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About 7.9% of full-time employees are working from home, while 25.6% have gone hybrid.
It’s plain to see distributed teams and remote work are here to stay. What’s equally obvious is collaboration across geographical borders relies heavily on the seamless exchange of information and expertise.
In other words, if such teams don’t build a strong knowledge sharing culture, they won’t just be stagnating innovation and problem-solving for themselves. The trickle down effect will also affect the bottom line of businesses.
Imagine a scenario where your most talented employees hoard their knowledge. Project roadblocks become insurmountable due to information silos. New hires struggle to navigate the company's unspoken rules and best practices.
This, unfortunately, is the reality for many organizations that haven't prioritized building a culture of knowledge sharing. So, what prevents robust knowledge management in companies? A Deloitte survey shows 75% of companies understood the importance of knowledge sharing for success but only 9% could potentially implement processes related to it.
Let’s see why that’s true:
The knowledge sharing gap: Why top performers don't share
Contrary to what you might think, top performers aren't inherently secretive. The Harvard Business Review sheds light on the concept of controlled motivation versus autonomous motivation for knowledge sharing.
Top performers, driven by a desire to maintain their value, might fear their expertise is no longer relevant if readily shared.
Understanding the reasons
When it comes to barriers to knowledge sharing, it’s important we start with the reasons leading to knowledge hoarding.
Some of them are:
1. Focus on individual performance metrics
Appraisal systems solely focused on individual output can disincentivize knowledge sharing. Top performers might hesitate to give away secrets if it doesn't directly translate into their own performance review.
2. Lack of recognition
Feeling undervalued or unseen for contributions to the collective knowledge base can demotivate knowledge sharing. Top performers crave recognition for their expertise. So, a system that doesn't acknowledge this can lead them to keep their knowledge close.
3. Fear of vulnerability
Shyness, fear of being seen as incompetent, or concerns about losing power can hold top performers back. Creating a safe space for knowledge exchange is crucial to overcoming these anxieties.
4. Fear of dilution of expertise
Some top performers worry that if they readily share their knowledge, it becomes "commonplace" and diminishes their perceived value as the go-to expert.
5. Time constraints and workload overload
Top performers are often juggling multiple projects and tight deadlines. The perceived time commitment of knowledge sharing can be a deterrent.
6. Uncertainty about how to share effectively
Not everyone is a natural teacher or communicator. Uncertainty about the best way to present their knowledge or the fear of being unclear or uninteresting can hold top performers back.
7. Past negative experiences
Perhaps a previous attempt at knowledge sharing was met with resistance, disinterest, or even ridicule. This negative experience can create a reluctance to share openly in the future.
8. Personality traits
Some individuals are naturally introverted or possess a low tolerance for explaining things repeatedly. They might be more comfortable working independently and sharing knowledge only when explicitly required.
These factors create a knowledge-sharing gap that hinders both individual and organizational success.
The impact on the organization
The consequences of a weak knowledge-sharing culture are far-reaching. Here's how it impacts your organization:
1. Stifles innovation and problem-solving
Without access to a collective pool of knowledge, teams struggle to tackle complex challenges creatively. New ideas get stuck, and reinventing the wheel becomes the norm. A research team studied knowledge sharing and innovation in online programming competitions. The performance and innovative leaps improved since competitors could borrow and tweak their predecessors’ work.
Knowledge sharing can provide employees with jump-off points when faced with sticky problems. Continuous learning like that results in efficient tweaks, streamlined processes, and major innovative leaps. The resulting process improvement can be beneficial for the whole company!
2. Siloes knowledge hindering collaboration and efficiency
It’s true that large companies lose $47 million a year due to a lack of efficient knowledge management systems.
When information is compartmentalized, collaboration becomes challenging, especially in a distributed workforce. Teams waste time rediscovering existing solutions or struggle to leverage expertise or information from other departments. Project completion rates get lower and frustrations rise.
3. Difficult onboarding new employees and retaining valuable knowledge
The onboarding process becomes a scramble for new hires to locate vital information. Valuable knowledge walks out the door with departing employees who haven't been encouraged to share their expertise. It’s why we recommend having a mentoring program for new hires.
With such dire consequences, it’s crucial you guide your organization into building a knowledge-sharing culture.
Charles Jennings, visionary co-founder of the 70:20:10 Institute and a luminary in the L&D field, discusses why leaders need to rethink the relationship between individuals and teams. Watch the full webinar here
Building a culture of knowledge sharing: Strategies for leaders
Since knowledge transfer depends on organizational culture, here are some strategies leaders can implement:
Shift the focus
Making knowledge sharing an integral part of company culture can take many forms, including:
1. Refining appraisal systems
Integrate knowledge sharing as a metric for performance evaluation. Recognize and reward employees who actively share their expertise with colleagues.
