7 Signs You Need Knowledge Management
These common problems could be draining your competitive advantage
Not sure if you need a formalized knowledge management program? See if any of these common situations feel familiar:
1. Congestion on the On-Ramp
- New employees are confused about processes and lack a strong understanding of the business 30, 60 or even 90 days after starting.
- Their productivity AND their enthusiasm both suffer.
- Veteran employees are frustrated that new hires aren’t up to speed.
2. Lots of Goose Chases
- People find themselves asking “Do you know who has this information?” and spending time chasing down the right person to ask.
- Projects are delayed.
3. The Wheel is Frequently Reinvented
- People invest time and energy into analysis, plans and concepts only to hear later “So-and-so already did that”.
- The same questions are asked over and over again.
- Resources are wasted and morale suffers.
4. Crossed Wires
- Frequent debates and disagreements erupt about how systems and processes actually work.
- Time is wasted with unnecessary meetings, projects are delayed and work must be redone.
5. Standards Loosen Up
- Awareness of policies and best practices is hit-or-miss across the company.
- Performance suffers and compliance risks creep in.
6. Sales Miss the Boat
- The Sales team has to start each response from scratch, digging through materials, making guesses about what has worked in the past and taking longer to send out responses.
- Sales targets are missed and competitors gain the upper hand.
7. Separation Anxiety
- People fear what might happen if a key employee leaves.
- There are mad scrambles to document processes and information in the days or weeks before an employee leaves.
- Employees that have to take over are stressed and frustrated.
How many of these have you encountered in your business? 3? 5? All 7? If we asked your team, how many would they recognize? Any one of these is enough reason to incorporate knowledge management into your organization.