Since most of this intellectual capital lies in the minds of employees, when they leave, this 'capital' leaves with them. Such knowledge, one that exists only in the minds of employees, is termed tacit knowledge. Any exchange of such information, if at all, takes place through conversations and so on. Now, when a company embraces KM, it gives rise to two new forms of knowledge. Tacit knowledge is joined by explicit knowledge and potential knowledge.
Explicit knowledge is information in a digitised avatar.
It is out in the open, so to speak, for others to access. Then, there is potential information. This is existing information, which can be analysed to facilitate better decision-making. One, in times of employee attrition, companies are not left the poorer for 'intellectual capital'. Two, such knowledge is better disseminated than earlier.