Expert directory

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Expert directories are one of the tools of knowledge management . Expert directories are also known as yellow pages. The name Yellow Pages refers to the personal data that is stored like in a telephone book.

Related terms are:

Organizations use expert directories to give their members access to in-house expert knowledge. Yellow Pages list experts and their competencies and provide contact details. If someone in the organization needs knowledge and expertise on a specific topic, knowledge and know-how carriers should be able to be found quickly via the expert directories. Expert directories accelerate access to relevant knowledge and contribute to internal communication and networking.

Development and dissemination

Expert directories as a knowledge management tool have been known since the 1990s, for example at the Swiss chemical company Hoffmann-La Roche .

Expert directories have now become established tools in knowledge management. A study in 2012 showed that 20 percent of 2,528 European companies examined use expert directories internally. In 2013, around 80% of the employees surveyed stated that they used the expert directories on the company-wide intranet.

Structure and structure of expert directories

The main goal of this knowledge management tool is to develop a database that creates an orderly overview of the knowledge available in the organization. For this purpose, knowledge, skills, abilities and competencies of members of the organization are recorded that exceed the formally documented knowledge of the organization. Yellow Pages are implemented by creating a personal profile for every possible member of the organization, which is made up of two main components, expert knowledge and contact details.

The contents of the company's "Yellow Pages" include elementary employee data such as first and last name, organizational assignment, manager, work area, location, telephone and e-mail data, powers of attorney, operational functions and a personal photo. Training, certifications, project and product assignments, professional experience, specialist knowledge and further training activities can also be listed. A customizable area offers space for personal links, information about interests and hobbies. The person described should be allowed to design this content themselves.

When setting up yellow pages, company-specific requirements must be taken into account, for example by specifying standardized fields such as language skills or IT skills. An integrated search function is important.

If you compare the Yellow Pages method with a central address book, the information provided provides a broad picture of the contact person, their operational functions and organizational classification. Thus, yellow pages are of central importance when building internal relationships and breaking down communication thresholds.

Use

The more decentralized and complex an organization is, the more difficult it is to find suitable contact persons. A targeted search using the organizational structure is often not the right solution. Yellow Pages simplify access to central knowledge carriers and provide an overview of the knowledge that is available in individual departments and employees.

The coordination and merging of qualified teams can be facilitated by using yellow pages.

In the case of acute problems and queries, yellow pages make it possible to find suitable internal contact persons quickly and in a targeted manner, which results in advantages in terms of both time and quality. This may also prevent tasks having to be outsourced.

When new members join organizations, yellow pages help them integrate more quickly into the informal network of the organization. In addition, yellow pages help to train new employees more quickly and integrate them into the company by finding important contacts more quickly.

In the case of company-wide change processes, such as restructuring, access to current data and information is extremely beneficial. This is particularly useful when assigning new tasks and subject areas.

Introduction and operation of expert directories

Data protection aspects

Various points must be taken into account in advance of the introduction of yellow pages. On the one hand, questions of data protection law have to be checked and possibly legally assessed and, connected with this, timely involvement of the works council on critical issues. On the other hand, a voluntary preparation by the employees is assumed as a basis.

Provision

The technical feasibility must also be given. Yellow Pages are often integrated into the intranet or wiki of an organization, here the costs for the interface programming to the existing IT system of the organization and the amount of the costs for the care and maintenance of the system, which arise, have to be taken into account. If the integration into the existing system is not profitable due to certain circumstances, a separate construction of the yellow pages can be more cost-effective as an alternative solution.

Topicality

A decisive aspect for the effective use of the yellow pages is that they are up to date. The use of the Yellow Pages is only guaranteed by continuously updating the directory. This goal is achieved by entering new data and removing obsolete data. The users themselves are responsible for the continuous updating of the directory by keeping their own profile up to date. The maintenance of their own profile by employees should become a matter of course after a certain introductory period.

Conflicts of Interest

For the acceptance of the Yellow Pages in the company, the concerns of the employees and the conceivable conflicts of interest among executive employees must be taken into account. Employee concerns can arise from the fact that qualifications that are perceived as low in the organization are publicly visible. Conflicts of interest between executives can arise when highly qualified employees are poached internally.

Possibilities to counter such acceptance problems are, for example, restrictions on the display of profiles, in which only data is displayed that is required for the respective search, or restrictions on the display of search results, for example only the department of the employee is displayed, so that contact with the employee can only be established with the involvement of the manager.

Application examples for expert directories

In the workforce of large companies, especially corporations with a wide variety of business areas and subsidiaries or branches around the globe, there is an enormous amount of specialist knowledge and ability that should be developed and made usable for business purposes. This enormous wealth of employee experience and knowledge, which is mainly available to well-trained employees with more demanding tasks, can, for example, be used for synergy effects between the respective departments, business sectors and subsidiaries, the compilation of project and specialist teams and the solution of questions and problems across the group come. Here there is an intellectual capital stock in the company, the use of which can be achieved with relatively little effort and costs, an enormous return. In very few companies of the size mentioned, however, there is currently a central personnel development that enables an overview of all areas of competence of the workforce.

literature

  • F. Lehner: Wissensmanagement. Carl Hanser Verlag, Munich 2014, ISBN 978-3-446-41742-7
  • K. North: Knowledge-oriented corporate management - design knowledge management. Springer Gabler, Wiesbaden 2016, ISBN 978-3-658-11642-2 .
  • R. Pircher: Knowledge management, knowledge transfer, knowledge networks. Concepts, methods, experiences. Publics Publishing, Erlangen 2014, ISBN 978-3-89578-436-1
  • G. Probst, S. Raub, K. Romhardt: Managing Knowledge - How companies use their most valuable resource optimally. Springer Gabler, Wiesbaden 2012, ISBN 978-3-8349-8597-2
  • C. Schiersmann, H.-U. Thiel: Organizational development. Springer Gabler, Wiesbaden 2014, ISBN 978-3-658-03485-6

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b G. Probst, S. Raub, K. Romhardt: Managing knowledge - How companies use their most valuable resource optimally. Springer Gabler, Wiesbaden 2012, ISBN 978-3-8349-8597-2
  2. ↑ K. North. Knowledge-oriented corporate management - design knowledge management. Springer Gabler, Wiesbaden 2016, ISBN 978-3-658-11642-2
  3. ↑ a b c d e R. Pircher: Knowledge management, knowledge transfer, knowledge networks. Concepts, methods, experiences. Publics Publishing, Erlangen 2014, ISBN 978-3-89578-436-1
  4. ↑ a b c Wuppertaler Kreis eV: Knowledge management in medium-sized companies - A guide. German Economic Service, Cologne 2000, ISBN 3-87156-266-1
  5. ↑ a b c F. Lehner: Wissensmanagement. Carl Hanser Verlag, Munich 2014, ISBN 978-3-446-41742-7
  6. ^ EBusiness Pilot Darmstadt-Dieburg University of Applied Sciences Darmstadt. e-business solution - Yellow Pages, 2014