Organizations depend on an effective and smooth flow of knowledge transfer processes in order to educate new hires and develop required expertise in them. One of the crucial catalysts of the knowledge transfer process in organizations is the senior workforce. They have the wealth of experience and sound knowledge to transfer expertise and share corporate insights, but what actually happens when they retire? The energy sector is already struggling to overcome the challenge of The Great Crew Change: a situation where the senior staff of energy companies is reaching the retirement age before the next generation joins the organization and start their careers. According to an industry report, approximately 48 per cent of employers in the engineering services sector believe that there is a lack of training and development to provide education to electricians to work toward the set objectives in the energy sector. Before we move toward the solution, let’s have a brief overview of knowledge transfer and why it is important for modern organizations.
WHAT IS KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER?
Knowledge transfer entails the transfer of knowledge, ideas, skills and expertise across different areas of your company. Many people confuse the term with training and communication, but they are partially wrong. Though the process of knowledge transfer does involve training sessions and building a communication path, it still is distinctive. The core objective of knowledge transfer is to share corporate insights, expected behavior and information valuable to your company. In case of failure, uncertainty may cause delays and miscommunication, which could be detrimental to the success of your business.
WHY IS KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER IMPORTANT?
Knowledge gaps can cause expensive consequences for organizations. According to estimates, poor practices of knowledge transfer can cause companies the loss of millions of dollars. A study in 2018 estimated that effective implementation of knowledge sharing in small organizations could enable them to save USD 2 million in employee productivity, while large organizations could potentially save USD 200 million. That’s a huge catch! Besides cost saving, there are other reasons driving the need to accelerate knowledge transfer practices in modern organizations, such as generational shift. While baby boomers are currently the most experienced resources for knowledge sharing, they are retiring at a rapid pace. The situation indicates the need to implement effective knowledge transfer more than ever because the effect of The Great Crew change will increase in the coming years, and the consequences could significantly hinder the success of organizations. Keeping in view the importance, the solution to effective knowledge sharing in organizations is digital transformation.
DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION – PAVING THE WAY FOR EFFECTIVE KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER
The need to leverage the process of knowledge transfer has become more important than ever due to baby boomers retiring, employees changing jobs and workers quitting. Moreover, as we learnt that baby boomers have a wealth of tacit knowledge, it needs to be shared with new comers. In modern times, employee prefer digital tools to learn and develop. And this is where digital transformation is serving as a catalyst to improve knowledge sharing. That is why, there is a need for companies to invest in digital technologies to empower, engage and elevate collaboration within teams and capture valuable knowledge. Assisted reality is one of the technologies that is enabling companies to drive effective implementation of knowledge transfer process. It is a wearable technology model with head-mounted devices that enables a user to view information on a display screen within their immediate field of vision. Assisted reality solutions are hands-free with voice-controlled feature to ensure smooth workflow.
HOW ASSISTED REALITY CAN FACILITATE KNOWLEDGE SHARING PROCESS?
Digital Workflows
Digital workflows eradicate the need to follow manual documentation. These workflows facilitate learning via digital means and enable the team to focus on important tasks. Digital workflows include a combination of data, visual documentation, checklists and guidelines. Assisted reality solutions, such as HMT-1Z1™, enable the digital workflow to connect with workers and facilitate digital learning. While it improves the means of knowledge sharing, it also increases productivity and minimises operational errors.
Real-time Video Collaboration
There are times when organizations need to provide critical information to workers remotely. Therefore, there must be a connected worker solution for remote expert guidance. Wearable technology like HMT-1Z1™ enables remote experts to connect with workers in real-time using optimized video collaboration applications on the device. The feature of two-way video calls allows remote experts to see what the worker sees on the field and give advice on handling the situation effectively.
Intuitive Learning Experience
Assisted reality solutions enable an intuitive learning experience. The ruggedized industrial wearable technology is hands-free and voice-enabled, which allows its users to learn the device’s functions quickly. It shortens the learning curve and enables an intuitive experience for new hires. HMT-1Z1™ is a ruggedized yet flexible wearable technology that allows for efficient and effective knowledge transfer with its hands-free and voice-control feature. It also boasts hands-free data visualization through which users can access real-time data whenever they need it without having any need to carry a mobile or tablet device.
THE BOTTOM LINE
The bottom line is that knowledge transfer is becoming increasingly important for modern organizations due to baby boomers retiring. Digital transformation is helping organizations to capture knowledge and pass it on to new hires. Technology models like assisted reality enable organizations to improve their knowledge sharing in real-time and create collaboration between workers and experts.
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