kunskapsdrift

Kunskapsdrift, or knowledge drift, is a term used in Swedish knowledge management to describe the gradual misalignment between the knowledge held by individuals and teams and the knowledge embedded in formal processes, documentation, and shared mental models.

Causes of kunskapsdrift include high staff turnover, onboarding gaps, reliance on tacit knowledge, informal workarounds, aging or obsolete documentation, organizational change, language or semantic differences, and inadequate knowledge transfer during transitions. When people accumulate experience outside of official channels, critical details can become tacit, context can shift, and practices may drift from approved routines.

The consequences can be significant. Teams may act on outdated or incomplete understandings, leading to inconsistencies, slower onboarding, increased risk of errors, safety concerns in complex environments, reduced ability to adapt to new tools or regulations, and erosion of organizational memory.

Mitigation strategies focus on making knowledge more explicit and transferable. This includes developing living documentation, establishing knowledge transfer rituals, fostering communities of practice, prioritizing succession planning, conducting regular knowledge audits, and retaining critical tacit knowledge through mentoring. Implementing knowledge management systems with robust versioning, tagging, and search capabilities supports better access and collaboration.

Kunskapsdrift is related to broader concepts in knowledge management, organizational memory, and the distinction between tacit and explicit knowledge. The term appears in Swedish-language literature on organizational learning and is used to describe challenges and practices aimed at preserving shared understanding as organizations evolve.