Knowledge Management: L&D's Hidden Asset

I loved the headline………..Knowledge Management: L&D’s hidden asset. I loved it so much I decided to read the article.

The article appeared at www.trainingzone.co.uk and was written by Mary Clarke and the three bullet points at the top of the page really got my attention. No wonder over 1300 people had read it so far. The three points that were highlighted were;
• Knowledge management is an integral part of an effective L&D in an organisation
• Awareness of the skills gap and knowledge deficit can help both professional development of employees and the organisation as a whole
• Poor or non existant knowledge management can have a detrimental effect on the morale of the workforce as well as an organisation’s bottom line

I agree.

Knowledge management and L&D are bed fellows, they are closely intertwined, or they should be. They reinforce each other and they complement each other. They are not, in my opinion, competitors or if they are, someone in your organisation should be asking very serious questions. Resources within a business are a scarce commodity, when was the last time you heard of anyone who didn’t want more resources or a higher budget! So use them wisely and effectively.

By conducting a skills assessment or knowledge assessment an organisation can identify the current position but perhaps of more value is the understanding it will provide of the skills and knowledge the organisation will need in the future. For many organisations the key knowledge in 2009 has been how to survive until the end of the global recession. This is the business equivalent of having a hole in the hull of the ship and needing to survive until you reach the safety of the port. But once in port you need new knowledge, perhaps how to repair the hole or find someone who can. It’s the same in business, as we move out of recessions companies will need new knowledge, knowledge of how to grow a business and move into new markets.

I blogged earlier about how the MAKE Awards clearly illustrated the link between successful businesses and the use of knowledge management. Clearly they have understood the last bullet point.

Knoco Ltd