CHAPTER 1
Implementing knowledge management strategy in practice
Allie Lustigman Charles Taylor
1. Introduction
This chapter breaks down the practical steps for the successful implementation of the Knowledge Management (KM) strategy into three parts. After a review of current models for implementation, the first section focuses on how to effectively create a knowledge sharing culture. How much work needs to be done in this area is dependent on how embedded KM is within the organisation. For companies in which KM is a new direction or service, you will need measures to ensure that employees understand the concept of KM itself, as well as the strategy objectives. For all firms, however, there must be sufficient buy-in and incentives for the implementation to be successful. Many of the tools that you may need to employ are part of the principles of Change Management, and indeed, you may wish to appoint a Change Management consultant to assist with this. The second part of the chapter concerns the Knowledge Manager and his or her team, focusing on how to manage the logistics of implementation; the budgetary decisions; time management; resourcing; and tracking your progress. Put another way, these are part of a Project Management approach, and by undertaking these steps you will ensure your implementation goes smoothly, and can be replicated. The last section of the chapter will then take a more practical approach, as it delves into the importance of piloting a knowledge tool, and how this can assist in your overall implementation. Interspersed throughout the chapter are some case studies from different firms outlining the strategies they used to implement a knowledge tool or initiative, which should provide further practical examples for implementation.
This chapter assumes that the groundwork in planning and creating the KM strategy has been done, and in particular, that two important aspects have been carried out: a full audit of the firm's knowledge tools and capabilities, and a decision on the most appropriate initiatives to implement in the firm.
Every firm is different, with varying cultures and levels of enthusiasm concerning KM. Therefore, this chapter is largely from the perspective of a firm that is relatively new to the concept. Not all firms will need to utilise all of the techniques and ideas laid out in this chapter, but at a basic level, these are important approaches to get right for successful implementation.
2. Models for successful KM implementation
There have been many studies on the key success factors for implementing KM. These are worth reading and give some clear and sound implementation steps to follow. This chapter takes influence from, and incorporates many aspects of these models. In Chong and Choi, they list various steps:
From the analyses of the models, it was found that several studies have proposed several key variables for successful implementation of knowledge management. For example, Davenport et al. (1998) have identified eight knowledge management success factors such as (1) technology infrastructure; (2) organizational infrastructure; (3) balance of flexibility, evolution and ease-of-accessibility to knowledge; (4) shared knowledge; (5) knowledge-friendly culture; (6) motivated workers who develop, share and use knowledge; (7) means of knowledge transfer using various information technology infrastructure; and (8) senior management support and commitment. Ryan and Prybutok (2001) propose five success factors such as (1) an open organizational culture; (2) senior management leadership and commitment; (3) employee involvement; (4) teamwork and (5) information systems infrastructure. Perhaps the most comprehensive list of success factors has been presented by Moffett et al. (2003). Ten key components to successful knowledge management were identified: (1) a friendly organizational culture; (2) senior management leadership and commitment; (3) employee involvement; (4) employee training; (5) trustworthy teamwork; (6) employee empowerment; (7) information systems infrastructure; (8) performance measurement; (9) benchmarking and (10) knowledge structure.
They then go on to list their top critical success factors for implementation:
(1) Visible top management leadership.
(2) Employee training.
(3) Employee involvement.
(4) Spirit of teamwork.
(5) Employee empowerment.
(6) Information systems infrastructure.
(7) Performance measurement.
(8) Knowledge friendly culture.
(9) Benchmarking.
(10) Knowledge structure.
(11) Elimination of organisational constraints.
Guidelines have also been listed by James A Albers, which seem more project or practically oriented, and focus on the knowledge strategy and audit:
• Select knowledge management team.
• Establish knowledge management strategy and business case.
• Perform knowledge assessment and audit.
• Perform information technology (IT) assessment.
• Develop project plan and measurement systems.
And Davenport and Prusak also list some key factors to implementation:
• A knowledge-oriented culture.
• Technical and organisational infrastructure.
• Senior management support.
• A link to economics or industry value.
• A modicum of process orientation.
• Clarity of vision and language.
• Non-trivial motivational aid.
• Some level of knowledge structure.
• Multiple channels for knowledge transfer.
This chapter draws on the above models but focuses on the implementation steps needed after the knowledge strategy has been created, and in the specific context of a corporate or law firm environment. Additionally, it splits the steps into three groups; first, customer focus and creating a knowledge sharing culture, secondly is the knowledge team focus and utilising key implementation techniques, thirdly the practical focus on implementing a pilot project.
3. Customer focus – creating a knowledge sharing culture
"There is a general agreement that a knowledge-friendly culture must be present or nurtured in order for knowledge management implementation success" (Chase, 1997; Choi, 2000; De Long et al, 1996; Galagan, 1997; Greengard, 1998; Gupta et al, 2000; Jager, 1999; McDermott & Dell, 2001; Ribiere, 2001; Ryan & Prybutok, 2001; Skyrme & Amidon, 1997; Wah, 1999; Wild et al, 2002).
Outlined below are useful steps for fostering a culture of knowledge sharing; they are: buy-in, identifying knowledge advocates, communicating KM, internal marketing and incentivising.
