What is knowledge transfer?

Originally answered Jan 22, 2018

Knowledge transfer is the process by which one or more people (the source) teach other people (the recipients) what the source knows so that the recipients are able to put that knowledge to effective use. This can be through:

1. Formal teaching by the source with the recipients as students
2. Presentations by the source to the recipients
3. Informal discussions between the source and the recipients
4. Demonstrations by the source for the recipients
5. Apprenticeship by the recipients assisting the source
6. Writing by the source with subsequent reading by the recipients
7. Recipients trying things out under the tutelage of the source
8. Formal mentoring of the recipients by the source

See also:

• How can tacit knowledge be transferred or shared?
• What’s the best way to transfer knowledge from an SME to the rest of the organization?
• Knowledge Retention: How to deal with a departing workforce
• Dorothy Leonard: Profiles in Knowledge