June 16 is Youth Day. While qualifications may help guide younger or less experienced employees in their journey, we need to upskill the graduates that come into business with the skills we have learnt through the school of life. In other words, we should be sharing experiences or challenges we have encountered to help with hands-on knowledge. Many companies in South Africa and across the world have lost skills and knowledge that will take years to replace - why reinvent the wheel?

What is Knowledge Transfer?

Knowledge transfer is the systematic replication of the expertise, wisdom, and implicit knowledge of current professionals into the heads and hands of their co-workers. While on-the-job training comes into it, the process of knowledge transfer is so much more. It is the strategic transmission of the right skills and knowledge to ensure a workforce that is prepared, productive, innovative, and competitive.

The goal is to develop a culture of knowledge transfer within your business - where doyens teach and their colleagues learn.

Step-by-Step of Knowledge Transfer

• Evaluate and rank risks of loss of knowledge and experience.
• Map employees’ critical roles and skills to identify talent deficiencies and redundancies as well as openings to standardise job roles and share best practices.
• Identify key employees at risk of burnout to help balance their workload and improve ways of retaining employees.
• Calculate the degree of bench strength in your workforce.
• Identify productivity and quality risks due to insufficient onboarding of new or transferring employees.
• Assess gaps in your formal training resources that would guide future spending.
• Recognise those in your organisation who are best suited to mentor others.
• Develop a measurable path to reduce the loss of knowledge and experience.
• Assist new or transferring workers to drive their own onboarding.
• Weigh risks relative to a specific skill - defining which proficiencies, if lacking, would cause the greatest quality, scheduling, or productivity problems.
• Resolve which processes are going to become the new standard within merged organisations to reduce change management problems and timelines.
• Share the work of mentoring employees in a sustainable way to keep key authorities from burning out.
• Lessen worker complacency and inactivity by expounding expectations for their skill development.
• Create master skill development plans to be customised and recycled for future employees.
• Measure and track results.

How to Encourage Knowledge Transfer

There is often resistance to knowledge transfer because everyone wants to feel indispensable. Coaching your staff is a great way to get everyone on board with your knowledge transfer program. To find out how business coaching can help you, contact me: 083 256-0378  |   This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.   

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