How Knowledge Sharing Can Help Your Employees And The Company Culture

As the need for companies to access valuable, business-changing knowledge rise with the increasing competition, many companies are looking at ways to create and maintain a successful knowledge-sharing channel in their workplace.

Such a work culture has proven to promote employee interactions, streamline information sharing, and improve rational thinking and problem-solving skills, among other benefits that contribute to a more robust bottom line. But perhaps, one of the most significant ways a company benefits from free and open knowledge sharing among its employees is through increased employee engagement.

When sharing your ideas and knowledge with the rest of the company, whether they are your colleagues or your superiors, is made simple, it becomes much easier for you to feel engaged with the company's goal. You experience a sense of active participation in your organization, which encourages a genuine belief in the company values and goals. This dramatically increases employee engagement.

It works the other way, too, as the relationship between knowledge sharing and employee engagement is a two-way street. The higher the level of employee engagement, the easier it is for them to share their knowledge, opinions, and ideas for the company's benefit as a whole.

How encouraging knowledge sharing can boost employee engagement

Now that you know how effective knowledge sharing and employee engagement are related, the next question is, how? What kind of role does knowledge sharing play in boosting the employee engagement of a company? To understand this better, we discuss how encouraging a culture of knowledge sharing in the workplace affects the employees·      

Creates a sense of belonging, achievement, and satisfaction

As mentioned before, when employees are given the space and opportunity to share their knowledge with others, it creates a sense of belonging and active participation. This makes them care about the company – where it is headed, the values, mission, and goals. When people feel like they are making genuine contributions to something bigger than themselves, it immediately results in a sense of achievement and satisfaction.

·     Helps to improve visibility and builds confidence

When employees share their ideas and knowledge with others, it helps them improve their visibility within the workplace, thus boosting their confidence. Whether it is during a scheduled roundtable meeting with superiors and colleagues, or a chat by the coffee station, or an informal discussion, having the opportunity to share your knowledge means you have more opportunities to receive recognition for your efforts as well.

·     Is efficient and effective

Encouraging a culture of knowledge sharing in your company can be incredibly time-saving as it is efficient and practical. To this end, many companies have used the best that technology has to offer, employing the help of knowledge sharing and management tools and software that significantly facilitates the entire process. Mentoring programs and software, too, are essential tools that can encourage knowledge sharing within an organization.

Mentoring is both a method of knowledge sharing and employee engagement.

Mentoring programs play an essential role in both knowledge sharing and employee engagement. A comprehensive and effective mentoring program brings employees of different levels together, encouraging them to exchange valuable information with each other.

Many tend to think that mentoring benefits only the mentee, but this is far from the truth. In reality, the mentee, the mentor, and the company all benefit from a fantastic mentoring program. While the mentee and mentor learn from each other by exchanging ideas and opinions, the company helps because mentoring programs increase employee engagement through knowledge sharing.