Knowledge management (KM) is vital to the success of any IT company. Organizations have created knowledge management teams with IT experts and business leaders and external consultants included. This team does have a definite mandate - but can never have a finite duration for an ongoing knowledge management operation. This article is about how companies, large & small have built KM into their organizational DNA and that has helped them achieve true business value from their knowledge base.
The idea of Knowledge Management means different things to different companies. I have seen a wide range of responses from "duh?" to "Google" to "simple databases" to "complex software systems".
Small startups in Silicon Valley often have built knowledge management into their organizational DNA. By that I mean - in these companies knowledge is shared openly through a computer systems. Knowledge sharing for these companies is just as natural as breathing. During the startup phase, knowledge sharing will usually be informal and personal, knowledge is usually shared via conversations or via emails. As these companies grew, they have installed complex Intranets, databases, and dataware housing systems.
But outside the silicon valley, the use of KM system has been patchy. While most of the fortune-1000 companies are on par with the best in terms of KM, Other companies including several Indian IT companies have been slow in building KM systems. I recently came to know of an Indian IT company in UK - which does not have any system for sharing knowledge. People in company had to call on others to find out if they have the information and have it sent by e-mail. Yet this was not a small company - it is the biggest IT service provider to BT w and employees more than 10 thousand people!
Challenge of Knowledge Management
In the world of quick fix mentality, many companies approach knowledge management as a software implementation - install the software & ‘presto’ you have implemented KM in the company. The reality is far different. Most of KM systems need a basic knowledge of IT in order to extract data from large data warehouses, training & knowledge on how to use this data and ability to transform into knowledge based in cognitive needs.
Most KM implementations have failed because organizations have lacked skills to use the KM system and most importantly, organization have no idea of how people learn from the information being provided to them. The lack of training and support groups to employees who are not IT savvy - ensured that the vast KM system was useless to most employees.
Value of KM
Business leaders understand the for best results to be obtained from a KM system, it is necessary to have a deep understanding of the business needs and perspectives. Without a good business case it is quite likely that KM will end up wasting money and effort simplifying and improving something that won’t give any noticeable return on investment.
From a theoretical perspective, almost everyone accepts the fact that knowledge is part of an organizational assets — its intellectual capital. Few organizations would let retiring employees leave with their computer or phone, yet every day people with years of organizational knowledge in their heads walk out the doors of corporations, taking that knowledge, years of investment, with them. KM systems help to institutionalize the knowledge into the organization through systems and procedures. While a system will never replace the value of a 20- year veteran, it can help to mitigate the loss of critical knowledge, methods and best practices, intellectual capital, if that person leaves the organization.
However, the corporate world runs on profits and results. Businesses must take a fundamentally different approach than "lets capture our intellectual capital".
Investment for KM
Fortunately, KM does not need to be a large investment in time and resources as some companies have tended to tackle it in the past. Instead, business leaders should choose a focused area where improvement will result in a measurable change; for example, to improve success rate of the sales group by improving communication between marketing, engineering and sales teams.
This will require creating a small focused team to implement a KM system. The aim of this team is to find cognitive barriers for both explicit and tacit knowledge sharing, develop a solution that can over come these barriers, create user experiences in knowledge sharing and allow the target audience to be successful.
After a number of such small successes, KM teams would have learnt enough that they can implement strategies for leveraging knowledge across organizational boundaries and across various types of users. However, if KM teams cannot succeed at these smaller efforts, then they do not have the expertise or resources necessary for more strategic efforts.
Team membership
So, who should be present in a team, and what duties must be performed? A successful KM team requires six key roles to be performed.
- Interface design lead: This role specializes in computer - human interaction and integration of content into work processes - typically an experienced line manger who knows how people would like to use the system.
- Training lead: He specializes in knowing legacy content, cognitive needs, and learning strategies
- Technical architect: This roles is for an IT designer who will implement the IT aspects of the system.
- Business lead: He understand the measurable results to be obtained from the KM system.
- Organizational lead: He develops the communication plan, motivational incentives, and other organizational needs for the project to be a success.
- The "super user" A visionary user who can influence the user community, this person helps the system stay grounded in pragmatism
In small companies (or small implementations), some of these functions may be combined. In large companies or projects, however, several people may be assigned to one or more functions. Software developers, technical writers, graphic designers and others, for example, often supplement IT.
Challenges encountered at most KM projects
Implementing, or building a KM system is not easy. There are several challenges that must be overcome. Most difficult of them are changing the management leader’s mindsets. For example, at one Indian IT company, the COO was not convinced of the need for a centralized system, particularly one that competed for already scarce resources and other business priorities. The VP of marketing liked the idea but did not appreciated the value of knowledge management. Fortunately, the project had its champions. The CEO acted as an overall driving force, realizing the advantage of arming sales with rapid and accurate customer/prospect data.
In most cases, success of KM system needs an executive level sponsorship.
IBM approach
"IBM realized we could drive a lot more growth in the EAI sector, but we were constrained by an inability to reuse what had already been learned" - Scott J. Smith, Global Practice Executive, Knowledge & Content Management for IBM Global Services in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Over the past decade, IBM has established a sophisticated KM infrastructure. At its core is a central unit consisting of three distinct elements:
(1) Developers who work on the technology side;
(2) Strategists who are forward-looking pragmatists; and
(3) Deployment, who work with other business units within the company to implement specific projects.
The developers create tools and systems that the strategists seek to harness to maximize business value. But it is the deployment group that exports KM, based on a perceived organizational need. Here is an example of how it works in the real world from Big Blue’ own Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) Practice, where skill sets once existed in isolated pockets around the world. Due to this situation of dispersed know-how, EAI professionals in London, for example, might end up repeating work already done in Hong Kong.
