At the outset, HE Aisha Al Suwaidi, Executive Director of Human Resources Policies Sector, stressed the importance of enhancing cooperation and exchanging experiences and successful practices in order to empower human resources at various public and private institutions. She specifically stressed the importance of enhancing the efficiency of these institutions, raising employee satisfaction levels, creating working environments that attract and nurture talent.

She explained during the meeting with Mira Fareedoun, Director of Corporate Knowledge, and Samira Amiri, Senior Analyst, Corporate Knowledge Department, the Guide to Knowledge Management in the Federal Government, launched by the Authority last year.

“The Guide helps raise awareness about the management of knowledge assets in the ministries and federal agencies and familiarise staff with the concept of knowledge management and its applications” she noted, adding that it also highlights the benefits of knowledge management and its importance in enhancing productivity, creativity and innovation in institutions.

She continued: “The Guide addresses the knowledge types, the stages of its development, as well as internal and external sources. The Guide also highlights the several benefits gained by the entities that adopt the concept of knowledge management and supports them through providing an adequate explanation about the assessment of the maturity level of its knowledge, as well as knowledge management strategy components. In order that entities can effectively apply the concept, the Guide outlines the relevant roles and responsibilities, along with presenting a number of challenges that may be encountered by the entities while proposing appropriate solutions to them. This Guide has put forward a number of tools and methods that would contribute to the production, acquisition, storage, publication, measurements and assessment of knowledge”.

Al Suwaidi added: "Knowledge management means the systematic management of knowledge assets at the entity, in order to create added value and meet the strategic needs; it includes all initiatives, processes and systems that contribute to knowledge production, acquisition, classification, storage, dissemination and use / re-use Benefits of Knowledge Management”, noting that knowledge assets can be classified into three different groups: tacit knowledge, embedded knowledge and explicit knowledge.

According to Aisha Al Suwaidi, knowledge development cycle consists of 3 stages: Knowledge production stage which involves the creation of  tacit knowledge through the exchange of experience, ideas and skills among employees; Knowledge conversion stage, during which tacit knowledge is converted into explicit knowledge through collective communication, dialogue and thinking; and finally, knowledge integration stage during which new knowledge is produced by blending both types of knowledge; explicit and tacit.

“The most important steps for the success of knowledge management are awareness of stakeholders, whether they are employees or managers about the importance of compiling, storage, arrangement, production and distribution of knowledge, and the benefits that can be gained from sharing their experiences and ideas. They should not underestimate the role of technology in carrying out the remaining tasks that cannot be done without qualified human resources and robust administrative and technical regulations”, she noted.

Benefits of Knowledge Management

Al Suwaidi addressed the benefits of knowledge management saying that they include increased efficiency and productivity through utilization of proven solutions and avoidance of repeating past mistakes; improving and accelerating the decision-making process due to availability of most appropriate practices; accelerating the transfer of knowledge by focusing on compiling, documenting, saving and updating explicit and tacit knowledge of strategic and operational importance, so as to ensure the performance of tasks effectively; supporting new employees when they join the entity, through the implementation of Orientation Programs; achieving the entity strategy and building the “Institutional Memory”; encouraging innovation and creativity through teamwork; increasing workplace harmony and employee satisfaction by raising the levels of motivation, engagement and institutional loyalty, in addition to the  development of competencies and skills, reducing job turnover rates.

She concluded: “Knowledge management is based on a set of basic elements: human factor, as human experience, values, beliefs and skills are the most effective elements in generating new knowledge and content. The effectiveness of any system depends on the quality, accuracy, integrity and relevance of information, in addition to proper storage and access to internal data in an organized manner. The fourth element is technology that allows the storage of human expertise, knowledge organization and access to information.