Every distribution business has them.

They’re the employees who have been there for years. They know which process to use when something doesn’t go according to plan. They understand why a particular customer account is handled differently. They know where to find the right information, which report to run and how to get something done when the standard process doesn’t quite work.

When someone has a question, the answer is often simple:

“Ask Susan. She knows how.”

That works until Susan retires, changes roles, takes an extended absence or leaves the company.

Suddenly, years of operational knowledge can walk out the door with her.

For distributors, experienced employees are an invaluable resource. But when critical business processes depend on what individual employees know rather than what the organization knows, institutional knowledge can become a significant operational risk.

When Experience Becomes Tribal Knowledge

There is a difference between having experienced employees and depending on tribal knowledge.

Experience strengthens an organization. Tribal knowledge exists when important processes, workarounds and business information are understood by certain employees but aren’t consistently documented, standardized or built into the way the organization operates.

The warning signs are often easy to recognize:

• Only one or two employees know how to complete a particular process
• New employees learn primarily by shadowing longtime team members
• Different employees complete the same task in different ways
• Employees maintain personal spreadsheets, notes or other unofficial systems
• Workarounds have become part of everyday operations
• Teams regularly say, “We’ve always done it this way”
• Employees have to ask a specific person when something unusual happens

These situations can exist for years without causing an obvious problem.

The risk becomes clear when the person holding that knowledge is suddenly unavailable.

The Workforce Is Going to Change

Retirement is an obvious concern, but it isn’t the only reason distributors should be thinking about knowledge continuity.

Employees change jobs. People get promoted. Departments restructure. Companies grow. New locations open. Businesses make acquisitions. Responsibilities shift.

Even normal employee turnover can expose processes that were more dependent on individual knowledge than leadership realized.

The question isn’t simply whether your experienced employees will eventually leave.

It’s whether your organization can continue operating effectively when roles inevitably change.

Your Best Employees Shouldn’t Be Single Points of Failure

Longtime employees often develop faster or more effective ways of accomplishing their work. That knowledge is valuable and should be captured.

The goal isn’t to replace their expertise with technology or rigid processes.

It’s to learn from it.

If an employee has developed a better way to handle a recurring situation, can that process be documented? If one person knows a workaround everyone else depends on, why is the workaround necessary? If employees consistently go outside the ERP to accomplish a task, is there an opportunity to improve the workflow within the system?

Those conversations can uncover opportunities that might otherwise remain hidden.

Your most experienced employees should be your greatest resource, not your single point of failure.

Turn Individual Knowledge Into Organizational Knowledge

Reducing knowledge dependency starts with understanding where it exists.

Talk to employees across departments and identify processes that depend heavily on specific individuals. Look for unofficial spreadsheets, manual workarounds and procedures that aren’t documented.

Then ask a few simple questions.

What happens if this person isn’t here tomorrow?

Can another employee complete this process?

Is the process documented?

Are employees using the system consistently?

Is there a better way to accomplish this within the technology we already have?

The answers can help distributors determine where processes need to be documented, standardized, simplified or redesigned.

Your ERP Can Be Part of Your Institutional Memory

Technology alone cannot preserve decades of employee experience.

It can, however, help organizations build more consistent ways of working.

When employees use standardized workflows, follow consistent data practices and understand how to use the tools available within their ERP, important processes become less dependent on individual memory.

For distributors using Infor CloudSuite Distribution, that means looking beyond whether the system is simply functioning and asking whether teams are using it consistently and effectively.

Processes change over time. Employees develop workarounds. New capabilities become available. Training received years ago may no longer reflect how the organization operates today.

Regularly reviewing workflows and system utilization can help ensure that the way employees work is intentional rather than something that simply evolved over time.

Don’t Wait Until the Knowledge Is Gone

The worst time to discover that only one employee understands a critical process is after that employee has left.

Distributors have an opportunity to be proactive.

Identify where institutional knowledge lives today. Talk to the people who understand your business best. Document what they know. Examine the workarounds they’ve created. Standardize the processes that should be consistent and make sure employees understand how to use the technology available to them.

The goal isn’t to eliminate the value of experience.

It’s to make sure that experience strengthens the entire organization.

NSA Computer Exchange works with distributors to evaluate workflows, optimize Infor CloudSuite Distribution and help organizations get more from the systems supporting their operations.

To learn more about how NSA can help your organization improve processes and maximize its technology investment, contact solutions@nsacom.com.

NSA, your partner in the distribution space.