Now that we’re a bit more familiar with the knowledge management cycle and some of its key factors I’d like to take a few minutes today to discuss the importance of conducting a knowledge audit. A knowledge audit is the process through which you take an inventory of the actual knowledge stored within your organisation and how it is used.
The knowledge audit is incredibly important for a number of reasons. It allows you to identify some of the strengths and weaknesses associated with your organisation’s overall level of progress and method of storage. The following are six signifcant outcomes an audit will provide:
First, you’ll be able to identify areas in which you either have too much or not enough information;
You’ll be able to identify how good your organisation is at keeping up with current events and then updating its resources with the most up to date knowledge;
Your audit will tell you how often your employees or team members are making use of information that is outdated;
An audit will usually help you to identify areas in which people are holding on to valuable information that should otherwise be archived and shared with the rest of the organisation;
Your audit process will help you to identify places where people are reinventing the wheel, or duplicating each other’s work, because they don’t all have access to the same knowledge; and
You will be able to identify resources you may not have known you had available to you, including old pros and those who are experts in certain areas.
The conduction of a knowledge audit is essential to the success of your business. It is imperative that you keep your resources as up to date as possible so that your potential customers see you as a valuable source of information – and want to do business with you instead of your competition!
