Building the next generation of Knowledge Management by Jose Carlos Tenorio Favero

This is a blog which appeared in October 2013

The time they spend online is greater than years before. For example, watching online video is a daily routine. In a recent investigation published by YuMe, 49% of respondents said that they watch online video daily, with 7 hours being the mean time spent per week. Short-form content is far more attractive and eligible for attention grasp. 70% of respondents said that they watch program clips that are shorter than 5 minutes in length.  This means that we have to start thinking in terms of “knowledge nuggets” rather that packing large scale content in documents, pdf files, presentations and other type of materials. Gen Y is a natural information seeker and multi-task. They won´t spend too much time from one content to other so we have to provide them with information that is synthesized so they can spend more time looking for alternative options. Just think how this could affect lessons learned and other form of knowledge capture and dissemination.

Even the new gadgets like smartphones and tablets are creating new instances for knowledge generation, acquisition and transfer.  The proliferation of the app market has allowed diverse publishers to design and produce apps that not only fulfill entertainment purposes. There are apps such as Notegraphy that facilitates text writing in order to share thoughts in a different and efficient manner. Each member has a personalized page called “room” where they can display and share their text with other members. There are even apps such as Lumosity that help stimulate overall brain performance so that we can grasp new information in a better way. Also we can find other apps that facilitate learning a new language, technique or even improving reading skills.

Ted Schadler stated in a recent Forrester report that 29% of the global workforce is characterized as “anytime, anywhere, information workers-those who use three or more devices, work from multiple locations, and use many apps”. Schadler also states that gadgets such as tablets will continue to invade our work and home space and by 2017 the number of tablets available will triple to 905 million.

Sometimes we tend to misjudge technology and tend to criticize it for slaving us to certain routines. For example, kids watching youtube, uploading pictures to instagram and facebook chatting during dinner is just one of them.
However,  workspace collaboration is also being redefined by most of these elements.

Indeed social is embedded in almost everything we do. However, turning to social media might result in a dangerous grapevine unless we can turn conversations and tools into vital learning spaces. In order to be feasible the design must demonstrate the required business performance, and we must measure it in terms of function and behavior. First, we must consider if the tool matches actual learning styles and is not complicated to use. We must take a hard look at the functional and physical attributes of the tool. By physical I mean the layout, features etc. This is important as Gen Y is heavily influenced by many factors including design and colors.  If it´s not attractive to them, then they probably won´t feel attached to it. For example, take a look at the following infography “psychology of color” which demonstrates how color may influence certain aspects of our lives.

From the functional side, we need to define performance metrics. It´s pointless to design a social platform unless we understand  what needs to be achieved. For example, if we are looking to uncover best practices and lessons learned derived from product development, we need to work on a design that suits those requirements and steer collaboration towards reaching those goals. Previously you need to sit down with the product development department and identify trends, key knowledge that is applied in their process and other issues that may arise during the product life cycle. Once this is done, you can prepare the social platform to address diverse issues related to the critical knowledge previously identified.

A good example of social at work are the “jam sessions” organized by Ernst and Young. For them, Crowdsourcing has become a crucial way to develop new ideas and foster innovation. In 2012, Earnst and Young Transaction Services initiated the use of the IdeaJam platform in order to get workers to collaborate together and develop new design ideas. Basically any worker can suggest an idea and through crowsourcing they are enriched by the feedback and know how of other members.

In order to make it sustainable and promote collaboration they apply the following strategies:

1. Daily monitoring and contributions by core innovation team (e.g posting new ideas, commenting on ideas)
2. Select and announce cycle award recipients
3. Mid-cycle communication (reminders)
4. Communicate start of cycle; post new guiding questions.
5. Select and announce full year award recipients (special recognitions for outstanding contributions)
6. Not only can social media empower knowledge but it can help organizations to: Identify critical knowledge and capture across diverse business units; Develop new design ideas through crowdsourcing; Facilitate Lessons Learned capture; Identify Subject Matter

However, the question still remains: are managers willing to go digital? As I stated in anearlier post, the challenge is that senior leaders refuse to go digital. Social isn’t frightening but the concept is still not embedded in their daily routines and they still feel that anything derived from social media is time wasting and a hazardous grapevine which will drive attention away from the business goals. However, I’m happy to read Forrester analyst Reiss-Davis statement on this: “8% of business decision-makers are Spectators (they read blogs, watch videos, or listen to podcasts), 79% are Joiners (they maintain a profile on social networking sites), and 75% are Critics (they comment on blogs and post ratings and reviews), all in the context of their business activities.” This means that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and turning digital might not be too hard.

