How to retain, develop, retrieve, and share institutional knowledge effectively
The institutional knowledge your business has built over time is what sets it apart. It’s your DNA, and it gives you an edge over your competitors. Preserving that knowledge is not only important, it’s an essential component of your business’ long-term strategy plan.
How can you document your work culture? How can you capture the know-how of long-serving staff who have gained their experience through years of constant practice. Codifying knowledge isn’t always as simple as writing down technical procedures. The simplest of tasks can be described differently by each employee performing it.
There are several types of knowledge. Each one should be preserved and shared using the most efficient tools, systems, templates, and methods. To safeguard their unique edge, business leaders must look beyond Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and documentation repositories.
What causes knowledge loss in enterprise businesses
The most obvious cause of knowledge loss is staff turnover. However, key employees do not need to leave for the flow of knowledge to be disrupted. Common occurrences, such as flexible working environments can reduce the frequency of in-person interactions, limiting the amount of information passed from one team member to another. Mergers, acquisitions, and restructures can lead to essential practices being overlooked. Conflicting or duplicated content, and—most critically—fear of job loss, which may prompt team members to withhold their expertise and create barriers to knowledge sharing.
Even in organisations that prioritise documentation and the preservation of information, knowledge can deteriorate through lack of maintenance or simply become outdated.
The key is to adopt a tailored, multi-pronged approach to enterprise knowledge management, ensuring that mechanisms are in place to retain, develop, retrieve, and share every single type of organisational knowledge.
The types of institutional knowledge available
1. Explicit knowledge
Explicit knowledge refers to information that is easily articulated, codified, and shared. It is typically already documented and accessible. Explicit knowledge includes resources such as manuals, white papers, reports, training materials, and SOPs.
How to retain explicit knowledge
To ensure the right information reaches the right people, organisations should leverage centralised platforms, unified repositories, business process playbooks, thorough documentation, and solid access controls.
2. Tacit knowledge
The skills, experience, and understanding that individuals within an organisation possess are referred to as tacit knowledge. While widely recognised, this type of knowledge is often difficult to articulate or document, as it is acquired through years of practical experience. It may present itself in the form of troubleshooting expertise, negotiation skills, or the ability to make sound decisions under pressure.
How to retain tacit knowledge
Implement initiatives such as peer shadowing, storytelling sessions, internal mentoring, and the cultivation of communities of practice. It’s important to embed knowledge sharing into your teams’ daily or weekly routines to facilitate the transfer of tacit knowledge in a natural, organic way.
3. Procedural knowledge
Like tacit knowledge, this type of information involves knowing how to perform specific tasks gained through hands-on experience. It develops over time through intentional practice and repetition, gradually building practical expertise. This often shows up in areas such as production operations, customer service, and effective use of software tools.
How to retain procedural knowledge
Introduce mentorship programmes, create clear documentation (including step-by-step guides and video tutorials), and provide regular hands-on training.
4. Cultural knowledge
This encompasses the values, behaviours, and shared beliefs that influence how individuals interact, behave, and make decisions within a business. It is reflected in leadership style, communication styles, and collective attitudes towards risk, innovation, and change.
How to retain cultural knowledge
Create and promote culture handbooks, encourage leaders to model desired values, and establish employee recognition programmes to reward the behaviours you wish to encourage.
5. Customer knowledge
All organisations gather insights on their customer groups through direct interactions with customers, including their motivations, pain points, behaviours, and feedback. When documented, this type of information typically appears in support tickets, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) notes, survey results, call transcripts, and online user reviews.
How to retain customer knowledge
Centralise data within your CRM system and share it during regular team debriefs. Write down and share key use cases, and set up cross-team feedback mechanisms.
6. Strategic knowledge
High-level strategic knowledge forms the foundation of an organisation’s goals, competitive positioning, and company vision. Often detailed in business cases, long-term plans, and market insights, it is the “why” behind every key decision. Your organisation’s sustained success relies on its preservation.
How to retain strategic knowledge
Maintain up-to-date strategy documentation, conduct regular leadership briefings, archive decision logs, and hold executive debriefs to share insights.
7. Technological knowledge
What about the tools, systems, and platforms your business depends on? Teams require up-to-date system configurations, coding standards, and platform-specific workflows at all times to be able to operate effectively.
How to retain technological knowledge
Ensure technical documentation is accurate, free of jargon, and easy to understand. Finally, train backup personnel, develop internal admin directories, and implement digital adoption tools.
Unlocking the long-term value of your institutional knowledge
By actively preserving institutional knowledge, businesses can unlock its full value, foster collaboration, and futureproof operations, regardless of workforce changes.
However, not all knowledge can be captured the same way. Preserving your organisational DNA requires both flexibility and a clear strategic focus. This means dedicating resources to this task and empowering subject matter experts by making documentation a core part of their role.
AI can be a powerful ally in accelerating your progress by surfacing actionable insights. But technology alone isn’t enough. AI agents need context to be truly effective. As you work toward your enterprise knowledge management goals, take the opportunity to optimise your content for AI by enriching your templates and documents with a semantic data layer. This added structure will enhance discoverability and ensure your team can access the right information at the right time, empowering fast decisions and ensuring sustained success.
