Knowledge management and business growth

If only a few people in your business hold important knowledge or skills, there is a danger that these will be lost if they leave or retire. Even short absences, such as illness or bereavement, can cause problems if knowledge is not shared.

Build a knowledge-sharing culture

You should try to build a culture in which knowledge is valued and shared across your business. Consider the best ways of sharing new ideas and information with your staff. For example, conduct regular meetings to brief employees and share ideas and best practices. You can also run workshops or brainstorming sessions to encourage new ideas and improvements.

Create a central knowledge bank with useful guidance on key tasks. An intranet works well, as it allows staff to share updates and suggestions. You could also decide to appoint a senior manager as a knowledge champion to oversee how knowledge is shared and used.

Protect and exploit your knowledge

As part of your knowledge management, you should also make sure that you protect any intellectual property that your business owns.

Registering your intellectual property rights may help stop competitors from copying your intellectual assets. It may also allow you to profit, for example by licensing your business' knowledge.

Use IT to manage knowledge efficiently

You can protect and use your knowledge more effectively by setting up simple systems to store and access information. Your files, whether digital or paper, contain useful knowledge that can help improve your business. You can also use different technologies to manage and organise this knowledge. Find tips to help you choose the right IT system for your business.

Keep knowledge confidential

Your employment policies help keep business knowledge confidential. For example, you can ask staff to sign non-disclosure agreements when they join the business. This helps them understand the importance of confidentiality from the start.

You can also set up employment policies for your business, such as employment contracts, to reasonably limit your employees' freedom to leave and:

• work immediately for one of your rivals (restraint of trade clauses)
• set up a competing business to yours in the vicinity (restrictive covenants)

Incentives and training

Staff incentive schemes can encourage staff to share ideas and improve the business. Training also helps spread knowledge, skills and best practice across your organisation.