Iknow - People Services

Organizational change management programs are vital to the success of a KM initiative. In fact, the reasons most often cited for why KM implementations did not deliver their expected benefits were organizational issues, such as lack of training; insufficient communication; failure to integrate KM into everyday working practices; and a lack of time to learn new systems and processes.

In parallel with the other workstreams, Iknow works with clients on the planning and implementation of people-related change management and institutionalization activities. A well-designed and coordinated change management program can include:

– Stakeholder analysis
– Change management plan
– Communications strategy and plan
– Rewards and recognition programs
– Definition of new KM roles, job design, candidate selection, and training
– Technology roll-out and training
– Cultural change and reinforcement
– Creation and support of communities
– Support for new types of communication across organizational, geographic, and time boundaries.

Some examples of Iknow’s organizational change management and business readiness services include:

Organizational and governance design (program, transitional, and long-term steady state)
Sponsorship identification and role definitions
Management process descriptions, guidelines, and standards
Metrics and scorecard definition and deployment
End-user (audience and support staff) communications and training services, materials and CBTs
Community of Practice enablement

A few examples are described below.

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KM Organizational Design

Iknow works with clients to define, justify, and build the organization structures and governance processes required to enable knowledge management in their organizations. Iknow organizational design projects produce the governance processes for implementing KM strategy, set KM standards, and institute new KM roles. KM governance roles could include executive/senior management leadership, CKO (Chief Knowledge Officer), KM advisory body, and business unit knowledge managers. Specific outputs could include an organizational strategy, staffing plan, job descriptions, orientation and on-going training program, and a communication plan for describing the KM organization to the rest of the company or business unit.

KM Process Descriptions, Guidelines and Standards

Iknow will help define and implement a set of standards and guidelines for new knowledge processes. Process descriptions, standard procedures, and guidelines are typically developed for content submission, content review and approval, content access, content retention, content expiration, and content removal processes, across all categories of knowledge assets. Guidelines for content quality are also developed.

Community of Practice Enablement

Communities of Practice (CoP) are internal groups with complementary knowledge and skills who meet and/or communicate regularly to share their expertise in a defined practice area. CoPs are formed around a specific initiative or topic of interest and provide their members with a forum in which to collaborate with others to address specific problems or opportunities. These informal groups provide a valuable, low cost mechanism for sharing insights and learning throughout the organization. CoPs are typically responsible for:

Defining their mission, goals and interests
Identifying and building their membership
Creating appropriate mechanisms to share knowledge within their community (e.g., sponsoring forums and seminars)
Exposing the community members to external practices
Coordinating the training and education of their members in specific subject areas
Encouraging and recognizing the adoption of KM practices.

Iknow will help enable and support internal CoPs. This work could involve the creation of custom knowledge repositories, the design of KM processes and practices, and the creation of a standard community “Start Up” kit. The kit includes guidelines on the responsibilities of a CoP, definitions of the key KM roles required to sustain the CoP, and approaches to create sharing environments.

Metrics and Scorecard Definition and Deployment

Iknow will define the KM-related performance metrics that should be used to evaluate the success of KM initiatives, processes, and investments. We use a modified balanced scorecard framework to assess individual initiatives against their stated business goals. Typical measures cover customer/end user participation, use, and satisfaction; process or operational improvements along cost, quality, and cycle time dimensions; and less tangible benefits such as knowledge sharing, collaboration, and more fulfilling, value-added jobs.

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