Expert Networks and Knowledge Management: Strategies for Leveraging External Expertise

Expert networks (EN) are online platforms that connect investors, organizations, and companies with external experts to gain insight and receive advice about specific topics related to their industry or field. EN are great instruments to access valuable knowledge, which, if managed properly, can help the company gain a competitive advantage.

In today’s constantly changing business environment, companies and organizations need to stay abreast of the latest developments and innovations to remain competitive. By leveraging external expertise sourced through expert networks, businesses can position themselves to make better-informed decisions, drive innovation, and stay ahead of the curve.

Knowledge management is a business term that refers to the process of identifying, storing, sharing, and capturing information and knowledge within a company or organization in order to achieve business goals and enhance performance.

Some of the most commonly employed strategies for leveraging external expertise through expert networks include:

- Finding and selecting the most relevant external experts.

- Maintaining strong relationships with the EN and the expert.

- Identifying key topics or areas of interest for the sourcing of external expertise.

In addition, businesses must employ ongoing evaluation and monitoring of the advice provided by external experts to continuously improve their performance and enhance business outcomes.

Understanding Expert Networks

An expert network is an online or digital-based platform that connects various organizations with experienced industry professionals and academic specialists for the purpose of conducting research and consultation. Expert networks allow companies to gain access to expertise on a specific topic, often on a project-by-project basis.

These days, expert networks generally fall into two types: curated and crowdsourced.

A curated expert network consists of a select group of experts who are vetted by a platform to verify their experience and expertise (for example ENC Calls is an aggregator of curated networks).

Crowdsourced networks, on the other hand, allow businesses to tap into a larger pool of potential experts who aren’t necessarily vetted, but who are more accessible and perhaps more affordable. The benefits of using curated networks include access to higher-quality expertise and more personalized support while crowdsourced networks generally offer greater flexibility and scalability.

Unlike more traditional consulting or research firms, expert networks of all types typically operate on a “gig” or project-by-project basis, providing companies with access to specific expertise for a limited scope.

EN are generally more affordable than traditional consulting firms as they do not require the same level of engagement and can be far more targeted in their approach.

Leveraging Expert Networks for Knowledge Management

Businesses seeking to leverage external expertise for knowledge management through expert networks enjoy a number of benefits, including direct access to specialized knowledge and expertise, increased efficiency and speed in decision-making, and improved risk management.

PROs of tapping external expertise for knowledge management:

- Fresh perspective on their business opportunities (and challenges);

- New ideas and innovation;

- Improvement of overall performance and competitiveness by staying ahead of the competition.

Before employing an expert network to leverage external knowledge, companies should prepare a business strategy in order to maximize the value of their engagement.

Some best practices for working with external experts include:

1. Clearly defining the scope of work and expectations upfront

2. Establishing appropriate timelines and milestones

3. Assigning adequate company resources and support.

Companies engaging with external experts should have a plan in place to share the knowledge and insight gained from these consultations across their organization in order to fully leverage the advice and input they acquired from the experts.

Additionally, it is important for any business that regularly consults with external experts to have a plan in place to evaluate and assess the impact and outcomes of these consultations, making adjustments as necessary to continually improve performance and results.

Overcoming Challenges Related to Leveraging External Expertise

While leveraging external expertise via an expert network offers several benefits to companies, there are also several challenges to consider.

Some of the risks include:

- The potential for a conflict of interest

- The difficulty in finding and selecting the right expert(s) for a given project

- Information confidentiality and leakage

- Managing communication and information resource coordination across multiple external experts.

In addition, companies consulting with external experts must be prepared to invest time and resources into building relationships with the experts, which may require ongoing management. Furthermore, there is always an inherent risk that an external expert may not always provide the depth of insight or level of expertise that the company requires, leading to some suboptimal outcomes.

In order to overcome these challenges, companies can take several steps such as:

- Implementing robust data and information security measures in order to stop information leakage and conflicts of interest.

- Companies can take advantage of tools and algorithms to help identify and select the most appropriate expert for a given project.

- Companies should implement evaluation and monitoring frameworks in order to ensure that all external experts are delivering value for money and that their participation in a given project remains aligned with the company’s business objectives.

Conclusion

Expert networks can offer companies a powerful tool for accessing specialized knowledge externally and fast in order to address complex and dynamic business challenges and opportunities. By properly leveraging this external expertise, businesses can improve their decision-making process, speed up innovation, and stay ahead of trends and developments in their industry.

And while there are certainly challenges associated with leveraging external experts companies can overcome these challenges by implementing robust data security measures and building strong relationships with their external experts.

Ultimately, expert networks today must be considered an essential component of any knowledge management strategy, thus enabling companies to tap into the collective knowledge and expertise of the global community in order to improve productivity and drive innovation and growth.