Identification of Knowledge Workers and Analysis of Methods for Managing their Competencies in Baltic Sea Region Enterprises

Abstract

This article is a continuation of the 2017 research process on the identification of key employees in the companies participating in the research process. Now the main objective of the research is to identify knowledge workers and analyze the methods of managing the competencies of this group of employees in the studied companies. Of course, at the outset, the author attempted to identify knowledge workers and described their main competencies . In the following part of the article, the author tried to evaluate the measures taken by companies to optimally manage and use this capital to build a competitive advantage. These objectives determined the further course and nature of the research - the author used the following set of research methods: an analysis of the literature on the subject, a comparison of defined concepts and an interview with executives of the surveyed companies. The survey was conducted in 2021 in 100 randomly selected large companies based in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR) - a total of 261 people participated in the study. As literature analysis and empirical studies show, the degree of utilization of knowledge workers' potential is at different levels - there is a distance between developing countries and the richest and most developed countries. This is all the more surprising because company executives are aware of the importance of this capital to the future of their organizations. They also know what barriers they would have to overcome to better manage it. Therefore, according to the author of the article, it is necessary to remove all barriers that prevent the optimal use of the potential of this group of employees. For the organization, this will mean greater efficiency, greater innovation and flexibility in adapting to change. And for employees, intelligently organized work will be easier, more useful, more satisfying and meet a wider range of needs.