What does it take to build a knowledge transfer strategy for your business?
Knowledge transfer is a broad topic.
Ultimately, knowledge transfer means your experts are sharing their knowledge with other employees. Or you can think of it as your employees proficiently learn information and can apply that information to their jobs.
The method of how you transfer that knowledge is what makes knowledge transfer a broad topic. When someone says knowledge transfer, they could mean training, digital guides, chat message platforms, or another system.
With ScreenSteps — a knowledge ops solution — we’ve studied knowledge transfer in great depth and built software that helps companies transfer knowledge more efficiently.
What we’ve discovered is that you can use a variety of tools to help with knowledge transfer, but there are only three tools (or three categories of tools) that are absolutely essential to your knowledge transfer strategy.
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Before you consider which knowledge transfer strategy software you want to buy, you first want to categorize your knowledge into foundational knowledge and actionable knowledge. This will help you understand which tools will have the biggest impact on your business.
The most obvious way to transfer knowledge from your experts to your employees is through training. Training could involve lectures, videos, or on-demand courses.
Here are three training software options that could help you with your training curriculum.
A learning management system (LMS) is a training platform that provides e-learning, self-led courses, interactive activities, quizzes, and more.
Your LMS hosts a library of training videos. Depending on the LMS you get, your LMS may have off-the-shelf courses and/or options to create and upload custom courses.
If your training curriculum calls for in-person or virtual training, it can be helpful to use slide decks. This provides a visual learning tool and helps learners follow the discussion.
The most common slide deck software includes Microsoft’s PowerPoint and Google Slides.
If you decide to create videos or on-demand courses, you may need video recording and editing software.
Another way to transfer knowledge is through digital guides. These are your employee support materials.
For digital guides to be effective, you need them to be centralized and accessible. That way it is easy for employees to access them when they need them. Also, the guides need to be written in a way that is easy to follow.
There are many knowledge management software options. Some options include
A knowledge base is a single source of truth. It is a centralized hub where you can create, collect, store, and share resources.
A knowledge ops platform is multifaceted when it comes to knowledge transfer. It both helps with knowledge management as well as employee training.
Knowledge ops software has all the same features as a knowledge base plus a few additional tools.
Learn more about how a knowledge base and knowledge ops platform compares here.
Even with properly documented policies and procedures, sometimes your employees will have additional questions. They need a way to ask supervisors questions outside of email. That’s where a company chat message system comes in.
An internal chat channel provides a place where employees can message each other or supervisors simple questions while they are in their workflow.
Common chat channels include Slack, Microsoft Teams, or Google Chat.
NOTE: These tools alone don’t complete a knowledge transfer strategy. You also need the right frameworks so you can build a culture around knowledge management.
Ultimately, what you really need is a way to transfer information to teach employees what they need to know and what they need to do.
When you identify your foundational and actionable knowledge, you are able to identify which knowledge transfer tools are best to help you achieve your knowledge transfer plan.
Our ScreenSteps knowledge ops platform helps businesses transfer both foundational and actionable knowledge. ScreenSteps have all the features of a knowledge base to help you create, organize, and share you company’s resources.
Additionally, ScreenSteps has a courses feature to help train your employees on the necessary background knowledge so that they can follow the digital guides you create.
Ready to find the right knowledge transfer software for your company?
Check out this list of some of the best tools for transferring foundational and actionable knowledge with this list.