On-going education, continual growth, modern technologies, and strategies- these are all the values that clients appreciate when going into business with IT vendors and software development companies. The industry is changing rapidly, and you can’t afford to stay behind or not be up-to-date with the latest innovations and trends. This is why talent and knowledge management need to be your top priorities.
This is where knowledge communities step in. If you're not sure what they are, why they matter, or how to create one, just keep reading.
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What are Knowledge Communities?
A knowledge community is a group of people gathered around similar interests, skills, and experiences, intending to learn from one another. They share and acquire knowledge through a series of mutual projects, discussions, collaborations, and activities. These communities are of voluntary nature but still need a host or an organizer.
As an IT business, creating one such community can help find and nurture talent, attract creative minds, and manage knowledge in the core of your organization. This will help you move forward and keep your business on top of every assignment.
How to Manage a Knowledge Community?
Managing a knowledge community is a bit challenging, considering you have people gathered voluntarily and need to keep them interested and happy with their progress. This requires proper planning, ongoing monitoring, and constant improvement.
Below, we’ve listed several of the most important steps in successfully managing a knowledge community. Let’s take a look.
1. Establish a Culture of Sharing
The first important step that you should get out of the way is free communication and sharing. Members of your community need to feel free to
- share ideas
- join discussions
- have different opinions
- make suggestions
This is the only way the community’s going to work toward its main goal, which is to allow people to share and acquire knowledge. Establish and nurture this culture from the beginning, encouraging people to speak up and respect others doing the same.
2. Diversify in Type of Sessions
Monotony isn’t going to take you anywhere, so you need to be creative when it comes to different types of sessions in the community. The way your members share knowledge is half the work, so make sure to inspire them every step of the way.
Different types of sessions include:
- working on projects in small groups
- doing role play
- creating presentations on various topics
- playing quizzes
- watching videos
The important thing is that you engage people of different learning styles and help everyone participate confidently.
3. Bring in Experts
To expand the knowledge of your group, you need to outsource it from time to time. Bringing in an expert to meet the members and share a piece of their expertise is always a great idea.
Experts can take part in community activities in different ways:
- work on a group project with the members
- host a Q&A session
- prepare a presentation
- host a discussion panel
The important thing is that the members can learn from this person and communicate with them directly, thus receiving the most from the entire experience.
4. Set Goals
A great way to keep your community active and moving forward is to make sure they always have a goal that they’re working on. It should be something challenging that requires their full attention and active participation.
It could be a task such as:
- building an app
- forming a new product
- conducting a case study
- writing a paper or an article
- working on a client’s specific problem
As the members work together on their goals, they'll be learning through this process and helping each other give their best. There's also the feeling of completion and the satisfaction that comes after a successfully finished assignment.
Final Thoughts
Building and managing an IT knowledge community is all about appreciating your members. These people are not just there to receive information but to socialize, share their knowledge, and spend time doing something they love and benefit from. Hopefully, we’ve helped you get started with your knowledge community and make sure it’s a success from day one.