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knowledge harvesting and success factors


The biggest loss in any organization in the 4th industrial revolution is the loss of information, whether it was stored in an information management system (explicit) or only a few people in the organization possess certain knowledge (tacit) which might determine the success or failure of an organization. Thus, knowledge harvesting for an organization is important to minimize the risks of knowledge loss. Knowledge harvesting is an approach that involves the understanding and capturing of important organizational information, gathering information from peoples’ insights and experiences.

 Information retention is an important process in sharing information from (sender) older or retiring employees, owners and key employees, and anyone who possesses organizational knowledge or artificial knowledge, to (recipients) new employees/ successors who will have to fill in their gaps during absenteeism or retirement. It involves that sender shares their experiences, expertise and insights with the recipient to retain information in the organization and reduces risks. As some knowledge can’t be codified or explained, this will require the sender to sometimes be more practical and more subjective to the sender to share embedded knowledge. Some organization best harvest and retain company intelligence via risk management/ risk evaluation during or before a turnover. This means organization document vital detailed documentation, examining the risk of loss and filling in the gaps.
The success factors of knowledge harvesting are the characteristics of the seeker, individual characteristics of the person seeking knowledge must show willingness to learn, commitment and ability to grasp the knowledge being passed on. The knowledge quality of contributors is important as for not every old and retiring individual possesses the vital knowledge with the ability to benefit the organization and possessor of the knowledge must be trustworthy and be able to pass on the knowledge. The knowledge possessed must be of great value to the business, as tacit knowledge from older and retiring is mostly seen more valuable compared to explicit knowledge in organizations. In order for knowledge harvesting to continue being effective, a knowledge management database/system has to be in place and it has to be constantly updated to stay in line with occurring trends, for competitive advantage and to reduce loss risk.

by: Leshole Makobe

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