Knowledge-sharing among colleagues: how to get started in 5 easy steps
With YouTube and the popularity of tutorials, teaching yourself new skills and sharing ideas has never been easier. What if companies drew inspiration from these collective learning models?
The way we learn and share in our personal lives has changed. Why would it be any different at the workplace?
Is your company hiring? Workplace rules and procedures can be shared by and for employees. By creating video tutorials, an employee can easily share best practices and tips with colleagues. It’s a guaranteed time-saver!
With peer-to-peer sharing, informal expertise can be captured and made accessible to everyone. If an employee changes positions or retires, you can preserve and capitalize on their knowledge before they leave.
Finally, collaborative knowledge transfer engages senior employees who become crucial actors in company knowledge sharing.
How to get started with knowledge sharing
1- Get management on board
For your management to be fully supportive of your initiative, be convincing and persuasive: explain and demonstrate all the benefits for your colleagues and for the company!
2- Create a steering committee
Identify the people in charge of leading the project in their field, like communication, or building a team of experts to involve.
3- Define an action plan
Train your employees on peer-to-peer content creation and the tools they’ll be using. Define the program implementation phases in line with your company’s overall strategy.
4- Identify expert employees to act as “ambassadors”
They’ll be the first to create content and will become your best internal trainers!
5- Build a learning community
Encourage and value your employees’ involvement. By fostering positive communication, you will help boost engagement and create a sense of community.
One last tip to successfully make your move to peer-to-peer learning: make your expert trainers feel at ease by choosing tools and platforms that are simple and intuitive! Your employees will feel more confident and will take the plunge more easily.