Winning strategies for knowledge management

If firms want KM systems to succeed, they must give the same amount of strategic thought, analysis and detailed planning as to any other business software. Matthew Haines, managing director of nGenera CIM, gives his tips for creating winning strategies.

Knowledge management systems provide the framework for organisations to create a truly knowledge-driven enterprise - one that contributes directly to organisational strategy, productivity and the bottom line. Customer-facing staff can access relevant and accurate information, knowledge is retained within the company, regardless of personnel changes; and customers are empowered to find answers themselves through web self-service, reducing levels of inbound calls.

However, many organisations fail in their implementation by mistakenly believing it is a simple and easy undertaking. Any KM system must be given the same amount of strategic thought, analysis and detailed planning as to any other business software in order to succeed.

Here are the key success factors behind a winning knowledge management strategy, which will build a solid foundation for evolving KM into a sustained organisational practice over time:

1. Formulate measurable business objectives
Knowledge management must have tangible objectives and employees should be actively encouraged to meet these. Without them, knowledge sharing initiatives face a higher likelihood of failure as they will quickly lose priority and focus. However, objectives shouldn't be too vague or depend on too many external parameters, but be aligned with measurable results. For example, in the case of customer service, it could mean an increase in first time contact resolution or increase in the number of customers deflecting from the call centre to web self-service.

2. Achieve ongoing executive buy-in
Few initiatives can succeed in an organisation without active support from senior management. Achieving executive sponsorship will make the KM implementation a tangible and real initiative; one that will motivate and drive its success, and create awareness and participation of others in the organisation. The challenge for KM implementations is to acquire executive sponsorship early in the process, so the project does not become a candidate for the chopping block at a later stage. Identify two or more senior executive sponsors, ideally from those who are open to new challenges and opportunities. Choosing just one can be risky, as that individual could leave the organisation or move department.

3. Create the right KM team for the job
A carefully planned and adequately staffed KM team will ensure the implementation is treated as a key organisational initiative, rather than extra or additional work. Identify a KM team leader to champion, drive, and be accountable for the overall KM initiative. They should be supported by a knowledge management steering team of motivated individuals to help drive the project and tackle any cultural resistance across the organisation. Key subject matter experts can also be invaluable in ensuring the KM system is populated with relevant knowledge content.

4. Identify and tackle cultural resistance to knowledge sharing
It is important to objectively understand any resistance, as well as its main source. This will help reduce the risk of implementing a KM initiative that has excellent processes in place but very little knowledge that is actually shared and used. Resistance usually stems from a fear of the unknown and how it will affect roles, responsibilities and job security. Explain the objectives behind the KM implementation and showcase how it might increase organisational competitiveness - and hence job security - and end-user productivity to allow them more time on value-added activities. Making tangible changes to performance measurement criteria and key performance indicators will also help users see the direct benefits of sharing and reusing knowledge.

5. Select and create relevant knowledge content
A well-planned, relevant and adequate set of knowledge artifacts will ensure users immediately identify the KM system as useful and productive, resulting in a conducive environment for the ongoing creation and sharing of knowledge. The trick is to select and create the most relevant content instead of populating the KM system with all existing or easily available information. Talk to end-users to identify their requirements and their knowledge sources, and then use the 80-20 approach to select the top most wanted information. Utilise any existing hit reporting to determine the most accessed content and empower subject matter experts to decide what is critical and what is not.

6. Design effective knowledge workflow processes
Simple and effective workflow that makes KM seem natural and in tune with overall business processes will help users learn and adopt the system faster. It will also ensure they don't see KM as adding bureaucracy and complexity, but rather as an enabler for the easy creation and sharing of knowledge. Keep initial workflow steps to a minimum and avoid drastic re-designs of existing processes or the creation of new and complex ones. Bottlenecks can be avoided by providing key subject matter experts with the ability to publish and modify content directly without unnecessary approval processes.

7. Keep the user community involved at all times
Ongoing involvement of the user community throughout the KM implementation will result in a shared feeling of ownership and decision making and lead to higher user adoption, which will in turn increases the effectiveness and return on investment of the system. Keep users involved during the project, solicit and incorporate feedback, and meet schedules and objectives to ensure they know you are taking the initiative seriously. Formal end-user training and education sessions will help users understand and appreciate the strengths of the planned system and develop confidence to work with it in a live environment.

8. Obsess about knowledge quality
If there is anything worse than not being able to find a critical piece of knowledge, it is finding erroneous, duplicated or outdated material. Rigorous due diligence and obsession with knowledge quality will ensure critical and commonly used content is accurate and regularly updated. In turn, knowledge users will adopt the system faster, as they will be able to rely on the quality and accuracy of the information they access and share. Assign the knowledge quality responsibility to a senior member of the KM Team and ensure they clean house and review knowledge quality regularly, allocating sufficient time and resources so corners are not cut under schedule pressures.