Introduction
We are seeing that many companies are scaling with sky-rocketing growth these days. At the same time, the way they work is changing almost every year. A lot of retirement programs are being held to celebrate the journeys of their members. A lot of employees or leaders in these organizations have walked out after retiring. Now, when they walk out, you will see they carry away the experience gained over the years. Yes, I agree! Many freshly graduated people joining the workforce are a bunch of knowledgeable people filled with theoretical knowledge, and someone who learned textbook information is really good for working in a specialized industry like manufacturing. But the people who are now walking out are really superheroes in disguise. Let me tell you why. Mostly due to their diligence in working on some really technically advanced processes where they have learned a lot of quick fixes throughout the years, helping them quickly finish the job within minutes instead of hours. These learnings do not come from books or guidelines to follow; instead, they have been derived more from instincts and observations. In this current market where there is a huge cutthroat competition going on, the primary question that I would like to ask you is: how do you ensure that this special observational knowledge gained from the experience can be preserved?
Understanding Tacit Knowledge
Let me tell you more about this hidden wisdom. Did you realize in the previous paragraph that it is a special kind of knowledge? It is something that can only be developed through instincts that you gain from the observation of working for so many years in a particular domain or field of any industry. Such a kind of wisdom is called tacit knowledge. Just forget all the process guides or all the written documentation. They have sensed something that's like the feeling of picking up a skill while working for many years in a manufacturing setting or any other industry, just by observing them in depth. For example, you must have seen a mechanic just by listening to the sound of your car to understand if there is some issue with the carburetor. Literally, no book will really state this. It's only through experience working with machines that you ingest the noise produced by a car, thus revealing the status of whether any correction is required or not. This is what is called tacit knowledge.
Predicting and Preventing Issues with Expert Insight
So here's the thing: someone with no expertise in machines cannot really understand the hidden cues or a symptom that a machine gives before it's about to break down completely. No right? You cannot tell about an impending threat without years of experience. You can read a lot of books. You can even get to the exact point of understanding the underlying problem. But understanding these hidden cues requires a lot of years of experience that only comes from investing thousands of hours practicing them hands-on. You must have heard this term called 'just-in-time' system, which is much used in the manufacturing industry, and it may sound like a kind of fancy term. But if you really understand this, you will realize that the real secret tool that any employee or leader has is hidden in their heads. This is the whole slot of Tacit knowledge. A mechanic working at a car manufacturing company has gained a lot of six senses after working with these machines for barely 2–3 decades. The interesting part is: He can just pick up a lot of hidden cues, if there is any issue, through his ears. Cues like knowing a change in the way a machine makes sound or a change in vibration. He can spot if there is any kind of machinery breakdown that is about to happen. Such wisdom is not something that is documented or set as a general guideline for every member of an organization. But such wisdom is helpful in quickly fixing those issues well in advance and supercharging those manufacturing systems without any problems. Did you realize how good it would have been if such a wisdom treasure could be bottled up or documented? Wouldn't such practice help non-experienced individuals solve machinery glitches quickly and easily?
Preserving Expertise Through a Knowledge Base System
I would like you to imagine a scenario where an organization is about to face a wave in the form of retirement. Or switching roles. In such situations, an organization has to think quickly. What could help them think quickly? knowledge base system. Yes! You read that right. It is really a kind of weapon that can help you store all the hidden wisdom or knowledge that is gathered through observation. It is not a textbook theory. It is attained by investing so many decades and practically working in those organizational environments. These are some of the ways in which a knowledge base system can help you preserve information without slipping out of the organization through retirement or switching roles.
Preserving Hacks Beyond Retirement or Role Changes
One thing! You must have realized by now that by losing such an experienced workforce, you are missing out on a lot of hidden wisdom. Is there any way you leverage this wisdom that literally seems to be dumped in drains? Let me take you through the recent incident in the business of Company A and how they have implemented an interview for a retiree or ex-employees with rich experience in the power distribution segment from many decades. Through the use of a knowledge base system, Company A was successful in conducting an exit interview that was aimed at probing with a lot of questions and helped in extracting much of the hidden tacit knowledge in the form of observations. It was noticed that explanations in such interviews were in deep touch with grass-roots technical realities. Examples where he easily detailed how you will fix power lines during specific climatic conditions and possible hidden cues to identify before lines go bursting into flames. These interviews were not just questions and answers; instead, they were more of a mission intended on extracting as much wisdom as possible from such seasoned individuals. The next thing you have to do is be way too careful while documenting these conversations in a knowledge base. If done right, then, just as Company A was able to create a kind of goldmine of tacit wisdom that those about to join this company in the future can really benefit from,.
Moving Beyond Text-Based Instruction for Effective Learning
In some scenarios, just presenting text to the customer is not enough. You have to show some sort of video or other interactive visual elements. That gives the customer a holistic understanding. This is what I noticed in the case of a manufacturing giant who placed training videos and infographics into the knowledge base so as to supercharge it. At the same time, while new employees were joining the organization, they were having difficulty understanding these complex assembly processes. By complementing the use of just text-based instruction, these new joiners could now visually experience each and every process of information, thus increasing their understanding. Result: a high boost in confidence for the learners. New joiners were leaping into the working area with in-depth knowledge gained from closely watching these tutorial videos. Seasoned employees were able to demonstrate exact steps on how to align components in such a manner that work gets done properly. This transformation from text-based to visual learning shows not just how a process in an assembly line works but also the best experiential way to execute that certain task by acknowledging those subtle cues, which take years to experience firsthand. By placing such visual elements into the knowledge base, this manufacturing giant built a culture of knowledge sharing with a very rich learning experience that made sure that quality was maintained and improved. When such quality gets displayed in the working of new joiners in the short run, then what I would like to tell you here is that this knowledge base system turned out to be a very big help to these manufacturing giants in terms of assistance, like a virtual training program for nurturing young professionals in a direction that helps them attain productivity in a short duration without even having to step into the production area. Such inclusion of rich media into the knowledge base system actually turned out to be a really wonderful way of making sure that this giant was able to make sure that the knowledge that they transferred from their experienced ones to the new hires was as efficient as possible.
Key Takeaways
So these are my ending thoughts here: you should not let such a knowledgeable workforce walk out of the door without capturing their tacit knowledge. As much as possible, capture such undocumented wisdom using some really wonderful knowledge-base system like Docsie. I have seen companies where Docsie was implemented, and there is almost a 50% reduction in the time taken for troubleshooting machinery glitches. Today, if you want to try, just start with something small and build on it, then eventually create a gold mine of such hidden wisdom in the form of tacit knowledge. By doing so, you will see that your employees are not just empowered with knowledge but also up-scaling in their expertise, which will immensely help you and your company gain a huge margin advantage in this cutthroat world.