Exploring Tacit, Explicit and Implicit Knowledge

Every customer support industry revolves around this story – where a seasoned customer support agent retires after spending a long time in the industry and their instincts, experiences, and problem-solving techniques are lost with their exit. In short, all the wisdom leaves with them.

This is the knowledge gap that enterprises struggle with. The challenge? Capturing and retaining knowledge before it disappears. But not all knowledge is created equal.

Before we proceed, let’s understand the different types of knowledge in an enterprise.

What Are the Different Types of Knowledge in an Organization?

Experts categorize knowledge into three key types: Tacit, Explicit, and Implicit.

1. Tacit Knowledge: The ‘Gut Feeling’ Knowledge

Tacit knowledge is intuitive, experience-based, and difficult to articulate. It’s the know-how that lives in employees’ minds. For instance: Sarah, a seasoned support agent, instinctively calms frustrated customers—yet she can’t fully explain how she does it. A senior engineer debugs issues in minutes, not by following a manual, but through years of hands-on experience. This is tacit knowledge—intuitive, experience-based, and often undocumented.

For instance: Think of a Michelin-star chef who cooks without measuring ingredients. Their skill is honed over years of experience but is tough to document in a recipe book.

Characteristics:

• Highly personal and subjective
• Context-specific
• Challenging to document or transfer

2. Explicit Knowledge: The Documented, Searchable Knowledge

Explicit knowledge is structured, documented, and easily transferable. It includes manuals, knowledge base articles, SOPs, FAQs, and company wikis. For instance: A company’s customer support team follows a detailed troubleshooting guide for resolving software bugs. New agents can refer to this document to resolve issues without requiring senior guidance.

Characteristics:

• Easily documented and communicated
• Structured and organized
• Accessible and transferable

3. Implicit Knowledge: The ‘Unspoken but Transferable’ Knowledge

Implicit knowledge falls between tacit and explicit. It’s knowledge that isn’t documented but can be transferred through training or practice.

For instance: A new hire in sales might not receive a written manual on reading customer emotions, but by shadowing a senior salesperson, they pick up on cues like tone shifts and hesitation signals.

Characteristics:

• Derived from explicit knowledge
• Not formally documented
• Observable through actions and behaviors

Now that you’re aware of different types of knowledge, it’s also very crucial to understand how to convert tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge.

Here’s How To Convert Tacit Knowledge Into Explicit Knowledge

One of the biggest challenges in knowledge management is converting tacit knowledge into something reusable.

1. Encourage Knowledge Sharing Culture

• Foster a mentorship program where senior employees pass down experience to juniors.
• Use AI-powered knowledge management tools to record and analyze agent interactions for best practices.

2. Best Practices for Knowledge Transfer in Enterprises

• Create a centralized knowledge repository to store FAQs, past resolutions, and process documents.
• Use video documentation—employees are 75% more likely to watch a training video than read a long manual (Forrester Research).
• Conduct exit interviews and knowledge transfer sessions before employees leave.

Now, the question is why knowledge management matters for enterprises?

Why Knowledge Management Matters?

Enterprises with strong knowledge retention strategies reduce onboarding time by 50% while poor knowledge transfer costs Fortune 500 companies USD 31.5 billion annually. Moreover, Harvard Business Review reports that enterprises that prioritize knowledge-sharing experience have 35% higher employee engagement.

The thing is that the most successful enterprises don’t just capture knowledge – they create, refine, and leverage it. Whether it’s through AI-driven analytics, or fostering a knowledge-sharing culture, or structured documentation, the key is ensuring that knowledge stays within the company, not in the minds of a few employees.

Now, the question isn’t if knowledge management matters, but how well your enterprise is managing it. Ask yourself:

• Is your company leveraging the right knowledge management tools?
• What steps are you taking to prevent knowledge loss?

That’s where SearchUnify Knowbler—an agentic-AI-fueled knowledge assistant designed to seamlessly capture and convert tacit knowledge into reusable, structured insights, enters the picture.

Here’s how it works:

Real-Time Knowledge Capture in the Workflow: Knowbler integrates directly into agents’ daily workflows, allowing them to document resolutions, best practices, and troubleshooting steps as they handle support tickets—without disrupting their work.

AI-Powered Knowledge Recommendations: By analyzing conversations, ticket resolutions, and past interactions, Knowbler proactively suggests relevant knowledge contributions that agents might overlook, ensuring critical insights are captured before they fade away.

Automated Knowledge Structuring & Enrichment: Once tacit knowledge is captured, Knowbler structures it into well-defined knowledge articles, ensuring clarity, consistency, and compliance with knowledge management best practices.

Intelligent Prompts & Context Awareness: Knowbler leverages AI to detect when an agent is handling a unique issue and nudges them to document their solution—reducing knowledge loss due to reliance on tribal knowledge.

Collaborative Knowledge Refinement: By enabling peer reviews and expert validation, Knowbler refines tacit knowledge into high-quality knowledge assets, ensuring it remains relevant, accurate, and easy to retrieve for future use.

Talk to the experts – because knowledge isn’t power unless it’s shared.