Safeguarding and Building your Intellectual Capital

It used to be that you finished school, started work, climbed your way up the company ranks, and then retired, all within the one organisation.  In the present day, it is highly unlikely that your staff are going to be around long enough to access their long service leave, let alone having to buy them a watch in 50 years. 

Many organisations that have been around for a long time have had the advantage of key staff members being "lifers".  These staff have become a part of the company fabric, and the company a part of them.  They hold vast amounts of knowledge and company experience within their minds, and, without the chopping and changing of staff, have been able to provide the company a stable environment in which to grow.  

Accessing this information before staff leave is important, but as their exit is usually via retirement, the knowledge transfer can be done in an orderly fashion.  The challenge is to recreate this scenario artificially in a world where staff turnover is much higher, and happens much earlier in people's career trajectory. 

One way organisations can achieve this is by ensuring that their Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system is able to capture all of the client data while staff have been interacting with clients.  Another is to ensure that the area of Human Resources is effective in designing, implementing, and reviewing policies that enable the organisation's culture to flourish, regardless of who the staff are. 

Having a leadership team that keeps the company pointed in the right direction, rather than just one individual, is also helpful.  Automating processes in the background is another saviour.  Process automation not only frees time, it also means that when replacement staff are hired, they are not stymied by learning the background system, but can focus on picking up where the last staff member left and move forward with the organisation's goals. 

Having all of your business processes acting in unison, towards a common organisational goal can be a challenge.

If you would like to discuss your current system design to see SAP can help provide a solution, then contact DAS Consulting on 02 6198 3269.