Knowledge Transfer Sessions

“Train-the-trainers” (TTT) is one of the most common methods used to scale up improvement & change capability across organisations, yet we often fail to set it up for success. A recent article, drawing on teacher professional development & transfer-of-training research, argues TTT should always be based on an “offer-and-use” model: OFFER: what the programme provides—facilitator expertise, session design, practice opportunities, feedback, follow-up support & evaluation. USE: what participants do with those opportunities—what they notice, how they make sense of it, how much they engage, what they learn, & whether they apply it in real work. How to design TTT that works & sticks: 1. Design for real-world use: Clarify the practical outcome - what trainers should do differently in their next sessions & what that should improve for the organisation. Plan beyond the classroom with post-course support so people can apply learning. Space learning over time rather than delivering it in one intensive block, because spacing & follow-ups support sustained use. 2. Use strong facilitators: Select facilitators who know the topic & how adults learn, how groups work & how to give useful feedback. Ensure they teach “how to make this stick at work” (apply & sustain practices), not only “how to deliver a session.” 3. Make practice central: Build the programme around realistic rehearsal: deliver, get feedback, & practise again until skills become automatic. Use participants’ real scenarios (especially change situations) to strengthen transfer. Include safe practice for difficult moments (challenge, unexpected questions) & treat mistakes as learning. Build peer learning so participants learn with & from each other, not just the facilitator. 4. Prepare participants to succeed: Assess what participants already know & can do, then tailor the learning. Build confidence to use skills at work (confidence predicts application). Help each person create a simple, specific plan for when & how they will use the approaches in their next training sessions. 5. Ensure workplace transfer support: Enable quick application (opportunities to deliver training soon after the course), plus time & resources to do it well. Provide ongoing support (feedback, coaching, & encouragement) from leaders, peers &/or the wider organisation. 6. Evaluate what matters: Go beyond satisfaction scores - assess whether trainers changed their practice & whether this improved outcomes for learners & the organisation. Use findings to improve the next iteration as a continuous improvement cycle, not a one-off event. https://lnkd.in/eJ-Xrxwm. By Prof. Dr. Susanne Wisshak & colleagues, sourced via John Whitfield MBA

A classic Knowledge Management problem for in-house teams is how to access tacit institutional knowledge from long-serving team members. 🤔 If you've worked in an in-house team that's been around for even a short while, you'll know that a significant amount of the inner workings of how the team operates and interacts with the business is stored in the heads of a few individuals. This knowledge can range from the weird and wonderful to super relevant and insightful context that can shine a light on bizarre deals and confusing decisions. Often, this knowledge is most useful for fast decision-making and continuity of operations. ⚙️ From a management perspective, you have to ask: what happens to this knowledge when these team members leave or retire? And how do we ensure other team members can operate effectively by having access to this information without constantly needing to consult their more experienced colleagues? 🤔 It’s crucial to proactively manage this risk and opportunity by systematically capturing and disseminating this knowledge across the team. You could consider the following for you team: Structured Knowledge Audits: Regularly conduct interviews or workshops with long-serving team members to document processes, insights, and decision-making criteria that are often not written down. These sessions should be structured to dig deep into the "why" behind certain practices, not just the "what" or "how." 📝 (Probably don't call them 'audits' and make sure your colleagues understand why you're doing them) Mentorship and Cross-Training: Encourage mentorship programs where senior team members actively share their knowledge with newer colleagues. Additionally, cross-training team members on different roles and responsibilities can ensure that knowledge is spread across the team, reducing dependency on any single individual. 👥 Centralizing Knowledge: Almost every KM topic comes back to this, but consider where and how you can centralize your documented knowledge so it is easily accessible. Start small and strategically, but start somewhere and with a commitment to maintaining what you've done. 📚 #LegalOps #KnowledgeManagement #Law #Legal #Business

