Why KM needs sponsors, experts, and advocates in the business

Sponsors

KM programs benefit from having formal sponsors in the business to promote KM’s value and translate requirements and results into language that resonates with leaders. For example, we found that 37% of KM programs with a formal sponsor perform very effectively against their stated goals and objectives, compared to 25% of KM programs without a formal sponsor. This is likely because sponsors have explicit responsibilities and allocated time to help KM teams align with business priorities and ensure KM is performing as expected.

It’s worth noting that many KM sponsors start out as KM clients. If you want a vocal champion, look for leaders whose business areas are grappling with problems that KM can help solve. Explain the type of solution that the KM program can offer, and, if you get a leader interested, launch a small pilot to demonstrate KM’s potential impact. When leaders see the benefits of KM firsthand, they are more likely to become formal sponsors and advocate for knowledge initiatives in the future.

Scouts

People with “day jobs” in the business are often in the best position to identify places where KM interventions are most needed. For example, they are more likely than someone from the KM core team to know about the 30-year veteran who’s thinking about retiring or the innovative process that should be documented for others doing similar work.

Other people in the business can bring up KM needs and opportunities on an ad hoc basis, but setting up a formal role for scouting KM opportunities helps ensure that KM gets this feedback consistently and that the recommendations are strategically aligned to the business. APQC finds that relative to KM teams without this role, those with a formal scout role are more likely to do the following:

♦ Perform very effectively against their stated goals and objectives (39% versus 20%, respectively)

♦ Be seen as effective by leaders (36% versus 25%)

♦ Generate measurable value (60% versus 39%)

Community of practice leaders

The community leader is the most crucial role in a community of practice. When you formalize the community leader role, it gives the leader permission, time, and accountability to keep the community active and ensure it fulfills its purpose. This makes people more likely to join and participate in communities. It also means communities are more likely to support business priorities. This is why KM programs with formal community leader roles get more engagement from end users and better buy-in from leaders, are nearly three times more likely to perform very effectively against goals and objectives, and are nearly twice as likely to deliver a lot of measurable value.