Processing of knowledge

”We should just somehow get that information more efficiently to the duty mangers that should reg- ister it and put the tips and hints somewhere so they would be available for everybody.”

”It would be good if the duty managers would collect it, as they have then the possibility to share it to everyone”

”I think that if duty managers would follow the operative work a bit more, how we work, and how we handle situations, they would easily find things that could be highlighted”

”A way to get information about our real knowledge needs is that the duty managers would work with us. That would be a good opportunity to see what things are unclear, and what things some- body is very good at. I don’t know if anybody has thought about it that they would regularly work with each and everyone.”

”When there’s really busy days, it can very well be that I miss the information, let alone that I would be able to process it in that chaos.”

”There is actually not really much time for it [processing]… It feels that it is always depending on whether there by chance is a quiet moment so that I have time to really have a look at it.”

”When I am on duty, I feel that my focus is on the job and the current situation, and I don’t feel that I am able to delve into new instructions when I need to be alert and stay focused on the present sit- uation.”

”Actually, in our job you aren’t able to process the information right away. If you see some new in- formation, then there’s always something interrupting you. I usually just try to register that there is something new about this, and then I read it more carefully when the situation is in hand. It would though be much more efficient to go through these before they hit you, so that you don’t need to start learning them at that point.”

”When you come to your shift you should always immediately go through the new things, but it is quite challenging. Now with corona [the COVID-19 situation] there has been time to do so, but when the normal traffic is back, then there is no time.”

”The assumption is always that I do everything during the shift along with the actual work. If I want to learn something, or process some information or some situation, it is possible only on the side of the everyday job.”

”If you think about the time when there was a lot of traffic [before COVID-19] then maybe the infor- mation overload was the most challenging thing. Information comes in from every direction, and it is not targeted in any way”

The interviewees also talked a lot about not having a possibility to process the information as they were often simply losing the information, and not noticing the shared information, because of the functionality of the systems and lack of time and monitoring. This indicated that it was not just the information processing that was not given time and attention, but also the basic information handling seemed to be partly neglected. The interviewees told that there were no clear processes for ensuring that everybody has received the infor- mation.

“Nobody really checks if I have noticed or read the instructions.”

”Nobody keeps track of it [if I get the new information]. The only thing is that colleagues then point out if I am doing wrong… Of course, I check workplace, but if there is a rush when I start my shift, things will get lost there and I don’t catch them.”

”They assume that if there is a new workplace post everybody sees it and processes it right away, but mostly nobody keeps track of if this really happens.”

”…there should be some kind of follow up, then it would be noticed if somebody has missed some new information.”

”When the traffic gets back to normal there won’t again be time or suitable moments, and if I don’t see it then, it is easily lost in the feeds.”

”I don’t think there is a need for actual follow up. It is part of your job to stay up to date, but the problem is that there is no time, and then you don’t know what information is updated and where. I would rather fix the system so that the information would be somehow more reasonably assem- bled. Even just the headlines.”

When the interviewees were asked to think over what kind of things would help them to process and internalize the information better, almost all mentioned examples, linkage to real cases, and test possibilities as good ways to process new knowledge. Also targeting and filtering was mentioned, as some felt the relevance of the knowledge highly contrib- uted to the motivation to process and assimilate new knowledge. Furthermore, the inter- viewees also talked about diverse sense-making as a good tool to help process and ac- cept new knowledge. Giving meaning to the information by explaining why it is beneficial, and how it is linked with the bigger picture, was seen useful. Some interviewees also con- sidered that the possibility to be involved in creating new knowledge and new processes could speed up internalizing of them. What was furthermore obvious from the previous an- swers was that handling and processing should be given some time, as it is not always possible during the shifts.

”Examples are maybe most effective.”

”There could be some examples or a blueprint or something”

”…I am able to digest the information only when I have the possibility to use it. So, some exercises would be good, or some possibility for testing.”

”Maybe if it would be possible to click around and test it in a peaceful environment…”

”A test environment would of course be brilliant, so that you would be able to try it yourself.”

”When we get new information my question is often, what are the situations when this could hap- pen, or what can lead to this happening”

”Sometimes it remains a bit unclear who will benefit from the changes, at least not us. So, if they would be better linked with a bigger picture, and maybe if it would be explained how they affect other people.”

”For many it might be that they would want to participate more. The information would be better adopted if their opinion would have been heard. Not so that things are just decided, even though people would have had a lot of ideas about the subject.”