Guide: tacit knowledge in the company

Knowledge nobody wrote down.

Every business relies on people knowing more than the documents say.

This guide shows what tacit knowledge is, how to recognise it and how a large part of it can be passed on — with examples from six areas and four steps for everyday work.

Tacit knowledge is what people apply at work without writing it down — hand movements, rules of thumb, a feel for a fault. Part of it stays with the person; much of it can be captured, though, if someone asks at the right moment: by voice message, photo or video, with follow-up questions about conditions and reasons, and with a source for everyone who asks later.

  • EXAMPLES FROM THE WORKPLACE
  • MAKE IT EXPLICIT WHERE POSSIBLE
  • WITHOUT ASSESSING PEOPLE
AT A GLANCE

Tacit knowledge: the essentials first.

KEY POINTS
  • People apply tacit knowledge without putting it into words: hand movements, rules of thumb, arrangements, a feel for a fault.
  • Explicit knowledge is in documents. Tacit knowledge sits in people and comes up at work — often only when someone asks.
  • Part of it stays with the person, such as a fine touch. Much can be captured, though: conditions, reasons, exceptions, whom to ask.
  • This works best in the moment of work, not in an interview: show rather than describe, follow up rather than question.
  • Capturing knowledge does not mean assessing people. It is about the matter, not about who knows how much.
THE SHORT ANSWER

What is tacit knowledge?

Tacit knowledge is knowledge someone applies without stating it explicitly. The chemist and philosopher Michael Polanyi put it in a formula in 1966: we can know more than we can tell. In German it is called implizites Wissen.

At work this is, for example, the maintenance technician who can hear that a bearing is wearing, or the clerk who knows which application needs an extra page at which authority. Both could explain it — if someone asked, at the moment it is needed.

DIFFERENCE

Explicit and tacit knowledge.

The two belong together. One describes how things should be; the other, how they actually run.

Explicit knowledge
  • is in manuals, instructions, inspection plans and drawings
  • can be filed, copied and searched
  • describes the normal case
  • stays when the person leaves
Tacit knowledge
  • sits in experience, hand movements and arrangements
  • comes up at work, often only when asked
  • knows the exceptions and their reasons
  • leaves with the person if nobody captures it
EXAMPLES

Tacit knowledge: six examples from the workplace.

Someone has each of these in their head, and hardly any of them is in a document.

MAINTENANCEThe sound before the failureWhoever has known the machine for years can hear when a bearing is wearing — before it shows up in any log.
SALESWhat a customer looks atWhich customer watches the delivery date and which one the price is not in any system.
ADMINISTRATIONThe logic behind the filing planWhy a case is filed under this number and where the exceptions are is often known only to the registry.
LABORATORYThe sample you measure twiceFor which material a reading is only right the second time is learned by experience, not from the test standard.
TRADESThe quirks of a roofWhere a house in town has been repaired twice already, and why, is known to the master craftsman who was there.
ITThe reason behind the settingWhy a server is configured this way, and what happens if you change it, is rarely in the ticket.
MODEL

How tacit knowledge is passed on: the SECI model.

In 1995 the knowledge researchers Ikujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi described how knowledge in companies moves between tacit and explicit. Their model has four steps and is named SECI after their initials.

SOCIALISATIONFrom person to personKnowledge passes on by watching and doing, for example when working in pairs. Tacit stays tacit.
EXTERNALISATIONSaying it and capturing itSomeone explains what they do and why. This is where tacit knowledge becomes explicit — the hardest and most valuable step.
COMBINATIONLinkingWhat was said joins manuals, drawings and reports. Single pieces become a connected whole.
INTERNALISATIONApplying it yourselfWhoever takes over applies what they have learned until it becomes their own experience again.

For businesses, externalisation is the bottleneck: it takes time, and without the right moment nobody thinks of what they could explain.

IN PRACTICE

Making tacit knowledge explicit: four steps.

Without a project and without interview marathons — during everyday work.

  1. STEP 1 · IN THE MOMENT01Ask when it happensDuring a fault, at a customer visit, with the file open — that is when the person remembers what an interview would miss.
  2. STEP 2 · SHOW02Show rather than describeA photo of the nameplate, a short video of the move, a voice message from the shop floor say more than a form.
  3. STEP 3 · FOLLOW UP03Clarify the conditionsWhich variant does it apply to, from which value, what happens otherwise? Only the follow-up turns a tip into knowledge others can apply.
  4. STEP 4 · LINK04Bring it together with documentsWhat was said joins the manual, with its origin. If it contradicts the document, that becomes visible and gets resolved.
HONESTLY

What can be captured — and what cannot.

Not all tacit knowledge can be put into words. That is no reason not to try.

Can be captured
  • conditions and exceptions: when things run differently
  • reasons: why something is done this way
  • hints and warning signs to look out for
  • who can help with which question
Stays with the person
  • a fine touch and practised movements
  • judgement in a situation that never happened before
  • trust that has grown over years

For what stays with the person, working in pairs still helps. Captured knowledge makes it shorter, not unnecessary.

WITH EXPLICIO

How Explicio helps.

With Explicio, people bring in what they would explain anyway — as a voice message, photo, video or short text through around 20 channels the team already uses. Explicio asks when a condition is missing, and remembers a refusal instead of asking again.

What was said is linked with existing documents and recorded with person and time. Whoever asks later gets the answer in their own words and with a source. Nobody is assessed: Explicio keeps no rankings and does not evaluate who knows how much.

Capturing expert knowledge before retirement →How Explicio works →

QUESTIONS

Frequently asked.

What is tacit knowledge, simply explained?

Knowledge someone applies without writing it down or saying it — a hand movement, a rule of thumb, or the feeling that something is wrong with a machine.

What is the difference between tacit and explicit knowledge?

Explicit knowledge is in documents and is passed on by passing on the documents. Tacit knowledge sits in people; it only passes on if someone shows it, explains it or captures it.

What are examples of tacit knowledge?

The sound of a machine before it fails, what a customer looks at, the logic behind a filing plan, the sample you measure twice. More examples are further up this page.

Can tacit knowledge be documented?

A large part of it, yes: conditions, reasons, exceptions and warning signs. A fine touch and practised movements stay with the person; that is why working in pairs remains important.

What does implizites Wissen mean?

Implizites Wissen is the German term for tacit knowledge. The concept goes back to Michael Polanyi.

Is anyone evaluated on how much they know?

No. Explicio does not assess people and keeps no rankings. What is recorded is what someone brought in and who it came from — as a source, not as a metric.

NEXT STEP

Try out how Explicio follows up.

After a short call we set up your test space. A single voice message from your business is enough to see which follow-up question comes. The 30 days only start after that.

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