- Empower employees with institutional knowledge and tools
During this phase, owners transfer the institutional knowledge out of their heads into the organization for all to access. Sharing information openly is critically important because employees need to be involved and reassured that what they are doing really makes a difference for the company. Remember, knowledge is not power. Sharing knowledge is power. The following steps can help accomplish this task:
- Develop a master toolbox: It should contain the daily tools for completing tasks, as well as help the company communicate with a consistent, knowledgeable message. A good master toolbox should contain:
ο Specifications
ο Design details
ο Engineering calculations
ο Estimating
ο Co-ordination documents
ο Contracts
ο Fee schedules
ο Marketing materials
- Share and document institutional knowledge: Host ‘lunch and learns’ and ‘fun shops’ in which employees can obtain education and share business-related knowledge.
- Manage change: As more employees take functional ownership of the company, it is important to have a system that manages the constant change required to stay successful.
Start by developing a process that captures opportunities for improvement.
Over a 10-year period, the team at this author’s former company made more than 2500 refinements to the system, improving quality, performance, and efficiency. They also formally developed a corporate knowledge base comprising more than 240,000 documents that are searchable and editable so when questions arise, they can be accessed and consulted.
