The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/21494
BEST PRACTICES IMPEDIMENTS TO KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER Just as companies can enhance knowledge transfer with the right corporate culture, there are organizational attributes that can impede the acquisition and transfer of knowledge. In research cited in “Back to the workplace: How organizations can improve their support for management learning and development” in a 2004 Journal of Management Development, Belling and Ladkin showed that organizations inhibit knowledge transfer by displaying seven variants. Labeled as organizational “barriers” to skill transfer, these variants include the following: • Lack of peer support • Lack of reinforcement upon return to work • Pressure of existing demands and routines • Lack of empowerment to work with new ideas or competencies • Lack of organizational support • Doubts about relevance of training • Peer group resistance to training MOTIVATORS OF KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER Conversely, Belling identified three organizational variants that encourage skill transfer, which include: • Rewards • Opportunities to apply learning • Support from peers and managers In order to reap the full benefit of the investment required for conference attendance, organizations should strive to tie the knowledge gained to the organization’s sustainability. In the February 2010 article, “Building Sustainable Organizations: The Human Factor,” (Academy of Management Perspectives), Jeffrey Pfeffer, Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, emphasized that organizational sustainability is dependent on the human 16 www.iltanet.org Peer to Peer capital vested in the organization and the care by which the organization utilizes that human capital to enhance its profitability. We recognize that sustainability is tied to an organization’s ability to adapt, innovate and capitalize in the environment that it operates. SOME STEPS IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION That ability depends on the organization’s willingness to encourage the transfer of knowledge from employees who gain new skills and insight by attending professional conferences. Here are some steps organizations can take to facilitate that transfer of knowledge: • Prior to the conference, the organization can motivate the attendee by showing how the new skills he or she will gain are relevant to the job and to the organization. • Upon the attendee ’s return, the organization should encourage the attendee to practice or discuss the material that was learned in seminars or through collaboration with other attendees. • Let the employee put the skills learned to work. There is nothing more frustrating to a conference attendee than to come back from a conference with new ideas and ways to do things only to be told the organization is not interested or “that’s not the way we do it.” • Be encouraging. Skill transfer is enhanced when the person believes that the skill itself is meaningful. This can only be accomplished when the organization supports the attendee in practicing the skill. • Develop an organizational culture of support for learning and experimentation. Big investments of money and time are made in sending people to conferences. The steps outlined above can help organizations ensure a solid return on those investments. ILTA Jack Huddleston, Ph.D., is the Director of Operations at Thomas, Kayden, Horstemeyer & Risley, LLP, an Atlanta-based intellectual property law firm. Jack has written for Talent Management Magazine, Law Technology News and has co-authored two books. He can be reached at jack.huddleston@tkhr.com.