Article: How to Combat the Corporate Memory Loss with Technology

Summary

“Why did we not go ahead with that target?”

“Who worked on this similar project 3 years ago?”

“What analysis was done and why were certain decisions made? The people involved in the project have moved on.”

Does this sound familiar? Situations like these happen in companies daily, reflecting a failure to collectively store and retrieve proprietary knowledge and information. This knowledge is often referred to as “institutional memory” or “corporate memory,” which is the collective wisdom a company has gathered over its history.

In this month’s kicker.cloud insights we highlight the importance of safeguarding your company from losing that memory, as this knowledge is one of the most valuable assets a company can have. We approach the issue from a practical standpoint, exploring how companies can start building up their corporate memory from ground up and use it to share key information, maintain a competitive edge, and enhance productivity.

Understanding Corporate Memory

Corporate memory is typically a collective repository of facts, concepts, experiences, and know-how that belong to an organisation. In private finance it could include relationships and knowledge about counterparties, analysis, or process playbooks.

Much of this knowledge is difficult or impossible to replace if it’s lost, particularly when it involves best practices developed through experience. Tangible information such as documents, procedures, manuals, and contracts can generally be stored and shared, but retaining intangible knowledge, such as the experience and insights of employees, is far more challenging.

What are the consequences of this corporate amnesia? Consequences include that problems need to be solved repeatedly, and failures are not fully analysed which makes the organisation more vulnerable to future mistakes. A gradual or sudden loss of knowledge can significantly impact an organisation’s performance, decision-making, and capacity for innovation.

From Mentorship to Intelligent Systems

Traditionally, corporate memory loss has been mitigated through a strong culture of mentorship, encouraging knowledge-sharing and collaboration among employees. This approach worked well in the past when employee turnover was low, and top talent was less mobile. However, with today's workforce becoming increasingly transient, companies can no longer rely solely on these traditional methods of building a long-lasting knowledge.

To address the issue today, we advocate for the implementation of intelligent systems that capture, categorise, organise, and preserve an organisational knowledge, ensuring that it’s easily accessible, usable, and shareable in a systematic manner. The best way forward is to utilise the latest technologies that are accessible today.

How to Start Building a Corporate Memory with Technology

The key to building a strong corporate memory lies in capturing, storing, and organising your company's knowledge and data in a readily accessible and usable format for future decision-making. A practical approach to get started could be to:

• Identify knowledge areas: Identify the key areas of knowledge with silent / intangible information that are essential for the company’s success. This could include processes, playbooks, best practices, frequently occurring problems, and lessons learned. Prioritise and rank these areas based on their importance and potential impact.

• Start collecting data using an intelligent knowledge management system (KMS): A KMS helps turn tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge, for instance, transforming project experiences into playbooks and best practices into workflows. Domain-specific digital platforms like kicker.cloud for M&A are examples of such systems.

• Start using the data in your decision-making: While capturing and storing data is important, the real value comes from utilising it in decision-making. By analysing patterns from past behaviour and lessons learned, a company can accelerate processes, innovate, and leverage its proprietary data for a competitive advantage.

Moreover, by building a corporate memory, companies can reduce key man risk and improve the consistency and effectiveness of knowledge usage throughout the organisation. This results in fewer errors and more efficient operations. Losing that knowledge on the other hand can lead to a loss of a competitive advantage and increased costs. Taking formal steps to collect, use, and retain organisational memory is an investment for the future.

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Author: Eljas Pajamies