acquired in six stages: remembering, understanding, applying, analysing, evaluating, and creating.
Learners start with zero to limited informational knowledge that they need to remember. They finish by creating their own learning paradigms to help, guiding and teaching others while deepening their own understanding.
As any L&D professional understands, knowledge sharing is essential to improving cross-departmental organisational performance. It is intrinsic to L&D. Below we’ve explained why.👇
✅ Bridge Skills Gaps
By sharing knowledge and expertise with one another, colleagues can upskill one another.
Not only does this promote capability, confidence, and camaraderie amongst colleagues, but it creates an environment where everyone feels comfortable tackling a broad range of tasks, asking questions, and stepping up to the plate when needed. 🙋♀️
✅ Democratising Learning
A key benefit to knowledge sharing is democratising learning. Building a team of educated and capable subject matter experts across the entire organisation and you’ll benefit from the collective knowledge they demonstrate. 💡
This ethos helps to prevent knowledge silos–circumstances where specific team members isolate, even horde knowledge, and even limit communication. This is to be detrimental to the organisation.
✅ Sense of Purpose and Recognition
Different people have different skills. Some people have stellar people skills, others know how to leverage Microsoft Excel to its full potential.
Encouraging your colleagues to share their knowledge with those interested in their expertise will give them a sense of purpose.
Employers who choose to recognise and reward the effort of their employees, foster loyalty and build a strong, resilient workforce. 💪
10 Reasons Why Your Workplace Should Invest in Knowledge Sharing
Have you ever felt burdened by being on the wrong end of workplace knowledge silos?
Had a hunch that there’s a new market opportunity that you should really be exploiting?
These reasons, and a great deal more, are reasons why your workplace should invest in knowledge sharing.
In fact, there isn’t just one or two, there are ten solid reasons why you need to start investing in knowledge sharing right now!
Below we’ve condensed ten reasons why investing in workplace knowledge sharing could be the best decision that you ever made.
Promote Innovation and Creativity
Organisations that encourage employees to share knowledge foster different perspectives and bring new ideas to the table. This collaboration can result in innovative solutions and creative approaches to problem-solving. 🎨🧑💻
Enhanced Efficiency and Productivity
As we’ve already outlined, knowledge sharing reduces the time employees spend searching for information or reinventing the wheel. When knowledge is readily available employees can work more efficiently, leading to increased productivity.
Improved Decision-Making
Access to a deep knowledge pool helps people to make more informed decisions. Encourage employees to share insights. This reaps benefits, including strategic planning, risk assessment, and more. 🙋
Employee Learning and Development
Knowledge sharing creates opportunities for continuous L&D. This helps employees to mature, and grow, building a more capable, skilled workforce.☝️📈
Fostering Teamwork and Collaboration
When knowledge is openly shared, it fosters a culture of collaboration.
The results?
Employees are more likely to work together and support each other. This strengthens team dynamics and improves performance, both in the team and the organisation.
Prevents Knowledge Loss
When employees leave an organisation, all the knowledge they’ve acquired throughout their tenure leaves with them.
This can be especially problematic if they’re one of or the only person capable of performing the duties that their role demands.
By sharing knowledge amongst different people, different organisations can retain critical information during periods of employee transition, therefore reducing disruption.
Employee Engagement and Satisfaction
Cultivate a workplace environment rich in employee engagement and satisfaction and you’ll promote diligence, job satisfaction and loyalty. This significantly benefits the whole organisation, helping you to achieve short-and long-term goals. ☺️
Organisational Growth and Competitiveness
Prioritise knowledge sharing to adapt and respond to challenges and remain competitive. These attributes are integral to leveraging its collective intelligence to achieve its goals. ⭐
Reduces Workflow Silos
Functional or departmental silos can significantly hinder cross-functional collaboration and organisation-wide collaboration. The result? A more cohesive and unified organisation.
Improved Customer Experience
An organisation that understands its customers, users or members is a successful organisation.
When employees share knowledge about customer experiences, they can provide an informed and consistent service to customers. This cultivates customer satisfaction, and, loyalty, promoting long-term prosperity. 🙂
Sharing Knowledge Will Bolster Every Aspect of Your Organisation
If you want your organisation to perform better, foster collective camaraderie, achieve short-and-long-term goals, be more efficient, innovate, and so much more, you need to encourage people to share their knowledge. It’s really that simple.
What’s the alternative?
A group of undervalued, unhappy, unsure, disconnected people working. Only thinking about the tasks they’re responsible for. Never striving. Not understanding how their role affects their colleagues. Unorganised and under pressure.
Does this sound like a proficient organisation? 👎
Get your L&D department to spearhead workplace knowledge sharing. You might find that you’re astounded by the results.
Got 2 Minutes?
If your organisation is struggling with disengaged learners, Thirst has the solution. 🔥
Thirst is an AI-powered learning platform that helps L&D teams of all sizes boost learner engagement and create experiences tailored to today’s learners.
Take a guided tour today and see Thirst in action.
For more e-learning insights, resources and information, discover the Thirst blog.
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