The important thing is to concentrate on delivering value and in terms of KM, this means that we have to adapt to the new tendencies and learning behaviors imposed by Gen Y in order to strengthen organizational learning. Social will play a crucial role in this.

©Jose Carlos Tenorio Favero

http://kminaction.wordpress.com/2013/10/31/building-the-next-generation-of-knowledge-management/?goback=%2Egde_1539_member_5801822238084714500#%21

The (KM) Elephant in the Room, by Ron Aspe

KM encompasses such a broad range of meanings that everyone has a different definition. It’s rather like an elephant - one person holding onto the trunk says knowledge management is about enhanced document retrieval software; another holding the tail claims it’s a searchable repository for technical support calls. And there’s a lot to cover in between!

Too broad a definition of knowledge management can mean too many choices when it comes to selecting a KM system. You have to describe the elephant.

If you are trying to acquire KM technology, it is absolutely critical that you precisely define what your organization means by “KM.” Wikipedia’s definition is a good starting point as you try to develop the questions that need to be asked:
“KM is the process of capturing, developing, sharing and effectively using organizational knowledge.”

Capturing
In your organization, does capturing mean simply storing knowledge or does it require gathering it as well? Storage is pretty simple – similar to putting carrots into a fridge - and finding software for that is like shopping for a fridge. You’ll know what you want when you see it.

Gathering knowledge, however, is a complex process more akin to growing carrots. Seasoned KM practitioners will tell you that creating a “culture of contribution” in your garden of organizational knowledge is an extremely challenging mix of engineering, values, culture and reward systems. Great technology alone will not carry the day. You’ll need a partner who will help you build a knowledge sharing ecosystem.
Developing

Knowledge in most organizations is a by-product of work. People generally learn by doing. If there is a significant research aspect to your organization’s activities, it should be pretty straightforward to tap into it. It’s critical that people are motivated to contribute (and rewarded for doing so) if they must do it proactively. Alternatively, hook your KM application into the tools used daily by your co-workers, and it becomes possible to surface a lot of interesting knowledge and expertise. This latter approach is technically more difficult, but side-steps some of the challenges of getting people to contribute to the knowledge base.

Sharing
Technology makes it relatively easy to share information. Organizing your content by subject area, source, author and audience can make the experience of looking for it faster and more intuitive.

If you do run into a problem with sharing, it is probably not the technology, but is likely related to organizational culture, and a lack of incentives for individuals to contribute their knowledge. People will throw up millions of false objections, such as “it takes too long,” “the application doesn’t work,” “I can’t remember my log-in credentials,” etc. Nine times out of ten, though, it comes down to values.

Effective Use
If your KM system’s user interface is inviting and it is chock full of valuable content, your most important task will be to promote its existence. Too often, your intended audience simply doesn’t know what is available. So promote shamelessly. The more people use it, the more usage will increase.

If we don’t first describe and understand the elephant, it is easy to see how challenging it can be to feed it, make friends with it, choose the right tools to take care of it, and get people comfortable with the fact that it’s in the room. The benefit? It will never forget your most important institutional knowledge!

Source
http://blog.lucidea.com/the-km-elephant-in-the-room?utm_campaign=Blog%20posts&utm_content=Blog&utm_source=email&utm_source=Lucidea+News+and+Information&utm_campaign=7639883781-Blog_Post&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_37c4aa398c-7639883781-349329929 

Building a business case for KM success

A business case enables KMer to articulate how the organization will profit from knowledge sharing and collaboration. Strong business cases are more likely to receive support and funding because, if you’re going to invest money, you want to make sure you get a deliverable and accountability. KMers can ensure their business cases attract interest by speaking to issues management cares about, such as:

1. How will the KM program help the organisation’s knowledge flow?
2. Will it allow the organization to innovate better/ faster/ cheaper?
3. Will it lead to process improvements?
4. Will it help us get products and services to customers more easily?

Instead of making vague claims or enumerating every potential benefit of KM, the business case should focus on specific goals the organization hopes to achieve. This helps ensure that the Km tactics being implemented are linked to targeted objectives and aligned with the organisation’s overall strategic direction.