A critical element of a succession process is capturing and sharing institutional knowledge. Developing mechanisms to do that is especially urgent today, as vital information walks out the door when employees leave the organization. Without a way to transfer this knowledge in a timely manner, those who step into their jobs often find themselves reinventing the proverbial wheel.
A knowledge brief is a concise (2-3 page) document that describes an individual’s personal experience with his/her job and offers suggestions about how to prepare for success. It is one of a myriad of ways to capture and transfer knowledge. Depending on how you gather the information, this mechanism can have numerous positive side effects as well, such as identifying “knowledge enablers” that accelerate successful learning, enhancing your career planning process, providing realistic job previews for recruiters and internal candidates, and educating your employees about jobs throughout the organization.
Several years ago I developed a knowledge transfer process for a client as part of its succession process. The knowledge briefs have three sections: information about the job (e.g., key learning points, purpose, impact on the mission), the incumbent’s experience in the job (e.g., most valued aspect, biggest surprise, hardest thing to learn, best advice to successor), and how to prepare for success in the job.
Although I conducted the interviews and wrote the reports, you can increase the value of the knowledge brief process tremendously by training employees, retirees, and/or interns to perform the interviews and write the documents. Interviewers have an opportunity to connect personally with individuals throughout the organization, become educated about what it does, and develop valuable communication, interviewing, and writing skills. The process also benefits the interviewees, who are required to think about what makes their jobs meaningful to them, what people and things have enabled their success, and how they can ensure a smooth transition when they move on. The personal insights provided by the briefs help employees understand how various jobs contribute to the organization’s success.
Here’s how you can establish an effective knowledge brief process:
In today’s dynamic, learning-driven environment, your organization’s success depends in part on the extent to which you have an effective knowledge transfer process in place. Knowledge briefs can contribute to that end by educating your employees as well as fueling interest in key jobs throughout your organization.
If you would like to see a sample knowledge brief, please contact me.
