Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Latest NewsLearning & developmentKnowledge managementOnboardingProductivity

Poor knowledge sharing costing employers millions

by Ashleigh Webber 18 Jul 2018
by Ashleigh Webber 18 Jul 2018

The average large organisation loses $47m (£36m) a year in lost productivity due to poor knowledge sharing and insufficient onboarding processes, it has been claimed.

Workers spend on average 5.3 hours per week waiting on the information, guidance or in-house training needed to carry out their role, according to a survey of 1,001 employees of large US organisations commissioned by e-learning software provider Panopto.

Productivity

Human capital: How to stop productivity going at a snail’s pace

Why the heatwave can be bad for productivity

This results in each person spending an average of 8.47 hours a week working inefficiently, attempting to solve problems through trial and error, reworking a task because their previous approach failed and searching the internet for the knowledge needed to carry out a task.

Panopto’s Workplace Knowledge and Productivity Report 2018 found that improved knowledge sharing could save a large organisation with 17,700 employees $42.5m per year, while improving onboarding for new employees could result in $4.5m in savings.

Employees spent an average of 5.6 hours a week duplicating the work of a colleague, either because that co-worker wasn’t available to help or point them to the right resources, or because they simply were not aware the task had been completed.

It determined that new starters spent around 12.7 hours a week asking for help, often facing delays in getting the information they need or duplicating colleagues’ work. They received around 2.5 months of formal onboarding, but claimed they needed six months to fully get to grips with their role.

Three in 10 employees believed their organisation does not provide enough training, and half said they would benefit from more training resources.

Eric Burns, co-founder and CEO of Panopto, said: “Every employee in every company contributes to institutional knowledge.

“However, employee expertise is fleeting when it’s only shared through conversation. To remain competitive, businesses must provide the tools to preserve institutional knowledge and instil a culture of teaching among employees.”

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Fifty four per cent of those surveyed said work and personal experience was the most important source of expertise, over professional training and education. However, 81% said it was the hardest to replace if employees left the business or were unavailable.

The report said that employers needed to take stock of “unique knowledge” – ideas that nobody else in an organisation has – and see it as a valuable asset to their business.

Ashleigh Webber

Ashleigh is a former editor of OHW+ and former HR and wellbeing editor at Personnel Today. Ashleigh's areas of interest include employee health and wellbeing, equality and inclusion and skills development. She has hosted many webinars for Personnel Today, on topics including employee retention, financial wellbeing and menopause support.

previous post
Ministry of Sound launches ultra-cool London workspace
next post
Talent transformation leads to higher shareholder return

You may also like

Investing in skills when budgets are tight

12 May 2025

Leading with honest feedback: A responsibility in recruitment

24 Apr 2025

High-level apprenticeship spend doubles in five years

16 Apr 2025

Number of SMEs hiring staff in decline

10 Apr 2025

Gen Z and ‘conscious unbossing’: how can HR...

7 Apr 2025

How to build a commercially-minded workforce

3 Apr 2025

Why the apprenticeship shakeup is good news for...

20 Mar 2025

Scrapping NHS England could affect critical training, warn...

14 Mar 2025

Employee engagement: Growing disconnect between effort and recognition,...

13 Mar 2025

Schneider Electric doubles ex-military green skills scheme

13 Mar 2025

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+