“Research is creating new knowledge”

Neil Armstrong said that “Research is creating new knowledge.” Hosea went further and exclaimed that people perish for a lack of knowledge.

This is true of business as well. The business that is not willing to spend time on research will stagnate and die. It is as simple as that. Think about it as a river. If your business is a river, research and knowledge is what keeps it flowing. A flowing river is teeming with life, fish, small insects, amphibians and birds. But when the water is stagnant, it becomes putrid. It breeds disease and brings death.

A business that invests in research can apply cutting edge technology and new information in their field early on. This gives them a distinct advantage over their competitors. But it is more than that. A business that invests in research can discern what is relevant and what not. Research and knowledge contribute to informed decisions.

Skills Development

Research and the application thereof through skills development further leads to improved quality. In the words of Maya Angelou, “I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better.” A business can never have excellence without skills development. Quality is linked to your reputation, which is just another way of saying that it is part of your brand.

Small business often feels that there is great risk involved in skills development. They see an enormous input but no benefit. That is simply not true. The main input does not necessarily have to be in currency. It can be in time.

There are several benefits to skills development. Firstly, quality improves with skills development. When quality improves, the value of the brand improves. Secondly, skills development leads to job satisfaction. Knowing that a job has been well done always brings satisfaction. And don’t forget… success breeds success!

One of the main problems that lead to small business failure in South Africa is an unskilled labour force. This can be rectified when you invest in skills development. People can only do what they know to do and how can they know if their skills have not been developed?

Another benefit to skills development is the advantage that your employees are growing with your business. You do not have to bring in people from outside to fill positions. Instead you will be able to promote your own people. This brings the benefit that outsiders do not have to learn your business knowledge base from the start. It saves time and money.

Knowledge Base

Kanetwen can help you do research. We can further help you to establish a knowledge base using easy to use systems. Then we can transfer that knowledge through a skills development programme in simple terms so that your employees will be able to understand and make it their own. Kanetwen can offer training material as traditional training manuals or as e-Learning so that employees can develop at their own pace.

Writing

As part of research, Kanetwen also offers a service to help with business writing. For many small business owners, business writing can be quite a problem. They are often practical people and not necessarily skilled in writing. Do not let this be a problem for you. Kanetwen can come alongside you and help you to bring your message across simply and clearly. This includes the writing of business letters, emails, blog writing, brochures and advertisements.

Contact us for a consultation.