CROs need to make knowledge management a focus say researchers

Knowledge management needs to be a focus for CROs according to a new study, which suggests contractors should establish repositories that let employees share information.

The study, available here, looked at the extent to which knowledge management – defined as the process of giving the right information to the right staff in a timely manner – impacts organizational performance.

And the impact is significant according to the authors, who based their conclusion on the assessment of four CROs operating in Taiwan – specifically, IQVIA, PRA Health Science, Formosa Biomedical Technology Corporation and A2 Healthcare Corporation.

They write “Companies would construct a set of suitable norms for employees to follow so that knowledge management becomes a part of daily work norms and knowledge accumulation and knowledge protection activities can be carried out more reliably.”

Employees

The authors also stress the importance of involving employees in the knowledge management process.

“Due to the nature of CRO employees’ work, they rely heavily on the absorption of empirical knowledge, including communication skills with the hospitals and the clients, familiarity with the clinical trial process, clinical trial data recording, and review skills, etc.

“Such knowledge acquisition is necessary for experience sharing in the organization to allow employees to communicate with each other through the mentoring system, or experience and knowledge sharing activities similar to the mentoring system, to achieve the purpose of imparting and spreading experience and knowledge,” they write.

They suggest CROs set up IT systems that provide employees with a systematic platform on which to record, integrate, and transfer knowledge to improve the efficiency of knowledge diffusion and exchange.

Leadership

Senior executive leadership should take a central role in the implementation of knowledge management procedures according to the authors, who write that “The higher the support of the organization’s leadership for knowledge management, the higher the willingness of employees to participate in knowledge management activities.”

“A robust human resource management system, including the design of rewards or performance evaluation systems, can increase employees’ motivation for knowledge diffusion and communication.

They add that, “Clear handover specifications can avoid loss of experience and knowledge during the movement of personnel. Thus, it can promote the easier implementation of accumulation and storage of knowledge.”

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