Using knowledge management to leverage training and development initiatives

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to educate professionals on the importance of knowledge management and the ways to best leverage their existing knowledge, including finding ways to create, identify, capture and distribute organizational knowledge to those in the organization who need it. Design/methodology/approach – The paper outlines the need for a knowledge management process, then explains the challenges involved with establishing such a system. It demonstrates examples of tangible benefits that can be gained from a knowledge management system, and shows a model of a current and successful cross‐cultural knowledge management system. Findings – Through work in the field, Global Dynamics has found that corporations, especially large global corporations, are needlessly spending money on training and development to “gain” knowledge that they already have. Key statistics cited here are that employees spend 7 to 20 percent of their time on the job replicating existing solutions for others (according to Delphi Group) and believe that 44 percent of employees are poor or very poor at transferring knowledge (according to Ernst & Young). Practical implications – Knowledge management systems, as described here, can, and should, be implemented in all large organizations in order to maximize existing knowledge. For multinational organizations, a knowledge management system is even more significant and should be leveraged with corporate globalization efforts. Originality/value – The paper provides a detailed description of a successful existing cross‐cultural management model.