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Saturday, January 26, 2019

A Basic Necessity for Success - Part 2

Capture and share knowledge before staff depart
Knowledge Continuity Cycle - Continuity Protocol Section

We have all been in a situation where our predecessor left no information about the job they had done.  In this circumstance, the new person must spend a lot of time solving the mystery of  how to successfully perform the required job tasks.  They must look for clues in the paper and network file drives.  They must interview other staff who have minimal availability since they are busy doing their job. New staff may try to perform a task, fail, and learn from it.  You can see that in this scenario, time is spent looking for information, having conversations with other staff who do not know the exact details of the job, and trial & error.  This is mostly wasted time that did not have to be spent in this way.  Much of this time could be saved by having a standard  Continuity Protocol followed. 


Don't let knowledge walk out the door!  
The Continuity Protocol involves taking intentional steps to capture and share knowledge before the person departs.  All staff should be documenting and sharing information about how they perform their job tasks just as a matter of doing their job. A Continuity Artifact is routinely updated to become a reflection of the critical knowledge necessary for the job.   This artifact is completed and perfected at the Knowledge Continuity Team Meeting. Before they leave, departing persons must participate in a Knowledge Continuity Team (KCT) meeting. A KCT meeting is a facilitated meeting with the departing person and several members of their team.  At the KCT meeting, essential knowledge-based questions are discussed, answers recorded, and further explored through Q&A.  At this session, knowledge is transferred to the other persons who will be remaining on the job after the departing person leaves.     Additionally, the departing person's knowledge processes are examined, transferred, and renewed for continued use. After the attending their KCT, departing staff have expressed that the KCT meeting gave them a sense of completion and satisfaction that the "baton was passed"  before they left the job. This process documents  their legacy! Each staff member must be aware of and comply with this responsibility.  This process builds a knowledge base containing tailored information about how to successfully perform the job tasks - the perfect resource for the successor of the departed person!  A Continuity Protocol is basic necessity for success.

In Part 3 - Invest in Your Staff

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