Using the Right Knowledge Management Tools

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Like any corporate asset, knowledge management tools have to be handled correctly in order for them to provide quality results. If used properly, they can reduce employee training costs, optimize personnel development and help trainees learn what they need to learn.

Given their benefits, these types of tools are tremendously helpful to any company or organization that’s attempting to reach its employee development goals. So if you’re planning to introduce knowledge management tools to your own organization’s employee training program then here’s what you need to do.

Choose the Right Kind of Knowledge Management Tools

Before getting started, it’s important that you choose the right tools for the job. A few good examples include case studies, rapid evidence reviews and web databases. Take note, however, that different tools have different features. Some of them will be useful for your employee training programs, while others will not be so useful.

Different training strategies require different knowledge management tools, so it’s important to start from here. For example, if your company relies on distance education then it’s best to focus most of your resources on web databases, as these tools can help to facilitate participation in the training. On the other hand, if your company focuses on research data or knowledge intensive training then an integrate network for case studies will be more useful to your needs.

What Do You Want Your Tools to Do?

Most knowledge management tools can be used to do the following things:

– Create or approve records – Publish or release records – Reviewing records – Updating records – Tracking and assessing records – Problem management – Configuration management – Request Fulfillment – Testing and Verification – Service Introduction It’s important to remember that each of these different features are designed for different types of staff. For example, configuration management is usually only useful for senior technical personnel, whereas service introductions as well as tests and verifications are disproportionately used by junior and non-technical staff. So in order to effectively use your organization’s knowledge management assets, it’s important to consider which of their features are most important to your trainees and personnel development managers in order to reap the benefits of employee training.

Consider the Security Issue

Finally, it’s important to consider the security issue. Most knowledge management devices and tools offer role based security access, which in turn allows control of access based on login information. So even though knowledge management is meant to open systems to facilitate personnel development as well as real time integration, they also need a certain level of security in order to be functional.

This is why your organization should consider how much access such tools should offer to its personnel. This way your organization will be able to maintain good security without comprising the features of your knowledge management assets.

Conclusion

Like many assets, the proper use of knowledge management devices and tools must be regulated in order to provide personnel with an optimum level of assistance. This can be done through the implementation of good policies as well as the integration of knowledge management databases.

Despite their complexity, knowledge management tools are ultimately just tools. How they are used ultimately determines their usefulness and output to any organization.
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Jason is the Lead Author & Editor of TrainingStation Blog. Jason established the Training Station blog to create a source for news and discussion about some of the issues, challenges, news, and ideas relating to training, learning and development.