by Nigel Oxbrow
This article is based on a presentation given at the Special Libraries Association annual conference in Philadelphia in June 2000. The content is derived from the results of a major international research project and supplemented by learnings from other TFPL research and client projects. The main research project was commissioned by the UK Government's Library and Information Commission and jointly funded by the Commission and TFPL. The international project explored what roles and skills were required for the effective implementation of knowledge management and involved in-depth case studies, expert interviews and consultation with approximately 500 organizations actively involved in implementing knowledge management initiatives. The results were published by TFPL in December 1999 in the report "Skills for knowledge management" TFPL (ISBN 1 870889 84 3)
Knowledge management (KM) is an unfortunate, and in many respects unhelpful, term. Knowledge is in people's heads--and managing it is an impossible task. What you can do, and what knowledge management is all about, is stimulating and managing an environment in which knowledge is created, shared, harnessed and used for the benefit of the organization, its people and its customers. If an organization believes that creating such an environment is important then it needs to understand what new roles and what new skills are required within the organization to enable it to succeed. This article explores the need for new roles and starts to define the skills mix required by the people and teams which design, build and nurture KM environments.
Why is KM important now?
There is a valid debate as to whether the ‘knowledge economy' is a totally new era following on from the agricultural and industrial eras, or whether it is just the next phase of the industrial era. Some experts argue that the knowledge economy is totally different from the industrial economy (where wealth came from leveraging tangible assets such as machines, property and labor) and that it has totally different economic dynamic, where wealth is derived from the exploitation of intangible assets such as experience, know-how and knowledge. These experts quote companies such as Microsoft, CISCO and the dotcom companies as prime examples of the new era. Other experts argue that the knowledge economy is the next phase of the industrial era and that wealth is still derived from industrial processes but that competitive advantage comes through the exploitation of intangible assets.
Which argument is correct is not particularly important to the issues in this paper, but what is important is that there is a universally recognized shift in the value placed on intangible assets and the vital role that such assets play in the fast moving knowledge economy. To succeed in the knowledge economy regions, nations, organizations and individuals need to both accept and adapt to an environment where intangible assets are a key driver in the economy. They need to develop new processes, cultures and behaviors that encourage the creation of new knowledge, the sharing of existing experience and know-how and the efficient utilization of those assets for the benefit of all.
For all organizations there are many challenges to address in adapting to this shift. For example:
1. The very essence of doing business is changing. Collaboration and co-operation become key-- enabling organizations to share and utilize the knowledge and expertise of their partners, suppliers and customers. Indeed some companies find themselves collaborating with another company in one market and fiercely competing with the same company in another market--a phenomenon becoming known as "co-opetition".
2. Organizational structures need to change. Hierarchies need to be broken down and networked organizations developed. Successful organizations are flexible and able to adapt quickly. Group and team working--often cross functional, geographically displaced and changing frequently-- stimulates creativity and innovation, enhances communication and knowledge sharing and utilizes the best skills and experience on every task. But it challenges traditional lines of command.
3.The values of the organization need to change to reflect the reliance on people, knowledge and information. The value to the organization of creating, sharing and utilizing knowledge and information has to be explicitly recognized. Motivation and reward systems need to be developed which give people ‘permission to reflect'--time to assimilate information, to communicate with colleagues, brainstorm new ideas, make better decisions, and add value to the services and products offered to the customer.
4. Modern information and communications technology needs to be harnessed - with a clear focus on improving knowledge and information flows. Far too much money has been wasted in recent years through the adoption of new technology (often labeled as knowledge management solutions) without the correct emphasis on the required application and outcomes, and without the necessary change in values and culture. People will not contribute to and use a knowledge sharing database just because it is there.
5. Speed. In a knowledge economy speed is also of the essence. The capability to reduce product or service time to market, to innovate, to make quick decisions, and to react fast to changes in the market, new technologies, and new competition are all key factors to ensure success in the new economy. Creating an organization that has these capabilities is one of the main challenges - and the availability of, and access to, knowledge is fundamental.
For all organizations the ability to meet these, and many other associated challenges, is essential for success in the knowledge economy. They are fundamental changes and they require adjustments in values, culture and behaviors. These adjustments take time--often years--and require commitment from the top, clear focus and persistent application within business units. In our research we found many organizations addressing the challenges--some under the banner of knowledge management but many using different terminology more acceptable to their culture. The majority, over ninety percent, recognized the need to change, but very few believed that they were anywhere near achieving the desired ‘knowledge culture'.
