All About Explicit Knowledge: Meaning, Examples & How to do it

All About Explicit Knowledge: Meaning, Examples & How to do it

Throughout this article you will learn the potential of explicit knowledge! Let's explore this exciting world, share some powerful examples and uncover effective strategies! We will provide valuable insights and tips in order to help businesses leverage explicit knowledge for streamlined processes, better decision-making and more.

In this article you will find:

  • What is Explicit Knowledge?
  • Benefits of explicit knowledge
  • Examples 
  • How to create an explicit knowledge system in business
  • Best Tips to do it
  • Conclusion

Are you ready?

See: Enterprise Knowledge Management: Methods & Tools

What is Explicit Knowledge?

Refers to knowledge that can be easily documented and communicated in a systematic manner. It can be expressed with words, formulas, diagrams or numbers. Can be found in different sources such as documents, manuals, databases or knowledge repositories. Its easy to share explicit knowledge within organizations. Some examples can be: procedures, guidelines, how-to guides, policies, research findings, technical specifications and more.

On the other hand, tacit knowledge refers to knowledge that is hard to codify, communicate or transfer to others. It's deeply linked to personal experiences, skills, intuitions… Tacit knowledge resides within individuals minds and bodies. You can achieve this knowledge by practical experience, observation and trial and error. This type of knowledge is subconscious unlike explicit knowledge. Some examples of tacit knowledge include intuition, interpretational skills and craftsmanship.

Check out this post: Best 16 Knowledge Management Software 2023

Benefits of explicit knowledge

Efficient onboarding and training

The clear documentation allows companies to share easily and improve knowledge management, as it easily transfers knowledge to new employees. With explicit knowledge resources like manuals, guidelines and procedures easily accessible, the onboarding process becomes easier and more effective. Providing consistent training, boosting productivity and new employees will acquire the knowledge they need to use in order to do a task more easily.

Enhanced process consistency and quality

Enhances process consistency and quality by providing standardized procedures, and guidelines that ensures consistency across teams. Allows employees to perform established processes very efficiently. Explicit knowledge eases the process improvement, improving efficiency and delivering better quality products and services.

Effective knowledge sharing and collaboration

Explicit knowledge enhances effective knowledge sharing and collaboration by providing an easy access to the information. Employees can access easily, and integrate insights, best practices and expertise, and eventually, an environment of learning and collaboration is setting up.

Informed decision-making

Explicit knowledge enhances making informed decisions by providing clear documentation and information that can be analyzed easily. Reduces the mistakes, foster a collective learning and allows you to make decisions efficiently based on reliable data.

Clear communication and coordination

Explicit knowledge enhances clear communication and coordination because it provides easy access and understandable information, easing to delegate tasks and collaboration among team members, ensuring an efficient knowledge transfer.

Fostering innovation and creativity

Explicit knowledge improves innovation and creativity by providing a valuable resource for new ideas, easing collaboration and easing the process of implementing and sharing different perspectives, and keeping the valuable insights for future inspiration.

Continuous improvement and optimization

Explicit knowledge facilitates continuous improvement and optimization by providing easy access to historical data, lessons learned and best practices. Permits organizations to identify areas of improvement, promotes a culture of learning, and eventually, will lead to more efficiency and effectiveness.

Enhanced customer experience

Explicit knowledge improves the customer experience by providing precise and accurate information, allowing customized interactions and easing the process of problem resolution, leading to an increase in customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Knowledge preservation and succession planning

Explicit knowledge supports knowledge preservation and succession planning by capturing, storing and organizing information. This ensures smooth transitions, and a consistent and sustaining operational stability during employee turnover or any changing in roles.

Supporting scalability and expansion

Explicit knowledge improves scalability and expansion by enabling standardized processes, which allows to replicate successful practices and eases an efficient knowledge transfer. This ensures consistency in operations and optimized efficiency.

See: Process Documentation: Example & Free Automatic Template

Examples 

  1. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs): These are documented step-by-step guidelines that outline how specific tasks or processes should be performed within an organization. SOPs provide explicit knowledge on best practices, ensuring consistency and efficiency in operations. In order to make them in seconds and efficiently, use Uphint. Its a chrome extension that captures your whole process as you are doing it, and turns it into an easy-to-follow step-by-step guide.

Check out: SOP in Business: What is and Types

  1. Employee Handbooks: Employee handbooks contain explicit knowledge about company policies, rules, and regulations. They provide employees with information on various aspects such as dress code, work hours, leave policies, code of conduct, and disciplinary procedures.

  1. Training Manuals: These documents provide explicit knowledge to train employees on specific job roles, processes, or skills. They outline the necessary steps, procedures, and techniques required to perform tasks effectively, ensuring a smooth transition into a new role.

  1. Financial Reports: Financial reports, such as balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements, contain explicit knowledge about a company's financial performance. They provide detailed information on revenues, expenses, assets, and liabilities, enabling stakeholders to analyze and make informed decisions.

