3 ways to capture the tacit knowledge inside your employee’s head

Von — On 20. Dezember 2022

When I first joined the SaaS world, I met with some of my teammates across the go-to-market (GTM) organization to learn more about the ins and outs of their roles and our company. Some of them had been with the organization for years while others had joined just a few months before me. Regardless of their tenure, they all possessed a wealth of knowledge that they were happy to share. And, had I not taken the time to have these one-to-one conversations, I might not have learned so many helpful bits of information. 

When we hear the word ‘knowledge,’ in the business world, we often think of structured information that’s featured in company manuals, sales playbooks, and guides. But, just as my own personal experience has shown, there’s much more to it.

What is tacit knowledge?

Tacit knowledge refers to any information and skills that are gained through personal and professional experiences. Tacit knowledge is different from explicit knowledge which is often shared through instructional manuals, guides, and how-to docs. As a result, it’s more difficult to explain to someone who hasn’t learned it themselves through similar experiences. However, both types of organizational knowledge are important for business growth and success. 

An example of tacit knowledge is when a sales leader asks sellers to share their top three sales strategies. Each seller can easily share the tactics that they consider to be second nature. However, these strategies were shaped and influenced by their own first-hand experiences over the course of their careers. These strategies may also be useful to share with other sellers across the team in order to improve productivity and performance. In fact, studies show that the average new hire spends nearly 200 hours working inefficiently because they have to learn information for themselves. But, by learning directly from colleagues’ experiences, they’ll get up to speed faster.  

So, if organizations want to drive continued growth and innovation, they need to harness and share tacit knowledge across their teams. Thankfully, we have three ways that every organization can capture tacit knowledge before it’s too late. Let’s learn more.