🔹 Retention Is a Safety Issue: PKSM in Aging Workforces A brilliant but often-overlooked risk: Process Safety Knowledge Loss in Aging Workforces (Inspired by CCPS Guidelines for PSKM – 2024) 🧠 One of the smartest process safety insights I’ve seen recently — and it’s hiding in plain sight. Most plants are surprised by it year after year: 🎯 “We didn’t know how critical that operator’s knowledge was... until he retired.” 🙄 I’ve personally seen this play out multiple times in my career — Critical know-how just walks out the door. Troubleshooting tips, interlock logic, workaround justifications — gone. And suddenly what seemed like a staffing problem becomes a safety problem. ⚠️ What CCPS Gets Right The 2024 CCPS PSKM Guidelines spell it out clearly: “When a knowledgeable person leaves and knowledge is lost, a hazard may go unrecognized.” (Ch. 1.4) This is why Process Safety Knowledge Management (PSKM) is more than just a records project; it’s how you prevent your plant from forgetting what it once learned. 🧠 What Needs to Happen ✅ Identify who holds tacit knowledge (and what knowledge they hold) ✅ Conduct knowledge transfer sessions — not just exit interviews ✅ Capture insights into structured systems (tagged, retrievable, reviewed) ✅ Assign knowledge stewards to own and update key material ✅ Embed this into training, MOC, and procedures — not just storage 📘 “PSKM systems must proactively account for workforce dynamics.” (Ch. 6) 💥 Example (Based on Field Reality, Inspired by CCPS) After a near miss, one site discovered its reactor upset response existed only in a retiree’s handwritten notes. The solution? A navigator shadowed senior staff and codified their insights into SOPs and training—the result: faster onboarding, better emergency response, and more confident decision-making. 🔁 Final Thought: “People retire. Knowledge shouldn’t.” 👉 If you’re not tracking who holds critical knowledge, you may be one resignation away from your next major risk. ♦️ Let’s stop being surprised by the same thing every year. #ProcessSafety #PSKM #PSM #KnowledgeRetention #AgingWorkforce #CCPS #Leadership #HazardAwareness #RBPS #ChemicalEngineering #WorkforcePlanning #LeadershipDevelopment #TacitKnowledge

What if one casual conversation could unlock mentorship, marketing content, and reusable knowledge across an entire firm? That’s exactly what LS3P is doing with Expert Hours. It started as a simple idea: put subject matter experts in front of the firm over lunch and let people ask them anything. The questions range from technical to deeply personal and the vibe is intentionally relaxed. It’s not a formal lecture. It’s a conversation. And everyone’s invited. But LS3P didn’t let the value of those conversations end there. They record every session and transcribe it. Then, instead of just storing it on the file server and hoping someone finds it later, they upload it into Synthesis, their AI-powered knowledge and learning platform—aka “F.R.A.N.K.” Now, the insights from Expert Hours are searchable. That means anyone in the firm can access what was said—not just by rewatching a video, but by finding the exact moment an expert answered a similar question to the one they’re working on right now. And it goes further. Marketing uses Microsoft Copilot and Synthesis to mine the transcripts: → What internal resources could we build from this person’s knowledge? → What conferences could they speak at? → What publications should we pitch them to? → What campaigns could we build around their expertise? As Katie Robinson says, “We just think about every single thing we could possibly get from the knowledge that was shared. And then, how are we going to put that into action?” It’s a small lift with a substantial impact. Or as I like to say, it creates great “Return on kKnowledge.” 🎧 📺 Listen or watch the full episode of TRXL Podcast to hear how LS3P ASSOCIATES LTD. turns a one-hour conversation into fuel for learning, mentorship, and growth. (Link in comments.) #AEC #KnowledgeManagement #LearningOrganization #SmarterByDesign