  1. Market Research Reports: These reports provide explicit knowledge about market trends, consumer behaviour, competitor analysis, and industry insights. They offer valuable information for strategic planning, product development, and identifying business opportunities.

  1. Intellectual Property (IP) Documentation: Patents, copyrights, and trademarks are examples of explicit knowledge that protect a company's inventions, creative works, and brand identity. IP documentation provides legal evidence and exclusive rights to the company's intangible assets.

  1. Project Documentation: Project documentation, such as project plans, timelines, and progress reports, contains explicit knowledge about project objectives, deliverables, milestones, and resource allocation. It ensures effective communication, collaboration, and tracking of project progress.

See: 15 Best Project Management Software 2023

  1. Quality Control Procedures: Quality control procedures provide explicit knowledge on standards, criteria, and processes for ensuring product or service quality. They include guidelines for inspections, testing, and corrective actions, enabling companies to maintain consistent quality levels.

  1. Sales Scripts and Presentations: Explicit knowledge in the form of sales scripts and presentations provides a structured approach for sales teams to communicate product features, benefits, and value propositions to potential customers. These resources help maintain consistency in sales messaging and enhance sales effectiveness.

  1. Compliance Documentation: Compliance documentation, such as regulatory guidelines, safety protocols, and ethical standards, provides explicit knowledge on legal and ethical obligations within the business environment. It ensures adherence to laws and regulations, mitigating risks and maintaining a positive reputation.

How to create an explicit knowledge system in business

1. Step-by-step guides to acquiring explicit knowledge

Use step-by-step guides to acquire explicit knowledge. This involves creating detailed-oriented and easy-to-understand instructions or manuals that outline precisely knowledge areas and provide clear guidance on how to acquire that knowledge and how to use it. Using step-by-step guides ensures consistency and accuracy, and can be used in training programs or to facilitate the knowledge transfer to new employees and their individual growth.

2. Identifying key knowledge areas relevant to the business

This involves ensuring that the explicit knowledge system focuses on capturing and documenting knowledge that impacts directly on operations, performance and competitive advantage.

3. Conducting research and leveraging external sources 

This step involves gathering information from different sources, such as industry publications, market research reports, and more, to reach powerful insights into industry trends, best practices and new emerging technologies. The information is analyzed, and is used to create a knowledge base that can be used by employees to resolve problems or make informed decisions.

4. Documenting and organizing explicit knowledge within the organization

This step involves systematically capturing and structuring codifiable information within the organization. This vital step can be achieved through repositories, databases, or knowledge management systems, allowing easy access to information for employees and improving communication within the organization.

5. Implementing knowledge management systems and practices

This step involves using technology tools and establishing processes for capturing, organizing and sharing explicit knowledge within an organization. This step also enhances collaboration, innovation and foster a learning environment by providing employees easy access and contributing to a centralized knowledge repository.

6. Facilitating knowledge sharing and collaboration among employees

This step encourages open communication and the exchange of expertise, insights and foster a culture of collaboration and collective learning.

7. Leveraging technology and digital tools for knowledge acquisition

This step involves using online resources, e´learning platforms and using collaboration tools to gather and distribute explicit knowledge efficiently and effectively within an organization. This enhances the scalability and efficiency of the explicit knowledge system contributing to improve performance.

8. Encouraging a culture of continuous learning and development

This step promotes to remain active learning by acquiring new knowledge and growing at the same time within the organization. These steps promote innovation, adaptability, and strengthen the explicit knowledge system in the business.

See: Best 25 Software Documentation Tools 2023

Best Tips to do it

Incorporating explicit knowledge in decision-making processes: Incorporating explicit knowledge in decision-making processes ensures informed decision-making based on documented procedures, clear guidelines, well-defined step-by-step guides. Become better at reducing risks and improving business deliverables

Communicating explicit knowledge to relevant stakeholders: Ensures accurate dissemination of valuable information, facilitates informed decision-making and enhances organizational performance.

Integrating explicit knowledge into training and development programs: Foster a culture of continuous learning by providing learning opportunities such as training programs, workshops, and mentoring. It's important to recognize and reward individual and collective learning achievements.

Leveraging explicit knowledge for process improvement and innovation: Leveraging explicit knowledge for process improvement and innovation drives continuous improvement, operational efficiency, and innovation within the organization.

Using explicit knowledge to enhance customer experiences and satisfaction: Using explicit knowledge to enhance customer experiences and satisfaction drives customized solutions, improved service delivery, and increased customer loyalty and retention.

Conclusion

Explicit knowledge will drive business success. By having a deeper meaning, exploring great examples, getting to know powerful strategies and great tips, you can use this within your business to make better decisions, boost productivity, improve processes, and enhance a culture of continuous learning. 

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