In my experience, I have repeatedly come across managers in various organizations that rely on the knowledge of a few. In fact they refer to these individuals as the "go to" people and as "experts" on a particular subject matter or process. The entire organization depends on these people to get certain issues resolved.
The problem with creating these people in the first place is the dependence that starts to develop. The knowledge that they possess is so valuable that when they leave/quit, are on vacation/sick or change positions/roles in the organization, all the knowledge goes with them. These employees are commonly termed "Trusted Employees".
Creating "Experts" is a short-term and immature tactic/strategy in knowledge management; sometimes necessary due to pressures of the job and timing, but definitely not good for the long-run.
So, what can be done? A number of key steps can be taken to deal with this problem:
- Start by establishing a knowledge management program in your organization.
- Some simpler tactics include:
- Put knowledge sharing in the person's Position Description and ensure they take time to teach others.
- Incorporate shadowing and cross-training so others learn from the "experts".
- Establish shared repositories that have key pieces of documentation available for everyone to use when needed. Ensure that documentation is part of the job duties of the "expert".
By doing some of these simple and more long-term things, you
institutionalize the knowledge in the organization and the
dependence is more on the processes rather than on the people.
