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Right idea, wrong thinking!

Ed Kless - 02/12/2010

Yesterday, I received a solicitation regarding a “solution for transferring knowledge!” It included a link to the following video.



 

Problems with this:

  1. Bad name - Knowledge Harvest. It sounds like you are using a sickle or combine and lopping peoples heads off.
  2. Defeatist attitude. - It implies that there is no way to keep this people around, so you should just exploit them while you can.
  3. Victim mentality. - “It is not your fault we are leaving, it is just the way we are.” Again, there is nothing you can do.

Now, I did view their product page and the system itself seems like it would be helpful to collect and disseminate tactic knowledge throughout an organization. This is, in fact, something sorely needed in professional knowledge firms. However, I would suggest to them:

  1. That they change the name.
  2. That they emphasize the value of disseminating the knowledge throughout the organization. It will increase the overall value of the firm by increase the knowledge of the individuals because the knowledge will be shared rather than hoarded.
  3. That having this solution might even make the firm a better place to work because you can gain knowledge far more quickly than at other companies.

If any of you pursue looking at this further, please let us know what you think about it.

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Comments

John Shaver

It sends a clear message to employers to not put any trust in people they hire. Or maybe, don’t hire anyone under 40 because they’re a bunch of slackers.

Let’s perpetuate some more myths while we’re at it!

Danielle

The thing that jumps out to me is that they forget to mention that a large part of the reason for the transient employee thing (employees not staying long at companies and the average number of jobs a person will have in their lifetime skyrocketing) is because so many of these companies are horrible to work for. They aren’t loyal to companies because companies aren’t loyal to them. That’s the real reason. But I realize this video, of course, is playing to the employer and God forbid they should ask companies to take a good hard look in the mirror when they can simply blame those damn itinerant workers who don’t appreciate them. Brother.

Ed Kless

@John - well said.
@Danielle - Amen! One of the most futile questions that anyone can ask is, “How do I get someone/those people to change?”

Short answer, “You can’t.”

Brenda Richter, CPA

What’s sad is that it takes a snippy video like this to get businesses to start doing what they should be doing any way.

I agree with Danielle.  The reason team members leave is because companies are horrible to work for.  And a team member doesn’t have to be in the generations represented in the video to get up and leave for that very reason.

I just don’t understand what’s wrong with firm leaders.  You didn’t like the way you were treated as a newbie to the profession, whey do you think today’s young people will?  And when others leave toxic firms to start their own firm why do they just re-create the same horrid corporate culture?  Didn’t they go off on their own to change things and do it differently?

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