Carl, who should I solve this problem with?

Knowledge management is a relatively young topic and is relatively an underrated segment of any business.

This field is about identifying and the distribution of knowledge (information resources, people) and their flows. I personally witnessed a situation where due to the underestimation of knowledge management, sufficient effort to maintain a single employee was not being met so the whole department lost a lot of efficiency.

If you want to leave, do so, but my know-how is not your property!

How to prevent this situation? There are several ways but the ideal solution is a combination of the following:

1. It is suitable to identify resources and redirect them to more devices to sustain their needs in the company.

2. Motivate daily information sharing and their dissemination. There may be a conflict with the setting of competitiveness and internal competition.

3. Initialize regular meetings with the use of best practices and case studies. Reward employees for successful use of a ‘non-standard’ way of solving a problem and its documenting for possible future use.

4. Create a 'virtual reserve'. Precisely to motivate employees to record their knowledge in a database (internal WIKIPEDIA is ideal) as well as teach your employees to use this tool effectively.

We have not even noticed that Mr. Smith has left.

Smooth and immediate exchange of employees, depending on the nature of the position, is a great idea. If you are well prepared for this situation you will prevent potential problems. It is based on evidence of knowledge related to the work position. More specifically, from the consultant point of view it is not only the information about ongoing positions and candidates but it is also about expected positions for the potential clients, with whom he was in touch, their communication history, historically closed positions and the reasons for their closing, which applicants were contacted and the reasons for their exclusion from the tender, who was used as a source for possible recommendation of suitable candidates, etc.

Devil knows the ropes!

Recording this information into one database or even into a file is a very bad idea which can lead to chaos and thus result in a loss of information as such. It is important to lay out the structure of the records to secure target search and contact information systems that allows you to store information of this nature clearly. It is ideal to have each client's historical record. The more that is recorded in this direction, the less likely it is that you will miss any important information.