Employee knowledge is often an undervalued asset in companies and also the area where there is the most discord in reporting. Employees are the most valuable asset companies possess and the one we expect the most from, but often the one that receives the short end of the stick when it comes to values applied to them.
So how do you get the most from your employees? Many companies offer varying ways of getting the most from their employees, some examples could be share schemes, extra holiday days or free products from the business.
Why is employee knowledge needed.
You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand that you will get the best from happy employees and their knowledge can be invaluable for the operation of your business. Of course employee knowledge can also be a problem. If your employees are the only people / persons who know how your business operates this can leave you vulnerable to excessive demands.
The best solution for both you and your employee is to maintain a healthy balance of employee knowledge with business independence. It is important for employees to know their value to the business, but equally important for them to understand no one person is the business.
Employee knowledge does not happen overnight and this therefore stresses the importance of managing and measuring staff turnover within any business. When buying a business it is important to understand the levels of employee knowledge within the business so you can mitigate your risks when first taking control of that business. The business value can be affected by the level of employee knowledge within that business. If all of the employees are “green” within that business then there is a risk of the business being susceptible to a drop in performance due to inexperience.
Of course if the employees have remained in the business for a long period of time this can also be an issue in relation to your employees becoming stale and or tired. Boredom can set in in with your employees and the business could be in danger of them leaving meaning a perfectly good business can be in danger of failing if the employees leave.
Is there a good balance of employee knowledge.
Of course this would be the ideal for any business but it is very difficult to measure or quantify. Staff turnover varies by industry and in some industries they work their employees so hard that a high staff turnover is expected. Whatever the length of service of your staff it is always useful to embrace the knowledge your employees have of the business. They can be an invaluable asset to any business. You can always ensure your more experienced employees share their knowledge throughout the workforce. This can lead to more engaged employees for both those sharing the knowledge and those receiving the knowledge.
One thing you might consider is mentoring. Have your more experienced employees mentor your new starters or less experienced employees. Have them dedicate a set amount of time each week to ensure your employee knowledge is shared throughout the business and the knowledge is put to good use. If you are showing your employees that you value their knowledge and don’t see it as a threat they will for sure be more engaged. This in turn will spread throughout your workforce and can become a culture of the business.
One other benefit of this kind of mentoring is that it will allow your less experienced employees to bring new ideas to the business. By having knowledge pass both ways you enter a win win situation. New ideas working alongside tried and tested ways are a great way to ensure the future success of your business.