Two members of the deployment team were assigned to form a team. It consisted of the EAI Practice leader; an EAI Practice member skilled in training and business processes. An EAI Practice member focusing on reuse of knowledge and human/cultural aspects. None were KM experts, but all wanted to use it to expand the area.
Why not use KM specialists?
KM experts often lack context, so it is extremely difficult to generate a valuable and dynamic knowledge network when only KM experts are involved. For example, a KM system for sales function cannot be built by KM experts alone - who do not have knowledge or experience in sales. The best results are achieved with salesmen are deeply involved in building a KM system.
Knowledge networks play a focal role in the IBM process. IBM’ Knowledge Network Launch Process makes use of a six-step process to facilitate a KM team.
- A team leader is appointed who is a business expert, not a KM specialist.
- Identify a community/group who need a knowledge network. Knowledge moves much more effectively in such a network.
- A core team is assembled.
- A specific knowledge domain is defined.
- A knowledge database is prepared for this community and well maintained.
- The knowledge network is made operational based on feedback from the community.
In essence, a knowledge network is formalized networking. From a technology perspective, IBM sets up a portal and utilizes AssetWeb, an in-house collaboration and intellectual capital management application. (This infrastructure is used by as many as 50 specialized communities.)
By means of once-a- year meetings of members (starting with a launch event), more regular national and regional events, and conference calls, KM experts establish these knowledge networks as potent forces.
Result
IBM projects routinely result in a 40 percent reduction in proposal preparation time, a 30 percent decrease in the time taken to create deliverables, and expansion in EAI and other units.
Team duration
Although IBM generally completes its KM projects within 8 to 12 weeks, that doesn’t mean that it implements and moves on. KM executives monitor how well the technology is being utilized via "Health Checks" that detect the degree of participation in knowledge network events and discussions, the amount of usage of portals, and other indicators.
In other companies, however, KM initiatives are rarely dispatched with such velocity. And in many cases, the team members go on to form an ongoing KM section. At one of the Big Five accounting firms, for example, the knowledge management team that began in the early 1990s eventually evolved into a permanent unit composed of about 20 people. It began as a Lotus Notes project and has evolved into a Lotus Domino-based intranet that acts as a central repository and clearinghouse for company knowledge.
The company loosely bases its KM efforts around a three-pronged structure: technology, business process, and people (human/cultural). Members from all three sectors are needed to conduct a successful KM project. You don’t find all these skills in one person, so you have to ensure that all are represented in the team.
Do not focus too closely on technology. Without the process and people (human) elements, projects go astray. Currently, the human and cultural duties fall on group head - whose group will use the system. The group head will then have to drive the usage of the system.. Users will always cite different reasons not to use the new system.
In my previous company, we had implemented a knowledge sharing portal - but in the initial phases sales group did not use this portal citing: "they don’t have time", "difficult to use it" etc.
The business leaders must drive the adaptation and knowledge-sharing efforts, he must places strong emphasis on KM in all meetings and conferences. Further, the company highlights the achievements of team members on the company’ Web site. This includes photographs, quotes, and success stories to show the value of KM from a business standpoint.
Think small
Large-scale KM projects tend to be the province of major companies specializing in service and knowledge-intensive industries like consulting, high-tech, and finance. That does not mean, however, that smaller operations in other zones cannot receive value from knowledge management. But they, too, must put together a KM team, however rudimentary, if they hope to realize project objectives.
Specialty chemical provider Advantis Technologies Inc. of Alpharetta, Georgia, wanted to add a business intelligence/reporting package (by Cognos Inc. of Ottawa, Canada) to its existing JD Edwards ERP system. Reason: generation of monthly sales reports took the IT department two weeks. According to Keith Lewis, Vice-President of Business Development at Advantis, they had plenty of valuable information that they simply couldn’t gain access to in a timely Manner.
Lewis advocates a strong business presence in any KM team rather than leaving everything to IT. He headed the team and relied on key salespeople for input on report definition. An individual from systems integrator C.D. Group Inc. of Atlanta provided the JD Edwards/Cognos expertise. Lewis also added specialists in SQL Server, networking, and AS/400 to cover all technical bases. Now completed, the sales department has its reports almost instantly without involvement from IT. Instead of worrying over the accuracy of the numbers, Lewis can focus on analyzing them to detect opportunities and situations. With his experience in KM, he plans to expand its influence into general ledger and inventory Management.
Closing Thoughts
What should you look for in a KM team member? There are certain characteristics that exemplify all successful participants, including:
- A genuine belief that people are strategic assets and are the reason organizations succeed
- An entrepreneurial instinct coupled with the urge to see the vision become a reality
- An openness to new ideas, to seed them, to listen, and keep focused on the long-term vision to ensure that new ideas are making sense and adding value
- A strategic understanding of the value and opportunities within information systems, as well as a strong sense of organizational design and the development requirements of cultural change.
- An ability to be seen as someone who genuinely shares knowledge and is passionate about learning
- An ability to energize the organization, to build momentum to support the knowledge management initiatives
- An ability to work effectively with the CIO, HR, and business units leaders and see the synergy's among these roles and leverage them effectively
- And finally, as all change agents face challenges and opposition, they must ensure that near-term value is displayed, while helping the organization understand that knowledge management is a " way of life," not a " quick win."
Having a committed members of a group to use and leverage their "intellectual capital" is the first step. Actual implementation of KM system is relatively easy. Finally the value of the system lies in its usage.
Also see:
Sales - Knowledge is strength
Marketing - Developing Market Intelligence
No comments:
Post a Comment