How to develop a knowledge share: eLearning as a means for driving intellectual capital

As the import­ance of intel­lec­tual cap­ital con­tin­ues to grow, so too will the need for know­ledge man­age­ment. With the bru­tal sense of com­pet­i­tion cur­rently spread­ing through the busi­ness land­scape, easy access to job-relevant know­ledge has become a means for increas­ing chances of sur­vival. The right inform­a­tion stored in the right place could enable a mem­ber of your sales team to deliver a per­fect sales present­a­tion. It could also enable your work­force to adapt seam­lessly around new tech­no­logy. eLearn­ing does more than simply dis­pense train­ing — it affords knowledge-hungry work­forces access to import­ant inform­a­tion and a vari­ety of ref­er­ence mater­i­als. It is also an oppor­tun­ity for a work­force to share their expert­ise and nur­ture com­munit­ies of knowledge.

The bene­fits of know­ledge shar­ing are numerous:

• Encour­aging innov­a­tion by pro­mot­ing the artic­u­la­tion of ideas.
• The com­mu­nic­a­tion of com­pany val­ues and a vis­ion for the future.
• Fos­ter­ing a bet­ter under­stand­ing of mar­ket pos­i­tion­ing and the customer base.
• Improv­ing cus­tomer service.
• Stream­lin­ing oper­a­tions, expand­ing skill­sets and enhan­cing revenues.
• Afford­ing recog­ni­tion and value to employee knowledge.

The need for a con­nec­ted, sys­tem­atic approach to organ­isa­tional know­ledge should be a major area of con­cern for any for­ward think­ing busi­ness. eLearn­ing and know­ledge man­age­ment are fast friends. Both attempt to improve indi­vidual, team and organ­isa­tional per­form­ance by dis­sem­in­at­ing know­ledge. Tak­ing advant­age of the poten­tial for an LMS (Learn­ing Man­age­ment Sys­tem) to act as a know­ledge share is a great oppor­tun­ity to boost the return on invest­ment (ROI) of your train­ing campaign.

A study involving 182 sales teams seek­ing to attract new cli­ent con­tracts within a man­age­ment con­sult­ing com­pany, found that the teams that util­ised advice and expert­ise from their work­mates pro­duced higher qual­ity work and final­ised more con­tracts than those that did not (Mar­tine Haas, M. T. Hansen, 2007).

Cre­at­ing a cul­ture where know­ledge shar­ing is the norm is not easy. Know­ledge is often stored at an indi­vidual level as employ­ees try to engin­eer per­sonal advant­age. A bright sales­per­son may not wish to share his win­ning tech­niques for fear that they will drop down the rank­ings and no longer be con­sidered top dog. Unless a col­lab­or­at­ive cul­ture is encour­aged, an effect­ive know­ledge share may well be an unachievable goal.

But what bet­ter place to encour­age know­ledge trans­feral than through a Learn­ing Man­age­ment Sys­tem? It is a great place for work­mates to talk about their exper­i­ences, log effect­ive prac­tices and offer tips to their col­leagues. The social learn­ing poten­tial of eLearn­ing offers per­sonal recog­ni­tion to those who are good at their jobs and will­ing to offer their expert­ise. An LMS grants your work­force a voice and a chance for self-expression. What’s more, adopt­ing a sys­tem that rewards users for shar­ing can provide ample motiv­a­tion for indi­vidu­als to dis­sem­in­ate their knowledge.

Whilst it is pos­sible to share exper­i­ences in the classroom, eLearn­ing offers a know­ledge share on a much grander scale. It is a fant­astic oppor­tun­ity to grow your ROI over time and build upon what is already a cost-effective and effi­cient train­ing campaign.

Click HERE for our mam­moth ‘Busi­ness Case for eLearn­ing’ report

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