Angie, an HR director colleague of mine, oversees project managers spread across many divisions at a utility company. Needing someone for a large data project, she realized that none of the project managers she knew had relevant expertise, and she began the time-consuming process of recruiting someone new. During a chance discussion with a colleague, she learned there was someone working in another division who had deep expertise in large data projects. Angie was able to connect with him, bring him in to advise on the new project, and knew she could call on him as a resource in the future.This disconnect is surprisingly common across companies. Your organization may be full of talented employees, but Its impossible to harness valuable knowledge, talent, and expertise if you dont know they exist. As a leader, the more you understand what your employees can do, the better you can achieve your organizations mission. Often, the benefits are immediate and significant and include:reducing employees time spent searching for informationminimizing ad hoc efforts tracking down coworkers needed for specific taskseliminating reliance on outside experts to address perceived skill gapsWhile the benefits of making organizational knowledge accessible are clear, illuminating existing expertise can be surprisingly difficultfor several stubborn reasons.Valuable knowledge associated with deep expertise often is tacit. This makes it more nuanced and less tangible, difficult to document and share, for instance, on a LinkedIn profile. Further complicating matters, your organizations structure may have so many silos that you are familiar only with your close coworkers and know little about those in other departments. This issue can be exacerbated at larger organizations, as the person who could provide valuable help may be hidden in another division or another location. For you, its as if they dont exist.As a learning strategy consultant, Ive found that one effective strategy for tapping into hidden knowledge relies on creating an organizational knowledge map. This is an easy-to-access resource that identifies where organizational strengths (and limitations) lie. With this map, employees are able to plan and accomplish their work more efficiently. The knowledge map also can facilitate internal networking among new employees, building strategic connections that will accelerate and contextualize their learning.A knowledge map is not a replacement for concrete, well-documented processes and standard operating procedures. Nor does it replace job descriptions or role expectation sheets. Rather, it augments these, making the valuable, intuitive, unspoken expert knowledge visible and accessible to all. It allows employees to learn from others experiences, while reducing time spent searching for information, doing things that dont work, or reinventing the wheel.Here are five steps that you, as a manager, can follow to create a knowledge map for your organization:1. Assign Clear ResponsibilitiesAllocate someone, or a small team, to be in charge of the effort. Clear ownership ensures that the initiative stays on track. For example, at one company I consulted with, Holly, an HR manager, paired up with her colleague in HR, Sarah, and divided up the initial tasks. They each worked on gathering information from distinct divisionsfield employees went to Sarah, people working behind the scenes in the office were Hollys responsibility. Tasks were tracked on a simple spreadsheet to document their progress.2. Select a pilot groupIf you have a large company, consider beginning with one department. For example, HR director Angie (whose story I shared above) began the mapping exercise with a group of six project managers. This group also happened to be the companys top revenue-generating division. This approach was more manageable, and also addressed a pressing need of Angies: ensuring that she and her team knew which project managers had the requisite know-how to lead which new initiatives.Once you have identified your pilot group, let your organizational chart guide your efforts. Initially, this can be low-tech. For example, L&D director George created a replica of his organizational chart on a large empty wall in his office and added index cards with questions about employees knowledge, experience, skills, and expertise. To get started with populating the map, employees filled out their cards. For bonus credit they could indicate a particular skill or talent of a coworker, as well.Another approach is to mine data from employees self-assessments, rsums, interviews, performance reviews, 360-degree feedback, and skills assessments; this can generate a wealth of information highlighting areas of expertise, achievements, skills, and talents. As you progress, you may benefit from using company-approved AI tools to help organize these data within your map.3. Overcome knowledge hoardingOnce you have mapped the knowledge of one group, the next step is to expand to other areas. Some organizations are more open, with an established culture of sharing knowledge. If thats your organization, youre ahead of the game. Often, though, companies harbor knowledge hoarders. They consider their tacit knowledge as a source of power and may hesitate to share and risk reducing their competitive advantage. Such situationsespecially those outside of your immediate teamrequire careful encouragement, as you cultivate their trust.As a leader you can model and normalize knowledge sharing, which helps employees recognize the benefits of doing so. Encourage your employees to connect with others by showcasing others expertise. For example, you might say, If you want to learn more about how to turn a no into a yes on your next sales call, you really need to talk to Terry. He has tons of experience, and some innovative strategies for knowing the exact moment a customer is ready to hear your sales pitch.Regularly and publicly acknowledge peoples skills and expertise and align knowledge sharing to your organizational mission. Internal Slack channels, lunch-and-learn gatherings, communities of practice, and team presentations are all useful venues for highlighting and celebrating diverse knowledge and skills. At one tech company, the L&D team introduced monthly expert spotlights, featuring employees sharing their expertise in informal sessions; these fostered a culture of openness and trust.4. Collect FAQsHaving navigated the complexities of organizational silos and the potential perils of knowledge hoarding, you will have a working draft of your map. The next step is to gather more data, as you expand your map to include more areas of your organization. At this point, it is effective to collect frequently asked questions. These can help people envision ways they might operationalize the data in the map and also allow people to foster strategic connections with the people best positioned to help.HR director Roxanne was frequently asked who could help employees write proposals for new business. Roxannes knowledge that Melanie in marketing was the go-to person for proposal help was information she could include on a knowledge map, enabling people in need to possibly connect with Melanie.Collaboration tools such as Slack can streamline tracking employee questions and categorizing them by topics. PairUp, for instance, is a tool that helps with analyzing common questions and connecting people to those who know the answer. Imagine that Lily has been asked to create a pivot table in Excel, for example, but doesnt know how to do it. She could ask a question in Slack and see who responds or who is suggested. If someone else has previously asked this question, the response will be easily accessible in the database. Another company used Confluence to compile and categorize their FAQs, making it easier for employees to find answers and identify experts. These messages become a searchable record of knowledge that can reduce the time employees spend searching for information.5. Focus on Usability and Maintain the Map as a Living DocumentOnce you have created your knowledge map, keep in mind that the process is an iterative one. For maximum value, a knowledge map must be a living document that evolves with your organization. Schedule regular reviews to keep your map accurate and accessible. Solicit employee feedback to refine usability and address any obstacles that arise. Check in with employees regularly to assess how easy it is to access the information, and monitor the extent to which they are doing so.