In a nutshell, knowledge sharing is the exchanging of information, skills, expertise, and insights between individuals or groups in an organisation or community.
The goal is to enhance collective knowledge and foster collaboration, meaning that knowledge sharing plays a crucial role in facilitating learning, problem-solving, and innovation.
Knowledge sharing is essential for the growth and development of individuals, teams, and organisations.
By sharing knowledge, we learn from each other's experiences, gain new perspectives, and acquire valuable insights.
It stops us duplicating efforts and doing things proven to have been ineffective in the past, and promotes efficiency by tapping into what has worked before.
Finally, it allows us to capture knowledge from our best people, ensuring that it’s not lost when they leave the organisation, while empowering others to build new skills from their experiences.
1. Enhanced Problem Solving
Knowledge sharing encourages the exchange of diverse ideas and perspectives, enabling us to approach problems with creativity and a crowdsourced bank of ideas that can lead to new solutions and improved performance.
2. Improved decision making and innovation
As mentioned, leveraging the experiences and wisdom of those in our organisation or community helps us make more informed decisions based on past successes and failures.
3. Employee development
If we’re continuously sharing knowledge, we’re building a culture where we’re always learning, which allows individuals to acquire new skills, expand their knowledge, and stay up-to-date with industry trends. In a fast-changing and complex world, this is vital to ongoing growth and success.
4. Collaboration and teamwork
Collaboration and teamwork are the pillars of a great culture where people are learning from each other, knowledge sharing drives both!. It breaks down silos and promotes a culture of trust, where individuals are willing to share their expertise and learn from others.
Share it or lose it! Knowledge sharing ensures you capture the gold that lives in your people’s heads and allows us to benefit from it, protecting you from losing it if they leave the business.
Knowledge sharing is also a platform for learning from past successes, collaborating with others and fostering a learning culture, which all have a positive influence on business and people performance.
Want to learn more about knowledge sharing and why it matters? Here are 7 reasons and tips you can apply today.