Digitizing internal processes: what's the business impact?

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Preserving and passing on know-how is a major challenge for any company. When processes are not centralized, key knowledge is easily lost.

With an average turnover of 15% in French companies, the frequent turnover of managers and employees can lead to a loss of valuable knowledge. Know-how accumulated over time is therefore not fully capitalized on.

This is where the digitization of best practices comes into play: it enables you to safeguard and protect your employees' critical know-how!

In this article, we'll explore these issues and discuss the key steps companies can take to avoid knowledge loss and leverage their in-house skills.

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Knowledge transmission in the digital age

Centralize information

One of the main challenges facing companies when it comes to preserving know-how is the difficulty of centralizing information. Information is often scattered across different systems, files, folders (sometimes physical), or all too often in employees' own memories.

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It is this "fragmentation of information" that makes finding, consulting and updating knowledge particularly complex. The direct consequence of this difficulty in centralizing information is a loss of time and efficiency for employees. They have to multiply their efforts to find the information they need, resulting in project delays and potential errors.

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Without the right tools to centralize its knowledge, a company deprives itself of an effective means of storing, organizing and sharing the valuable knowledge of its teams. And the risk of losing this knowledge in the event of the departure of a key employee or a change of position becomes very high.

It is therefore essential to set up a knowledge management system dedicated to centralizing information. These tools bring together all knowledge and resources in one place, accessible to all employees. Information retrieval becomes faster and more efficient, encouraging collaboration and knowledge transfer within the organization.

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Facilitate access to knowledge

Once knowledge is centralized, it must be easy to access. When this is not the case, friction points for employees arise.

The main frictions are :

• Searching for information: you don't want, and neither do they, your teams to spend long hours searching for documents, reports or procedures essential to their work. This waste of time leads to reduced productivity and efficiency.
• Updating content: if it's hard to find and read this information, changing it can be even harder.

Thanks to Komin.io or other tools, employees have quick and easy access to company resources and knowledge bases. This enables them to learn new skills, train and develop their expertise, promoting professional growth and capitalizing on your know-how.

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Collaborate and share best practices

It is often necessary to encourage employees to actively share their knowledge and best practices.
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Here are a few strategies to encourage collaboration and sharing within your organization:

1. Creating a culture of sharing: It's important to establish a culture of openness and collaboration within the company. Leaders must set an example by regularly sharing their own knowledge and valuing employees' contributions. A culture of sharing fosters trust and encourages employees to actively share their experiences and ideas.
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2. Implement collaborative platforms: Online collaboration tools or platforms, as well as virtual workspaces, facilitate the sharing of best practices. These tools enable employees to share experiences, ask questions and collaborate effectively, regardless of their geographical location.
   It is essential to provide user-friendly and accessible solutions to encourage regular and fluid use.
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3. Recognize and reward knowledge sharing: It's important to recognize and reward employees who actively contribute to sharing best practices. This can be done through internal recognition programs, rewards or the establishment of mentoring systems. When employees see that their efforts are valued, they are more motivated to share their knowledge and contribute to the company's continuous improvement.
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4. Set up mentoring programs: Mentoring programs enable employees to establish knowledge-sharing relationships with more experienced colleagues. Mentors can pass on their expertise and best practices, while mentees can learn and develop through these exchanges. Mentoring programs promote the transmission of knowledge and encourage intergenerational collaboration.

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Business impact

The business impact of knowledge transfer in the digital age can be divided into two distinct parts: improving operational performance and creating a sustainable competitive advantage.

Improving operating performance

When companies succeed in digitizing their processes and facilitating knowledge transfer, they generally see a significant improvement in their operational performance.

Here are some of the key points of this impact:

1. Increased productivity: digitization enables rapid access to relevant information, reducing human error. As a result, teams can work more efficiently, leading to an increase in overall company productivity.
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2. Enhanced collaboration: digital tools facilitate collaboration between teams and departments, enabling instant sharing of information, documents and ideas. This promotes better coordination, faster problem solving and optimized work processes.
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3. Cost reduction: Digitization reduces the costs associated with the management and physical storage of information. Companies can also avoid unnecessary expenses caused by task repetition and errors. Efficient knowledge transfer therefore contributes to more economical resource management.
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4. Flexibility and agility: Digitizing processes enables companies to adapt more quickly to changes and developments in the market. Knowledge and skills are easily accessible, facilitating continuous learning and rapid adaptation to new requirements.

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Sustainable competitive advantage

Effective knowledge transfer in the digital age also gives companies a sustainable competitive edge:

1. Knowledge capitalization: by digitizing processes and facilitating knowledge transfer, companies can preserve and capitalize on key knowledge. This makes it possible to retain in-house expertise and use it strategically to stand out in the marketplace.
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2. Innovation and creativity: Collaboration and knowledge sharing foster innovation within the company. Employees' diverse ideas and perspectives can be combined to generate new solutions, product improvements and innovative approaches, strengthening the company's competitive position.
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3. Attracting talent: Companies that emphasize a culture of knowledge transmission and use attractive digitalization tools attract the most qualified talent. Professionals look for work environments that value continuous learning and offer opportunities for professional development.
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4. Adapting to change: The ability to adapt quickly is essential to remain competitive. Effective knowledge transfer enables the company to adapt more easily to new technologies, new regulations and changing customer demands. Employees have the knowledge they need to adopt new working methods, explore new markets and seize emerging opportunities, giving the company a sustainable competitive edge.

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To conclude

Knowledge transfer in the age of digitalization is a crucial issue for companies. By centralizing information, facilitating access to knowledge, and encouraging collaboration and the sharing of best practices, the digitization of processes offers numerous business advantages.

Komin offers a comprehensive, user-friendly solution for centralizing and sharing knowledge within your organization. Thanks to an intuitive interface, your teams can easily access your company's resources and knowledge bases, thus encouraging continuous learning and skills development.

You'll no longer have to put up with an oral culture. Komin enables each of your employees to be a content creator and to capitalize on internal know-how. What's more, Komin offers analysis and monitoring tools to measure the impact of knowledge transmission on company performance, enabling more strategic knowledge management.