Knowing the value and capabilities of your staff

Knowledge Management should be an important part of your HR hiring process because it is really important to know what your staff knows as they come in, what skills they are acquiring as they grow with your institution, and if they are retiring what you might be losing.

Did you really try and capture this information as they came in? Do you look internally first for certain skills or do you just blow money on an outside consultant? I came across a recent situation where an institution hired an outside consultant at great expense, only to discover later that the person who trained that consultant worked for their company. Oops!

Knowing what your staff has to offer is just the first part though; you then have to actually take their recommendations, especially if they are better qualified then you in this arena. Do not be insecure because your staff knows more than you, all that means is you put together an “A” team.

When you micro-manage high achievers, what you are really doing is letting them know that it is ok to look for a new job, and do so at great speed; your employees will not stay and you want to try and retain them.

1.      Know what you have

2.      Use what you have first before going outside

3.      Give credit where credit is due

4.      Say thank you by compensating them (many ways to compensate, you might not always have cash)

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam