Navigating the Minefield: A Practical KM Companion By Patricia Lee Eng and Paul J. Corney -- BOOK REVIEW

Sustaining KM

A number of techniques have emerged to keep KM going and delivering impact: alignment frameworks with business results, expert communities, knowledge capture tools and experience sharing forums.

For example, CIAT adopted a results-based management framework to effectively convert its research knowledge into successful grant proposals. It includes internal social media, collaborative interaction, expertise location and data management tools.

Shell has variations of its ROCK knowledge retention program, such as ROCK Lite (for people transferring jobs) and ROCK X (for experienced hires). The company also has an online community called Shell International Global Network (SIGN). It has been practicing KM for more than two decades, and KM is embedded in the learning curriculum and job descriptions.

Airbus had a full-day program called Big Peer Assist while designing the A350, with objectives like learning the good lessons and avoiding the mistakes from its earlier A380 aircraft. Experts and staff were flown in to Toulouse to discuss knowledge gaps and prioritize solutions, along with external support as necessary. Airbus also included customer inputs on what they wanted in new designs.

The U.K. NHS has developed a Knowledge for Delivery (K4D) tool to assess and improve operations. It uses the term “improving future efforts” rather than “lessons learned” to give it a more proactive connotation. Submitted recommendations are reviewed by an expert panel. Supporting activities included workshops on business writing.

PETRONAS spent more than a month mapping critical knowledge, involving senior managers and staff. More than 200 knowledge maps were created for eight departments in 13 areas. It identified knowledge areas, number of owners and vulnerabilities due to the retirement of employees. There are CoPs as well as one-on-one meetings and an in-house tool called Expert Experience Sharing Session (EXPRESSO).

There is an annual success story competition for effective KM tactics (with over 700 submissions in 2015). A loyalty program lets employees accumulate points awarded for effective knowledge sharing. Metrics track participation in those events and the degree of knowledge reuse.

“Something that few people talk about is the decline and demise of a successful KM program,” the authors rightfully observe. That can happen due to changing organizational priorities, lack of continuing support, leadership change and mergers and acquisitions.

Even award-winning KM initiatives have fizzled out, as in the NRC, BP, and DEC/HP. It is key for KM successes to be properly documented and publicized internally.

NASA did not capture critical knowledge in many of its space programs; there were few reports, assessments, indexes or mechanisms for continuity when employees retired or programs terminated. “NASA lost the capability to put humans in space with retirement of the Space Shuttle in 2011 and lost the capability to launch heavy loads with the termination of the Saturn rocket program in 1971. The United States now relies on Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft to ferry supplies to the International Space Station,” the authors observe.

Recommendations

The book ends with two chapters on findings and recommendations. It helps if companies develop a shared vocabulary, so that jargon is understood across a multilingual, multicultural workforce.

Many knowledge-intensive companies do not appreciate the value of knowledge assets, organizational memory and the role of KM. Many KM initiatives are seen in post-merger scenarios as a cost and not an asset to be maintained.

The authors advise the use of the SCARF model (status, certainty, autonomy, relatedness and fairness) to address “What’s in it for me?” concerns and fears over KM: threat to status, increasing uncertainty, loss of autonomy, unawareness of implications and perceived concerns over fairness and transparency.

Broader challenges in the field of KM are the lack of standards in metrics, unclear career paths and few formal and broadly-accepted certification programs. KM mentorship within companies also needs improvement.

Trends and developments to watch include the emergence of ISO standards for KM and the requirements for KM compliance in a number of government agencies (e.g., United Kingdom, Dubai) and industries (locomotives, nuclear energy).

Important skills to have for knowledge managers are negotiation, facilitation, curation and collaboration. Successes should also be celebrated in public forums.

“Outside recognition not only increases the visibility of your KM efforts, it can also boost your own self-confidence and help you renew your KM efforts,” the authors conclude.