How to Share: Information seeking

Information literacy is more than a body of skills and a set of concepts. It is a way of knowing how to deal with information, a way of finding out about information resources, and a way of interacting with information that sets the information literate individual apart.

An entrepreneur undertakes personal research on how to satisfy customers and solve problems. He/she knows that different people have different capabilities that can be of help to them. He/she seeks relevant information from his/her clients, suppliers, competitors and others. He/she always wants to learn things which will help the business to grow.

It's essential to avoid important knowledge or skills being held by only a few people, because if they leave or retire that expertise could be lost to your business. If you have efficient ways of sharing knowledge across the business, it will be more widely used and its value and effectiveness are likely to be maximised.

Consider the best ways of sharing new ideas and information with your staff. You may already have regular meetings when you can brief employees and ask them to share ideas and best practice.

You could consider holding innovation workshops or brainstorming sessions at which staff are given the freedom and encouragement to think of ways in which the business could improve.

It can also be a good idea to create a knowledge bank containing useful information and instructions on how to carry out key tasks. Putting this on an intranet is ideal as it will encourage staff to post news or suggestions.