Making Knowledge Transfer Intentional

Addressing Common Knowledge Transfer Barriers We’ve found that there are five common barriers to knowledge transfer. We describe each below, along with strategies that leading organizations use to address them.

Recipients Can’t Absorb New Knowledge There is a limit to the amount of change that people can handle at any given time. If change happens too quickly, people can reach a saturation point where it becomes increasingly difficult to learn new things.

To avoid this barrier, it’s important to strategically guide the size, speed, and timing of knowledge transfer projects. Speak with potential recipients and other stakeholders to ensure that you’re not competing with other change initiatives and that recipients have the space to learn what needs to be learned.

Some Knowledge Is Difficult to Document and Share A large proportion of knowledge is tacit, which can make it more difficult to document and share with others. Supporting materials such as process maps can help people become familiar with a new practice, but true understanding often requires time, experience, and one-on-one instruction.  

It’s critical to ensure that the source adequately documents the process, including any relevant designs or diagrams. When possible, ask the source to provide the recipient with coaching and mentoring. In addition, make sure that the recipient accurately documents the “as is” process before adoption and develops a migration plan for achieving the “to be” process.

Lack of Organizational Support

In order to be effective, knowledge transfer needs support in the form of leadership, advocacy, resources, and feedback. For that reason, it’s critical to do the following: 

♦ Identify executive sponsors who are passionate about knowledge transfer and who will visibly demonstrate their support.

♦ Make time, resources, and equipment available for implementation and have a plan for how you will provide these before you begin a knowledge transfer project.

♦ Design rewards and recognition to reinforce and sustain change.

The Source Is Not Motivated to Share

In most cases, the source does not inherently benefit from sharing their knowledge and practices. If transfer is difficult, and leaders or the organization don’t actively recognize it, sources may not be motivated to share. Change management is critical for motivating and enabling sources to transfer knowledge. Rewards and recognition, visible support from executive leaders, and communication about the value of knowledge transfer all help to increase the motivation to share.

Recipients Are Not Willing to Learn

Recipients don’t always have an appetite for new learning. They may be hesitant to apply knowledge and adopt practices from outside their group, especially in organizations where knowledge is more siloed.

Trust and control are key change management variables that are critical for you to address. In addition to rewarding the source for sharing, you should reward the recipient for applying knowledge and adopting the new practice.

Key Takeaways

Disruptions from workforce churn, emerging technologies, and the pace of change more broadly all make it critical to develop effective knowledge transfer practices. For better or worse, there is no “one-size-fits-all” strategy for knowledge transfer. Finding the right approach means considering the degree to which knowledge is explicit or tacit, the relationship between the source and recipients of knowledge, the resources needed to connect them, and more. Use the following takeaways as guideposts to consider the best approach for your organization:

♦ Use organic knowledge transfer approaches such as internal video libraries and repositories for knowledge that can be easily codified and documented (for example, desktop procedures).

♦ Use systematic approaches such as chartered communities of practice and formal mentoring in cases in which knowledge is more tacit and difficult to document.

♦ Newer and/or rapidly evolving fields of knowledge are better suited to organic knowledge transfer approaches.

It’s critical to provide the right resources for effective knowledge transfer. This not only includes the time and space to learn but also change management elements such as rewards and recognition to motivate both sources and recipients.