The research revealed that, just as every organization is different, there is no template that can be applied to all--even companies in the same sector. There are different objectives and benefits, different strategies and approaches, different initiatives and projects. The research found that organizations were moving away from the corporate "big bang" approach towards a series of specific initiatives and activities - sponsored by corporate teams but embedded within the business units. The research also identified the need for new roles within the organization and new skills and competencies across the organization.
New roles
While the strategies and approaches to implementing KM varied between organizations it was possible to identify some generic roles that were being created to stimulate, design, and implement KM initiatives. Some of these roles were seen as permanent others as temporary change management roles. Some were full time positions, some were just additional responsibilities for an existing role (this was particularly true in smaller organizations where the size didn't warrant full time positions).
CEO/Senior executives
It is universally accepted that to achieve the changes required - particularly the cultural and behavioral changes--the support and participation of the chief executive and senior executives is essential. If this is not achievable at the outset then one of the key objectives of the first few KM initiatives must be to convince the senior executives of the value and benefits of a knowledge culture - otherwise future initiatives will fail. Once committed these senior executives need to adapt their roles and develop business models and strategies that encourage the values and behaviors of a knowledge culture.
KM planning team
A team of senior managers who have had and support ‘the vision' of a knowledge culture and the benefits it could bring. The common factor here is usually enthusiasm and the team can be drawn from a wide variety of positions within the organization. However it is valuable if some of the team are in positions of ‘influence'--senior executives from corporate functions and from major business units, and it is also valuable is they come from functions where resources will be required as initiatives are developed and implemented--for example organization development, IT, HR, IM. These roles will be part time and once the initial planning has been done the roles may well change into advisory roles or disappear altogether.
Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO)
The KM planning team will usually appoint a full time leader to drive the development of a knowledge culture. There is a very wide range of job titles for this role but the generic title is the CKO. This role is seen as a catalyst role-- a project management role--where the responsibility is to develop strategies, establish standards and procedures, stimulate change and new initiatives, and embed the desired culture, working practices and behaviors into the organization. Once this is achieved the initial work of the CKO is complete - KM will no longer be an initiative' it will just have become good management practice within that organization. In some organizations the CKO position will be retained but the role will change to become less strategic and more focussed on continuing to improve and maintain the culture and the knowledge and information flows.
The CKO is usually an internal appointment at senior management level. This individual needs to really understand the business and often have a career path that has taken them through a number of different functions or divisions - rather than rising up the ranks in just one department. They have a passion for KM and an ability to interpret KM principles into initiatives that will deliver real business benefit to their organization. They are natural leaders with vision, energy, drive and authority. They are determined, prepared to take risks, make mistakes and survive! They have strong nurturing and coaching qualities to enable them to impart their vision, skills and abilities into teams of people throughout the business.
KM implementation team
The CKO will draw together an implementation team to work with them to develop the strategies into practical initiatives. Like the CKO, the roles in this team are catalyst and enabling roles - they are there to stimulate initiatives within business units and enable those initiatives to succeed. They will develop common platforms, standards, procedures, recognition and reward systems and other mechanisms that encourage and facilitate the flow of knowledge and information across functional boundaries. They will help to develop skills within the organization that allow the efficient and effective creation, sharing and use of knowledge and information. Specific roles might include:
KM consultants, who work with business units identifying knowledge initiatives and helping to develop and implement them.
Intranet manager, who develops common platforms and tools that enable business units to publish information in a format easily accessible by others in the organization
HR consultants, who develop new ways of recognizing and rewarding people for KM behaviors and skills and embed them into job descriptions and appraisal systems.
Content manager, who brings in external information and helps to integrate it with internal information to add value to the knowledge resources.
Extranet manager, who facilitates the sharing of expertise and information with partners and clients without breaching contracts, agreements and legal requirements.
Knowledge architect, who develops and advises on the structures for information resources, builds and implements a taxonomy to enable more accurate retrieval of information and helps in the development of expertise databases to identify and connect experts.
Communities coordinator, who helps to identify and stimulate communities of interest and communities of practice across the organization and provides training and coaching for members of the communities.
Members of the implementation team need many of the attributes required in the CKO together with particular skills for their role. Also like the CKO their roles may change as KM becomes embedded in the organization.
