When employees leave the company, majority of the know-how leave together with them. Even with proper handovers, the reliever is unable to produce the same work quality. This is because our work quality comes from individual life experiences.

If the company does not have proper knowledge management system nor knowledge governance, these knowledge will not be transferred or taught to the existing employees. This article will explain the types of knowledge and tips to setting up your own knowledge management system.

Here are 3 types of knowledge you should manage in the company.

Tacit knowledge is the “know-how” held by individuals – the knowledge that is not documented, or difficult to document. Tacit knowledge could be acquired from life experiences. Majority of tacit knowledge are based on individual skill sets, personal judgement and feelings developed from experiences.

Examples of tacit knowledge includes designing, exceptional skill sets, reactions to situations, problem solving techniques, facial recognition, and native languages.

Explicit knowledge is the documented knowledge of the know-how. It is codified and articulated form of tacit knowledge. The knowledge is transferable and stored.

Examples of explicit knowledge are the company’s white papers, data sheets, and research materials.

Implicit knowledge is the knowledge that could be articulated but hasn’t. The result of implicit knowledge will lead to discussion on processes, solutions, and developing best practices. These best practices documented (explicit knowledge) is shared across the organization.

There are various ways to implement a knowledge management system. You could subscribe to an online software platform such as https://bloomfire.com.

Document library in the company’s SharePoint site can be used to design a knowledge management system.

If you have a larger budget, you could develop a cloud based application by outsourcing the customized solution to an IT company.

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