About 52 percent of respondents ranked e-mail, intranets and extranets as the most effective ways to share knowledge, compared with 18 percent who ranked talking to people in person as the most effective means of sharing knowledge.
Xerox surveyed IT decision-makers and other
information professionals attending AIIM to assess how, and why, people
are sharing knowledge in the workplace. Findings indicated knowledge
sharing has become standard practice, with nearly 50 percent of
respondents sharing more than half their work in any given day. About 33
percent shared less than half, and only 18 percent shared less than a
quarter of their work.
"Sharing information and documents have taken
on a completely new form in recent years because of technological
advances," said Jim Joyce, president, Xerox Connect. "While
understanding the vehicle is important, it's the identification and
creation of communities of practice -- both of which are enabled by
technology -- that create the value around knowledge sharing. And although
these are the tools people indicate they use today, our research and
experience shows they alone do not fully facilitate effective knowledge
sharing."
Most survey respondents -- 33 percent -- said they
share knowledge with co-workers as part of company process. Other
motivations for knowledge sharing include a desire to educate colleagues
(21 percent), provide direction (21 percent), foster a team environment
(11 percent) and solicit feedback (8 percent).
"These results show that knowledge sharing is
not just a theory, but is becoming an integral part of the culture of
today's business environment," Joyce said.
Respondents said more knowledge is shared with peers
(34 percent) than management (28 percent).
The survey revealed the majority of respondents - 64
percent - believe the knowledge sharing tools available to them are
effective.
More than 200 attendees participated in the survey.
source: Xerox
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