Knowledge Management for Organisations: Capture, Sharing and Reuse of Expertise Training Course

Programme Summary

Knowledge management training for organisations, covering the capture, sharing and reuse of expertise, is delivered as a five-day training course for managers and heads of function, ending in a knowledge retention plan for one critical team. Expertise leaves with people, sits in private files and is rediscovered at cost. The programme moves from principles of knowledge management, through diagnosis of knowledge risks, to design of capture and sharing routines, then to application on a live team. Mars Training Centre UK delivers this knowledge management programme for organisational leaders.

The Business Case

When an experienced specialist retires or moves, the organisation often loses decisions, contacts and working methods that were never written down. Teams repeat earlier mistakes, onboarding takes longer and good practice stays within one unit. Managers who treat knowledge as an asset with owners, routines and measures reduce that loss and let colleagues build on earlier work instead of starting again.

• Expertise Retention: Strengthens as critical knowledge is identified and transferred before key people leave.
• Rework and Repeat Errors: Fall as lessons learned are recorded and found when needed.
• Onboarding Time: Shortens as new colleagues reach working knowledge through structured access.

Principles and Evidence Base

• ISO 30401 knowledge management systems requirements: It frames the policy, roles and improvement cycle designed in Sessions 3 and 4.
• SECI model of Nonaka and Takeuchi: It structures the conversion of tacit and explicit knowledge in Sessions 1 and 3.
• Communities of practice as described by Wenger: They guide the design of sharing groups in Session 4.
• After-action review principles: They shape the lessons learned routines tested in Sessions 3 and 5.

Intended Participants

• Managers who are accountable for keeping critical expertise inside their teams.
• Heads of learning and development who connect training with day-to-day knowledge use.
• Human resources leaders who plan succession and handover for specialist roles.
• Operations and project leaders who need lessons from past work to inform new work.

The programme serves engineering firms, public bodies, banks and healthcare providers, and suits mixed groups from different organisations.

Learning Outcomes

1. Participants will be able to classify organisational knowledge as tacit or explicit and rank it by criticality.
2. Participants will be able to diagnose where knowledge is lost, hoarded or duplicated in a team.
3. Participants will be able to construct capture routines such as interviews and after-action reviews.
4. Participants will be able to design sharing mechanisms including communities of practice and a repository structure.
5. Participants will be able to evaluate a knowledge management approach against the requirements of ISO 30401.
6. Participants will be able to justify a retention plan with measures and owners for one team.

Programme Structure

Day 1: Knowledge Management Principles and Knowledge Types

What counts as organisational knowledge, and which of it is worth protecting?

• Tacit and Explicit Knowledge Distinction
• SECI Conversion Model
• Critical Knowledge Ranking Matrix
• Knowledge Asset Inventory Template
• Knowledge Owner Role Definition

Day 2: Diagnosing Knowledge Loss and Barriers

Where does knowledge leak, stall or get duplicated in your team?

• Expert Departure Risk Map
• Knowledge Flow Mapping
• Sharing Barrier Interview Guide
• Duplicated Effort Case Review
• Knowledge Maturity Self-Assessment

Day 3: Designing Capture Routines

How is expertise recorded without turning into paperwork?

• Expert Interview Protocol
• After-Action Review Format
• Lessons Learned Register Design
• Handover Brief Template
• Short Case Story Method

Day 4: Designing Sharing and Governance

What structures help colleagues find, trust and reuse recorded knowledge?

• Community of Practice Charter
• Repository Taxonomy and Tagging Plan
• ISO 30401 Requirements Checklist
• Knowledge Review Cycle Calendar
• Knowledge Use Measures Set

Day 5: Applying Knowledge Management to One Team

Is the retention plan ready for a real team to adopt?

• Applying the Session 2 Risk Map to a Live Team
• Testing the Session 3 Routines on Real Material
• Reviewing the Session 4 Charter and Taxonomy with Peers
• Rehearsing the Sponsor Briefing
• Completing the Knowledge Retention Plan

Methodology

The programme uses structured exercises built on realistic situations from engineering, banking, public service and healthcare. Participants map knowledge in their own teams, interview one another as experts, draft capture records and test them for usefulness with a colleague who was not involved. Discussion centres on what is worth recording and who will reuse it, not on software tools.

• Suggested activity: Interviewing a peer about one task and writing a handover brief from the notes.
• Suggested activity: Running an after-action review on a short case and logging the lessons.
• Suggested activity: Sorting sample documents into a simple taxonomy and testing retrieval.

Capstone Output

Each participant completes a knowledge retention plan for one critical team. It holds a ranked list of critical knowledge, a risk map for departing expertise, capture routines, a sharing structure with a repository outline, owners and review dates, and a short set of measures. Participants use the plan to brief a sponsor and begin transfer in the weeks after the programme.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is knowledge management training suitable for managers without a records or IT background?

Yes. Knowledge management training here assumes management responsibility for a team or function, not technical or records expertise, and keeps the focus on people, routines and decisions.

Which standard and models does knowledge management training rest on?

Knowledge management training rests on ISO 30401 for knowledge management systems, the SECI model, communities of practice and after-action review principles.

How is the plan from knowledge management training used at work?

You use the knowledge retention plan to brief a sponsor, begin transfer from key experts, set up sharing groups and review progress against agreed measures.

How does knowledge management training differ from a programme on records management?

Knowledge management training centres on expertise, tacit knowledge and reuse by people, while a records management programme centres on controlling and retaining formal documents.