Turnover is inevitable, but the loss of institutional knowledge doesn’t have to be. When employees leave, they often take critical knowledge with them. One of the best ways to safeguard that knowledge is to document workflows and SOPs. Unfortunately, this often gets postponed due to a lack of capacity. So here are three easy steps to get it done faster and more effectively with AI: 1️⃣ Pick a process that is most in need of a documentation upgrade. Think of a critical one that solely relies on one person or often causes bottlenecks and frustration. 2️⃣ Record 1-2 virtual training sessions with AI assistants. Tools like Otter. ai, Fireflies. ai, Zoom, and Microsoft Copilot can transcribe discussions in real-time and generate written notes after the meeting. All you need is the trainer sharing their screen and walking a trainee through the process. 3️⃣ Use the transcripts from those meetings to generate SOPs with AI synthesis tools. It’s all about the prompts. Here’s an example of a basic one: "Create an SOP draft from this transcript, focusing on the key compliance steps discussed. Organize the information under headings: Introduction, Procedure, Risks, and FAQs." And voilà ✅ While this is an efficient way to document processes, keep in mind the potential challenges of working with AI, such as handling sensitive and proprietary information. By following these three steps, you'll not only have training videos and written manuals, but you'll also build a system that makes knowledge transfer seamless. Now your turn! Have you tried using AI for process documentation? What was your experience?

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗕𝗔𝘀 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗲𝗿𝘀 (𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗕𝗔 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲) Have you ever struggled with getting information from a colleague you were taking over from? The other day I was speaking to a friend of mine who had mentioned a situation at work and I was immediately taken back to when I was in a new BA role and the person assigned to transfer their knowledge to me was a supreme gatekeeper. They would: - give vague responses - withhold or gloss over key information - behave like they were the busiest person in the office and I need to jump hurdles to get access to them I figured it was one of two things: - they were protective of their knowledge, skeptical of change, or just overwhelmed or - they liked the power that came from with being the "only one in the know." Regardless, I had tasks to complete and my credibility to uphold so here is what I did: 💡Instead of asking open-ended questions like "Can you walk me through this process?", I'd ask targeted ones like: “What are the exact steps you follow when submitting X?” 💡When they'd share something, I would repeat it back and document it and say something along the lines of “Just to confirm, you do A, then B, then C, correct?” 💡If they’re being intentionally difficult, I'd loop in a neutral party, I'd pull in my manager: “I want to make sure we’re aligned on expectations for this transfer—can we all meet for 15 minutes?” 💡I'd find ways to connect with them by being curious about them instead of always wanting something from them; I'd as about their experience or challenges like“What’s the biggest challenge with this system?” Bottomline though, you can’t control how people act, but you can control how you navigate them. As BAs, we don’t just gather requirements, we also know how to get information, even from the toughest sources. ❓Have you ever dealt with a difficult knowledge transfer? How did you handle it? Let's chat in the comment section.

Your best SDR goes on vacation for two weeks. The guy covering for him calls you, panicking: "I can't find anything. His leads are everywhere." Personal notes scattered across three different platforms. Critical follow-ups in his personal calendar. Prospect context buried in random emails. Thirty qualified opportunities just... vanished. This is what happens when you build a business around individual brilliance instead of transferable systems. In this case, you have a superhero problem. Your top performers are hoarding information like dragons guarding treasure. The antidote? Instituting the "hit by a bus" test. If any rep got hit by a bus tomorrow, could someone else step in immediately without losing a single opportunity? In 99% of businesses, the answer is a hard no. But let's say you rebuilt your handoff process. Make it more dependent on SYSTEMS rather than individual people. Every interaction now gets logged with specific context fields. Every follow-up goes through our centralized system. Every prospect gets a complete timeline that anyone can understand. Your business shouldn't be held hostage by any individual's memory. At the Systemized Sales Challenge, I'm showing you our complete knowledge transfer system. You'll see how we capture institutional knowledge before it walks out the door. Because people are replaceable. Good systems are eternal. Get your system built in 3 days: <https://lnkd.in/eegdv-3H>