Institutional Knowledge

Institutional knowledge, occasionally called institutional memory or organizational memory is gained by transferring experience and information into useful knowledge. The Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) divides organizational memory into the following six categories:

• Work Routines
• Ecology
• Organisational Culture
• Structures
• Physical Records and Documents
• People

Work routines, ecology structures, and physical record and documents have little to do with HRM, but organizational culture and people are inextricably lined to HRM. Organizational culture consists of the assumptions, attitudes, and resulting behaviors of the employees of an organization, and is a combination of the individuals involved and their group dynamic. The "People" division of organizational memory indicates the personal knowledge that individuals hold. The AARE notes that when a single person leaves an organization, only her personal knowledge is lost; whereas if an entire division or team leaves an organization, then organizational memory is diminished.

However, in the case of small SCOs, where each employee has a vast job description, each individual has a larger effect on organizational memory. Additionally, in the case of employees who hold the same position for many many years, those individuals have a strong part in the institutional knowledge of their organization.

Institutional knowledge, particularly the people-based knowledge is important for an organization for many reasons. Maintaining it ensures stability of the relationships that individuals make with internal and external stakeholders, the seemingly mindless tasks that individuals learn and then continue doing without need for instruction, and finally, the accumulation of best practices and improvements on past attempts over time.

Yet there is a need to balance stability and internal learning with innovation and external influence. Maintaining institutional knowledge can become a continuous attempt at keeping the status quo and can prevent learning or charismatic organizations. For that reason, active values-driven HRM that focuses on both strategic orientation and people's goals can manage the balance between preserving what is known and innovating toward the future.