Go beyond just measuring individual tasks completed. Develop a system to evaluate how employees contribute to the collective knowledge base.
This could include metrics like:
- Number of knowledge-sharing sessions facilitated
- Actively participating in discussions and forums
- Mentoring or training colleagues
- Contributing high-quality documents and resources to the central repository
2. Rewarding collaboration
Move beyond individual accolades. Celebrate team achievements in meetings and company-wide communications. Highlight successful knowledge-sharing initiatives that benefited the entire organization.
This could include:
- Team bonuses tied to collaborative projects
- Public recognition for teams that successfully implemented shared knowledge
- Showcasing individuals championing knowledge sharing
3. Creating safe spaces
Fear of being judged or appearing incompetent can hold back even the most talented employees. Foster an environment where vulnerability is encouraged.
Here are some ideas:
- Organize casual knowledge-sharing sessions
- Implement an anonymous feedback system to knowledge-sharing for constructive criticism without fear of repercussions
- Encourage learning from mistakes workshops to normalize errors as opportunities for growth and shared learning
All that said, it’s best not to overlook the tools that will help your efforts in this area.
Empowering knowledge exchange
We’re all familiar with the many benefits of knowledge sharing for individual employees and organizations alike. Both can prosper if they also:
1. Leverage technology
Employee connection tools like Colleague Connect are game-changers in bringing employees together for coffee chats and informal networking. Based on the philosophy that “everyone can learn from anyone,” Colleague Connect brings in-person watercooler conversations to a remote and distributed environment, where employees can casually share career paths, learning tips, and working knowledge.
Colleague Connect empowers knowledge exchange through:
- Secure document sharing to build trust and overcome fear of vulnerability.
- Group discussions catering to different learning styles
- Task management features that streamline collaboration
- Knowledge exchange that occurs at users' own convenience, i.e., on their own schedule
- Pre-formatted templates for guides, tutorials, or FAQs for easy & less intimidating knowledge creation
- Less time consuming micro-sharing and bite-sized content, Quick Tips videos, & short written guides
2. Recognize different personalities
A successful knowledge-sharing culture embraces diverse learning styles. Not everyone thrives on the same methods of information absorption.
Here's how to cater to different preferences:
Engage different learning styles. For instance, detailed documents and step-by-step instructions for analytical learners who prefer structured information. Or, video tutorials for visually-oriented learners. And even, audio recordings for auditory learners or those less comfortable with written communication.
Encourage backstage, mentorship-style knowledge transfer for individuals more comfortable sharing directly with colleagues facing specific challenges.
3. Encourage user-generated content
Empower employees to create knowledge-sharing materials in their preferred format. This:
- Leverages diverse expertise
- Allows individuals to showcase their strengths
- Builds confidence
- Creates tutorials that grow your knowledge repository
4. Realize the importance of communication
Leaders need to clearly communicate the value of knowledge sharing and its impact on individual and organizational success. This can be done through regular company-wide addresses, team meetings, or internal communication platforms.
5. Encourage cross-team collaboration
Break down departmental silos by facilitating interaction between teams. Utilize Colleague Connect groups or project-specific channels to promote knowledge exchange and collaboration across departments via coffee chats, virtual coffee breaks, lunch-and learns, and coffee roulette.
Some ideas you can use to set up these sessions:
- Allow resident experts to present on a topic
- Create a book club to discuss works from their field or work in general
- Meetings cross-training staff on different roles
- Holding AMA sessions with experts
6. Developing mentorship programs
Use a mentoring software like Together to connect experienced employees with newcomers. This fosters knowledge transfer and builds relationships within a distributed workforce.
Mentors can share best practices, answer questions, and guide mentees through the company's knowledge base stored on Colleague Connect. They’re invaluable when it comes to disseminating the importance of knowledge sharing with new employees.
Whether they do it through loom videos, access to company archives, or connecting on Colleague Connect, mentorships will help new employees adapt to the culture more quickly.
Take action today
Building a strong knowledge-sharing culture requires a multi-pronged approach. By recognizing the reasons why top performers hold back and leveraging technology like Colleague Connect, leaders can transform their organizations.
Ready to unlock the power of knowledge sharing within your organization? Explore how Colleague Connect can be a valuable tool in fostering a collaborative and knowledge-rich environment, especially in a distributed work setting. Sign up for a 15-minute demo to experience the benefits of seamless knowledge exchange firsthand.
