As working environments change, some job positions become more important to companies. One of the most essential roles is knowledge management. However, it often flies under the radar.
A knowledge manager is the person who oversees and distributes knowledge within your organization, ensuring that each team member has the information they need to perform their duties or complete their assignments and achieve the best possible results.
Although they don’t teach workers what they need to know, knowledge managers can help a company’s teams access educational and informational resources.
While this will depend on the size of your organization, hiring these professionals can greatly benefit your company. Besides keeping your knowledge base in order, they make information more accessible and shareable, promote innovation and adaptability, streamline the decision-making process, and improve efficiency across all departments.
Do you think you should incorporate a knowledge manager into your team? Are you already looking for one but need help hiring the best candidate for this position? This comprehensive guide contains everything you need to know to optimize this process and make the right choice. Read on!
Do You Need a Knowledge Manager?
Having a knowledge manager can bring many benefits to your company, but how do you know you need to hire one in the first place? These are the signs that your organization should bring in one of these professionals:
- Difficulty finding information: Are your team members struggling to access the information they need to work well?
- Knowledge silos exist between departments: Do you think information isn’t properly flowing between different parts of your organization? Is there data that a person or team has but isn’t shared with others?
- Inefficient onboarding processes: Are your new employees disengaged at work? Is your organization spending more money finding and training new hires, but turnover rates are still high?
- Difficulty capturing and retaining knowledge: Do you think your team can’t capture and preserve knowledge or experiences and transfer them to new members? Does your organization experience knowledge loss when team members leave, retire, or move on to other positions?
If you’ve spotted any of the previous signs, you may need to incorporate a knowledge manager into your team.
What to Look for in a Knowledge Manager
Are you ready to hire a knowledge manager? How can you make sure you’re choosing the ideal candidate? In order to make the right choice, focus on the following during the recruiting process:
Skills and Experience
A person with extensive experience in knowledge management may be the ideal fit for this role. Pay attention to their background and determine if they have enough expertise by asking the right questions during the interview.
Additionally, make sure this professional has the required skills for this position, including:
- Soft skills, such as organization, leadership, attention to detail, and verbal and written communication
- Hard skills, such as knowledge base management software proficiency, data analysis, and collection, troubleshooting, training, and people management
Project Management Experience
An excellent knowledge manager should be able to encourage people through positivity and recognition, mentoring, and constructive feedback. Keep this in mind when hiring one.
Understanding of Relevant Technologies
Besides experience in similar positions, the right candidate should know how to use knowledge management systems and other relevant technologies that can benefit your organization.
These are some examples:
- Knowledge base and workspace management software, such as Klutch
- Project management tools, such as Asana or Jira
- Industry-specific automation platforms, such as InfoPath or ServiceNow
- Translation management tools, such as Lokalise or Smartling
- Productivity-oriented platforms, such as Microsoft 365
- Content management systems, such as Webflow or Contentful
Qualities and Personality Traits
Knowledge managers should be natural leaders who foster a healthy and efficient work environment. If you want to know if a candidate is suitable for this task, assess the following personal attributes:
- Analytical thinking
- Strategic mindset
- Observant and supportive personality
- Empathy
- Trust
- Creativity
- Charisma
Strong Analytical and Problem-Solving Skills
How can a knowledge manager help others find information easily? The person you choose for this position must have strong analytical skills to bring logical order to the data that must be organized.
Plus, a good knowledge manager should be able to analyze a problem from a logical perspective, formulate a possible solution, and effectively communicate their plans to others.
Adaptability and a Willingness to Learn
Since the knowledge landscape never stops evolving, the ideal candidate must be able to adjust to changes, best practices, new technologies, and organizational needs to thrive in this environment.
Knowledge managers must be willing to learn and stay ahead of the curve by equipping themselves with up-to-date information.
Excellent Interpersonal and Leadership Skills
In essence, knowledge management is about people and communication, so the person you choose for this role should understand employees’ needs, connect with experts, and foster a knowledge-sharing culture within your organization.
The right fit for this position has to be a good listener, inspire collaboration, and build strong relationships with others.
The Hiring Process
Do you want to find a great knowledge manager? Optimize the hiring process by doing the following:
- Develop a clear job description: Adapt this description to your team’s needs, your current tools, and your organization’s goals. Be clear about the tasks this professional will be required to handle and the role they’ll have in your company. Plus, outline the expected qualifications, such as the years of experience the ideal amount should have and the soft or hard skills you’re looking for in a knowledge manager.
- Tailor your interview questions to assess the candidate’s knowledge and skills: When meeting with candidates, make the most of this time to learn as much as possible about them, their expertise, and their qualifications. Be friendly and assess the interviewee’s knowledge, experience, and qualities. Also, don’t forget to set clear expectations for this position.
- Consider including a practical test to evaluate their competence in knowledge management tools: Does your organization use specific software solutions? If you want to make sure the people you’re hiring for this position are really proficient in such technologies, implement this strategy to assess their knowledge and skills.
Setting Up Your Knowledge Manager for Success
Are you looking for ways to improve your knowledge management practices or build a solid system? Below are some tips to set up your new team member for success:
- Provide resources: Equip your knowledge manager with everything they need to do a good job, including essential tools, such as knowledge base platforms and collaboration-oriented software solutions. Also, designate a budget to acquire the technologies this professional must use and clarify who they should turn to for staff support or access to subject matter experts.
- Define your goals and objectives: Your knowledge manager will need a clear roadmap to achieve success. Work with your new hire to define measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals and objectives that align with your organization’s needs and strategies.
- Integrate them into the existing team structure: Teamwork is also important for your knowledge manager. Instead of isolating this role, incorporate this new position into the existing team structure, fostering collaboration and defining clear communication channels. If there’s open communication between this professional and other team members, such as department heads, they’ll be able to gather valuable insights to ensure everyone’s needs are satisfied.
Final Thoughts
A knowledge manager can make essential information more accessible to your team, encouraging your employees to focus on the aspects that matter most and equipping them with the necessary resources to improve their performance.
However, you need to make sure you’re making the right choice when hiring a knowledge manager to join your staff.
Focus on each candidate’s skills and experience, assess their competency in required technologies, and make the most of the interview to choose the ideal fit for this important position.
After hiring the perfect candidate, remember that you must equip this professional with the necessary resources for them to succeed and thrive as your new knowledge manager.
Do you need to pick the tools you’ll provide to your new hire? Use Klutch to streamline all your knowledge base needs.
