Retaining Expert Knowledge: What to Keep in an Age of Information Overload

Description

This book covers two major topics central to capturing and transferring expertise in organizations: Methodology and best practices for interviewing subject matter experts (SMEs) to capture their knowledge Identifying the SMEs to interview The more critical problem is identifying the SMEs and the knowledge that needs to be captured. One reason identifying the right experts is now so important is that in the next 10 years, the largest recorded exit of talented and knowledgeable workers from organizations will occur as baby boomers retire. In their wake, they leave their former employers understaffed and, even scarier, under-informed. Identifying the right SMEs is also critical because of the rapid acquisition of new knowledge. Some estimates say knowledge now doubles every two years, so it is crucial each organization identifies its journey and catalogues it individually and collectively. This book provides managers with answers to the following questions: Are we talking to the right subject matter experts? What knowledge should we capture? What knowledge needs to be captured immediately as opposed to eventually? If we have limited resources, which experts are most important to speak with first? Every organization has a history, a culture, and knowledge that may have lost its current relevance but not its importance. It is that broader vision of capturing knowledge, which this book addresses. It guides readers on how to preserve corporate knowledge and provides tools to assess organizational circumstances and judge the value of the resources to capture. Retaining Expert Knowledge is a training resource, but it is also a business resource. As knowledge proliferates and organizational culture rapidly changes, now is the time to step back and determine what has been important to your organization's success, where the organization is today, and what it will take to stay in the game tomorrow. Your company houses knowledge, skills, attitudes, intellectual property, trade secrets, company culture, and individuals who will never be replicated exactly as they are today. Because they have demonstrated value in the past and are demonstrating value today, these treasures are worth preserving. This book shows how to preserve these valuable assets today for tomorrow's successes. Content: Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page CONTENTS PREFACE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AUTHOR PART I: THE OUTFLOW OF CORPORATE KNOWLEDGE CHAPTER 1 THE LARGEST GENERATION LEAVES A GAP Out with the Old A Working with SMEs Methodology Shallow Learning: Learning, Learning Everywhere The World's Oldest Profession Content Curation for Shallow Learning Content Curation for Deep Learning Push and Pull Learning The Wide and Wild World Web Learning How to Think Like an Expert Teaching Critical Thinking Skills Making Decisions and Judgment Calls about Value Deep Knowledge Knows Where Your Company Is GoingMore about Lost Organizational Knowledge Recycle and Curate Ongoing Evaluation and Review Cycles Continuous Process Improvement Knowledge Management Flowchart CHAPTER 2 PRIORITIZE YOUR CORPORATE ASSETS Examine Your Organizational Chart Organizational Forgetting Have a Plan Capture Your Competitive Advantages Your Value and Distinction Knowledge Mapping How to Complete the Competitive Advantages Diagram The Value of the Exercise CHAPTER 3 SUCCESSION PLANNING WITH YOUR SMES Name Your Gurus About the Functional Area Exercise The Reluctant SMEYour SME Catch and Release Program: The Process of Retirement and Rehirement Special Section: Succession Planning for Family-Owned Businesses The Engineering Whiz: A Founder's Succession Planning The Cement King: Wresting Control from the Heirs Less Happy Endings CHAPTER 4 THE EXPERTS' DISCERNMENT Prioritize and Organize Your Assets Identifying Critical Assets: Your Value and Distinction Focus on Critical Information Knowledge Stratification Find Knowledge and Training Gaps Checklist: Find Your Knowledge and Training Gaps How to Prioritize the 4 Ms Drill Down into Target Area ManLeadership and Influence Is throughout Your Company Prioritize and Organize Your Man Assets The Knowledge and Training Gap Exercise Find Your Gaps Drill Down into Target Area Machine Computers and More Prioritize and Organize Your Information The Knowledge and Training Gap Exercise Find Your Gaps Drill Down into Target Area Materials When a Common Material May Not Be So Common The Materials You Produce Prioritize and Organize Your Information The Knowledge and Training Gap Exercise Find Your Gaps Drill Down into Target Area Methods Some Methods and Processes Can Be Easily ReplicatedWhen a Method or Process Is Proprietary Prioritize and Organize Your Information The Knowledge and Training Gap Exercise Find Your Gaps Time and Resource Commitment PART II: KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT IN THE AGE OF EXPONENTIAL TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES CHAPTER 5 COLLECTION, STORAGE, AND DELIVERY CHALLENGES FOR CAPTURING EXPERTISE Learning Transfer with the Multigenerational Workforce Mutual Respect and Low Threat Interactions Entitlement For the Older Gen For the Younger Gen Young Workers Have the Greater Challenge