Where Does the Knowledge Reside In Your Utility?

摘要

Research shows that your organizational knowledge may not be where you think it is. Clearly, capturing the knowledge of retiring employees before they leave is critical. However, before you spend a lot of time and money on a knowledge-retention program, make sure you know where the knowledge in your organization really resides. Drop a rumor in any organization and watch it spread with lightning speed. Of course, there's no protocol for the communication path that a rumor will take through a traditional organization. The same principle holds true for knowledge sharing in an organization. As much as we'd like to think that knowledge transfer follows established hierarchical patterns and business-unit boundary rules, reality demonstrates that knowledge-sharing flows along the relationship paths of an organization's people. The bottom line? Your utility's organization chart does not necessarily equal your utility's communication network.