Knowledge is only as useful as its application. And when employees don’t have the knowledge needed to perform their jobs effectively, nothing substantial can be applied to the task at hand.
This is generally when organizations begin seeing gaps in knowledge and start analyzing what may have gone wrong in the knowledge flow. This type of reactionary analysis can put productivity at risk.
Rather than waiting to discover knowledge gaps, organizations can be proactive in defining and addressing knowledge gaps at the onset through knowledge mapping.
Solving Knowledge Gaps with Knowledge Mapping
Knowledge maps are powerful tools to inventory an organization’s critical knowledge and pinpoint areas that may be at risk. In many cases, the simple act of creating a knowledge map reveals weak links and bottlenecks in the flow of knowledge.
By articulating exactly how knowledge moves through the organization, teams can identify improvement opportunities and make targeted adjustments to ensure that the right knowledge reaches the right people at the right point in the process.
Beyond identifying knowledge gaps, knowledge mapping has many benefits, including:
• Bringing together stakeholders to think critically about the knowledge involved in their work.
• Examining surface areas where critical knowledge may be at risk.
• Pinpointing opportunities for further collaboration, knowledge exchange, and transfer
To learn more about how to create and use knowledge maps, the benefits of knowledge mapping, and how to overcome common knowledge mapping barriers, visit APQC’s Getting Started with Knowledge Mapping.
Analyzing Knowledge Gaps and Risks
While KM professionals often wish they had a crystal ball to see knowledge areas with the greatest likelihood and consequences of knowledge loss, they do not.
But a practical gap analysis can help take the guesswork out. APQC’s Knowledge Loss Risk Matrix is a tool that helps organizations prioritize knowledge needs by identifying areas of knowledge at the highest risk of loss and most critical to document or transfer.
A complete gap analysis can be as vast or specific as your organizational needs. It will be helpful in identifying discrepancies between how knowledge currently flows and how it should flow.
But before delving in, here are some questions to consider:
- What critical knowledge is missing or not available when needed?
- What (or who) hinders the flow of knowledge? Why?
- What (or who) enhances the flow of knowledge? Why?
- What are the next steps for the knowledge map? (What is it going to be used for?)
As the team identifies knowledge gaps, it is especially important to determine why those gaps exist. The answers to these questions usually point to specific steps the organization can take to improve the flow of knowledge in the process or domain under consideration.
Getting Knowledge Mapping Buy-In (It Isn’t Always Easy)
Introducing a new concept or idea can be met with resistance because…it’s unfamiliar to most. And trying to get buy-in across the organization for knowledge mapping is no different.
Because knowledge mapping is one of the most powerful KM approaches to identifying and understanding your organization’s critical knowledge, KM teams must be smart in “selling” the concept. This means clearly explaining the “why” and “how” behind knowledge mapping so stakeholders understand how it contributes to business goals.
APQC recommends these key practices to build knowledge mapping buy-in:
- Explain the value proposition- Tie general benefits to the organization’s unique knowledge-related challenges and opportunities, such as potential knowledge loss from expert retirements or the need to accelerate competency in an emerging domain of technical knowledge. Where possible, explain knowledge mapping’s connection to strategic business priorities and talent management goals.
- Be clear about the commitment involved- Be transparent about how much time the process will take. When possible, take steps to reduce the burden on key stakeholders such as experts and process owners by, for example, talking to their colleagues or reviewing documents they’ve created.
- Help participants feel valued- Candidates should not feel fearful of their participation. Instead, they should know that they are being approached because they have valuable knowledge that would benefit the organization if it were more broadly distributed, not because they are being sidelined or forced out. Once a few participants go through the process, you may be able to use them as advocates to help others understand the benefits and implications of being selected.
- Use language that employees understand-Use company “language” or jargon when explaining knowledge mapping and presenting related assets (such as templates or completed knowledge maps). It also helps to relate knowledge mapping to familiar concepts and processes within the organization. If your organization has a long history of process mapping, for instance, then that can provide a useful foundation for talking about knowledge mapping