Knowledge hoarding is when an employee intentionally withholds information and doesn't share it with other employees. Employees may hoard knowledge for personal gain, such as receiving praise and bonuses, keeping control, ensuring job security, or making themselves indispensable in their work environments. Managers need to mitigate knowledge-hoarding because this behavior fosters silos, which can impede effective collaboration and cost organizations millions of dollars if not addressed correctly.

Kaizen (改善) is a Japanese term that translates as “Continuous Improvement”. Operational Intelligence is the knowledge an organization accumulates and transfers to each employee through its senior employees. When senior employees leave an organization, they take critical operational intelligence. Operations Kanri Tsūru [管理ツール] (i.e., Management Tool) is one of the innovative tools Aiki-Karate’s Leadership Consultants use to assist organizations with mitigating the loss of operational intelligence. This management tool re-energizes an organization’s existing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) by making them living documents that can adapt to the ever-changing business environments.

The existence of Bad Employees is spawned from Toxic Organization Cultures. These negative behaviors are ingrained within an organizational culture's invisible walls. This significantly harms employees, preventing them from being productive and growing professionally. Some examples of Bad Employees are employees who:

§ Excessive sick leave, frequent absences, and tardiness.

§ Bullying or harassing employees.

§ Taking credit for another employee’s work.

§ Complaining about the organization without taking action.

§ Sabotaging another employee's work.

§ Blaming other employees for their mistakes.

§ Giving unnecessary tasks to other employees.

Managers who do not hold themselves and their employees accountable for their actions and do not set clear expectations that align with strategic plans are nurturing the existence of Bad Employees. Managers who must gain the skillsets to provide positive and constructive feedback, manage employee conflict, and communicate effectively are also nurturing Bad Employees. Lastly, managers who fail to incorporate progressive corrective actions with all employees nurture the existence of bad employees.

If your organization is experiencing Knowledge Hoarding and Bad Employees, we can mitigate this ordeal. The Operational Scorecard Course teaches our clients how to create productive Mission and Vision statements, Values, KPIs, and SOPs and integrate them with SMART goal concepts to make these tools more efficient. Successful organizations focus on four evidence-based areas when creating these tools. To learn more about these four areas, click on this button:

Are Your Knowledge-Hoarding Employees Holding Your Hostage?