Business Units
This is where the real knowledge initiatives need to reside and where the real benefits will be gained. Most roles associated with KM initiatives within the business units will be part-roles-- additional responsibilities added to an existing role. One of the skills of the implementation team is to be able to identify people in the business units who have a natural affinity with knowledge and information--who are intuitive sharers, make connections, think laterally and are seen by their peers as a natural source of information. These people are invaluable as local knowledge leaders, navigators and synthesizers--as community coordinators and as facilitators for important knowledge or information assets within the business unit encouraging participation and use by their colleagues. Business unit managers have the responsibility of stimulating and encouraging KM initiatives and a knowledge culture within their unit added to their role. Others within the unit will have additional responsibilities for leading an initiative or being part of a team or community.
Everyone
Finally the research clearly demonstrated that everyone working in or with the organization needed to develop new skills, competencies and behaviors. That if an organizations was going to thrive in the knowledge economy the role of everyone associated with the business needed to include their responsibility for contributing to the new way of working--the new knowledge culture. The research results started to define a common set of skills and competencies-- "information literacy skills"--that needed to be embedded throughout the workforce. These are the skills associated with creating, sharing, finding, assessing and using information and knowledge.
Skills
The research identified the core skills and competencies required in the KM roles and teams. These skills are summarized in skills map shown as Diagram 1.
INSERT SKILLS MAP HERE
The role of the information profession in KM
The final part of the research was to look at the current and potential future role of the information profession in KM.
The involvement of the information profession at a strategic level--in the KM planning team or as the CKO--was found to be extremely rare. It was felt that they did not have the strategic understanding of the business, the breadth of experience required, or the business mindset needed. It was also felt that, in general, the information profession did not have the ambition necessary nor the risk-taking ability required. In addition knowledge strategies need to encompass all types of knowledge and information available - including tacit and explicit knowledge, information residing in production, research, marketing, financial databases as well as many other information resources - whereas the information profession has traditionally limited itself to the acquisition and management of external information and to some extent the management of records and documents.
Within the implementation teams there was more involvement of the information profession. There appears to be two major reasons for this. Firstly, some of the organizations that were early adopters of KM placed high value on external information and the need to integrate it into the knowledge resources being developed. Secondly, as organizations begin to address the practicalities of implementing KM they increasingly recognize that one of the core enablers is information management. The more that an organization builds an infrastructure which enables people to share explicit knowledge--be that through databases, documents, e-mails, virtual discussion groups and meeting places, project files, presentations or any of the myriad of mechanisms for storing and communicating information--the more they recognize a need for techniques which improve navigability and usability and prevent information overload. As they opt for leveraging information already in the organization, often through the creation of web interfaces and portals, so the skills of information mapping, needs identification and content management become crucial.
In the future there is considerable potential for information professionals to become more involved and take more leadership roles in KM initiatives. This is particularly true as organizations move towards ‘phase 2' of KM implementation--when they have addressed many of the challenges of changing the culture, values and behaviors and start to focus more on knowledge and information flows and resources. These opportunities will only be realized if information professionals are prepared to broaden their horizons, change their mindsets and stop feeling they are ‘victims' (or worse still saying "We've been doing that for the last twenty years"!).
To thrive in a knowledge environment information professionals must:
Start to value their own skills and have the confidence to apply them in new and unfamiliar situations.
Understand their organization, its strategies, its challenges and where knowledge and information can add value.
Develop an understanding of the vast and complex array of knowledge and information within and available to their organization. (This is one of the biggest challenges that organizations face as they try to integrate sources and resources onto one platform or through portals - and nobody has really got to grips with it yet.)
Develop the new skills required to play an effective part in a knowledge team.
Acquire the attributes needed to succeed in a knowledge culture.
In the last few months the term "knowledge management" has started to disappear from the headlines and is being replaced by new buzzwords such as e-commerce and portals. Is this the end of KM? From discussions with knowledge leaders, clients and colleagues the real work of implementing KM is only just beginning to gain momentum. Some of the change management hype has gone and has been replaced by the hard work of implementing successful KM strategies. The term KM may disappear but the principles behind it are required by the knowledge economy and will not disappear. Organizations that ignore the need to change and who don't acquire the new skills and competencies required will not succeed in the knowledge economy.
Nigel Oxbrow is founder and chief executive of TFPL an international company providing recruitment, consultancy, training, and research services in the field of knowledge, information and content management. The company has offices in London and New York and the author can be contacted by e-mail at nigel.oxbrow@tfpl.com.
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