Knowledge audit

knowledge management
Author

RiskCede

Published

January 1, 2025

Knowledge audit

Unlock your business potential with a knowledge audit.

In today’s fast-paced and competitive business landscape, having knowledge is power but it is important to capitalise on it. It’s the base of innovation, assists in decision-making, and it is critical to gaining a competitive advantage (Choo 1996). But here’s the big question: are you fully leveraging your organisation’s knowledge assets? If you’re unsure, it’s time to consider conducting a Knowledge Audit.

Representation of a well-organised knowledge system.

What is a knowledge audit?

A knowledge audit is a systematic evaluation of how knowledge flows through your organisation—from how it is created, stored, and shared, to how it is used to achieve business objectives. Think of it as a health check for your organisation’s intellectual resources. By identifying gaps, redundancies, and uncovered opportunities, a knowledge audit ensures that your business is equipped to thrive in a knowledge-driven world (Davenport 1998).

Our knowledge audit service digs deep into your processes, systems, and culture to help unlock insights that can transform the way you work. Whether you’re still growing as a start-up or even if you are an established enterprise, this service will help you uncover your full potential (Wiig 1994).

What does a knowledge audit involve?

Our approach to a knowledge audit is tailored to your business’s unique needs. The process typically includes:

(Liebowitz et al. 2000)

Why your business needs a knowledge audit

Identify knowledge gaps

Are critical processes slowed down because key knowledge resides with only a few employees? We uncover where knowledge is siloed, ensuring that your team has access to the information they need to excel (Zack 1999.)

Enhance decision making

With a clear understanding of your knowledge assets, your leaders can make data-driven, informed decisions faster and with greater confidence.

Improve efficiency

We streamline your workflows by reducing redundancies and ensuring that your teams aren’t wasting time searching for information or duplicating efforts.

Foster innovation

By leveraging your organisation’s tacit1 and explicit knowledge2 (Nonaka and Takeuchi 2007), you can create a culture that fosters innovation and creativity.

Mitigate risk

Knowledge loss due to employee turnover is a hidden risk. A knowledge audit helps you identify and safeguard critical expertise before it’s too late.

How it works

The core of our knowledge audit service is to foster collaboration. Here’s how we make sure that the process addresses the unique needs of your business:

Let’s transform your knowledge into power

With our expertise, you’ll gain clarity on how to maximise your intellectual resources and create a solid foundation for growth and success. By assessing how knowledge flows within your business, addressing inefficiencies, and leveraging both explicit and tacit knowledge, you can build a stronger, more agile organisation. With years of experience in analysing and optimising knowledge ecosystems, we are well-versed in empowering businesses to harness their intellectual capital effectively.



Subscribe to our blog


References

Choo CW (1996) The knowing organization: How organizations use information to construct meaning, create knowledge and make decisions. International Journal of Information Management 16(5), 329–340.
Davenport TH (1998) Working knowledge: How organizations manage what they know. NewYork Harvard Business School.
Liebowitz J, Rubenstein-Montano B, McCaw D, Buchwalter J, Browning C, Newman B and Rebeck K (2000) The knowledge audit. Knowledge and Process Management 7(1), 3–10.
Nonaka I and Takeuchi H (2007) The knowledge-creating company. Harvard Business Review 85(7/8), 162.
Wiig KM (1994) Knowledge management foundations: Thinking about thinking-how people and organizations represent, create, and use knowledge. Schema Press, Limited.
Zack MH (1999) Managing codified knowledge. Sloan Management Review 40(4), 45–58.

Footnotes

  1. Tacit knowledge refers to personal, experience-based knowledge that is difficult to articulate or document. Examples include an employee’s intuitive problem-solving skills or expertise within a certain area.↩︎

  2. Explicit knowledge is formalised and documented, such as manuals, procedures, and databases. It’s easily shared and stored for organisational use.↩︎