3.1 Buy-in and identifying knowledge advocates
First and foremost, implementing any new strategy, tool or initiative needs buy-in from the top senior management, as well as employees at all levels. It could be argued that this is the most important aspect of successful implementation in a corporate organisation. Without leadership and support, projects are unlikely to get traction, basic resources will not be allocated and employees will simply not be interested. In this scenario, these issues can be described as 'knowledge barriers'. Raub and Von Wittich undertook research into knowledge professionals' methods for implementation, in which they found that 'targeting knowledge actors' (senior leadership) and building 'internal alliances' (employee engagement) were key factors.
Buy-in can work from a top-down or bottom-up approach; in the former by ensuring leadership from senior management in promoting KM and instructingother heads of departments to filter the strategy down. The latter involves identifying 'knowledge advocates', or those employees who understand and are willing to be involved in KM practices, to influence their peers. A mixture of both of these approaches is usually best practice, and varies depending on the tools that you are implementing, particularly if they involve large changes, new processes or additional training. Ensuring support from other teams that aid the implementation of your initiatives, such as Professional Support Lawyers (PSLs), Finance and IT teams, is also crucial for success. This is discussed later in the chapter.
In the top down approach, building a rapport with senior managers is integral, and to do this the knowledge manager should be able to instil trust and confidence. Having a committee or board set up with key managers sitting on it is another way to communicate directly and get across ideas. Ensuring that you have a good relationship with your manager and that they have a healthy understanding of the benefits of your role is also important for escalating your ideas. In garnering buy-in from senior managers you will be able to communicate your strategy, the benefits of KM, and gain support for your initiatives and implementation, which should hopefully flow through the organisation.
Another tempting option is to employ senior management to enforce a strategy on employees; this can be useful for some aspects of projects, but can often backfire. Employees with little time can come to resent being told to take on new initiatives. As Raub and Von Wittich state: "There are good reasons to argue that any attempt to exercise pressure on the part of a CKO (Chief Knowledge Officer) will adversely interfere with effective KM implementation. It will create fear and resistance and may ultimately stifle knowledge transfer." This type of strategy may work best for more practical aspects of implementation; for example, mobilising teams to produce small but integral pieces of work as part of a larger initiative. Likely the most useful advantage of having buy-in from senior management is to foster a knowledge sharing environment by ensuring that understanding and encouragement of KM is communicated and filtered down from the top level.
Leadership is responsible for creating the knowledge vision of the organization, communicating that vision, and building a culture that regards knowledge as a vital company resource.
Taking up more time, but possibly slightly easier, is the bottom up approach of obtaining support from employees outside of senior management. A first step is to start by identifying 'knowledge advocates'. These are people that, put simply, 'get' what you are trying to do and are enthusiastic about KM. Identifying them may come out of your knowledge audit; by speaking to people around the firm you will likely come across those that see knowledge gaps and are keen to find solutions. Additionally, keeping up a rapport with your work colleagues and working with them will also allow you to identify willing advocates. These are the people you can call upon to test tools, act as senior users, provide feedback and importantly, to communicate what they are doing with their peers and generate understanding and promotion, for further implementation. Additionally, turning a knowledge scepticinto a knowledge advocate is a highly useful process for ensuring further buy-in around the firm. Showing someone a solution to a problem using KM is one method of gaining their support for your projects. If a sceptic can be convinced they will usually be very willing to promote KM amongst their colleagues. Some would say these are the people you should be targeting, but remember, it can take time to convince everyone, and therefore, at first, it may be easier to work with those who are more understanding of what you are trying to do, and additionally those who show apathy, to convince and effectively spread your message.
3.2 Communicating knowledge management
One crucial factor that makes implementing a KM strategy more difficult than other strategies, is the lack of understanding around KM in many firms, and the vague nature of the description of KM itself. Therefore, clearly communicating what KM is and its benefits is key to ensuring implementation. Without this basic understanding from employees, full implementation will likely fail. This communication needs to be consistent and continue throughout implementation and beyond, in order to ensure that KM becomes a recognised tenet of your firm's culture. Consistent communication is key, but think creatively as to how you do this. Simple contact with teams at departmental meetings or floor-walks is a tried and trusted method and extremely effective. The next section of the chapter on internal marketing gives more ideas.
KM is a vague term and often seen as a fad. Therefore when communicating what KM is or a new KM tool or initiative, it is important not to use jargon, and to speak the firm's language.
Clarity of vision and language is crucial when implementing any change and particularly so for knowledge management.
Bear the goals of the firm in mind and always relate KM back to these. Use real-world examples taken from your company to illustrate points and ensure you give relatable and tangible benefits as to why you are implementing KM. Ensure you 'know your audience' by listening, and understanding their everyday roles and concerns, and then communicate how your initiative will assist in these individual issues.
Training employees is a clear and integral way to communicate KM ideas and methods and an extremely useful factor to implementation. Salleh and Goh (2002) insist that "if a company wants to become a truly knowledge-based organisation, it must start with quality training". Whether this is part of your induction to employees or done on an ad hoc basis, training on KM tools and practices will ensure that knowledge sharing is employed appropriately and correctly by users, and that a good level of understanding of central KM techniques is acquired. Training can include identification of useful knowledge to be shared around the firm, the importance of metadata for search, and practical training on knowledge ICT tools.
Case study: implementing a KM system
Getting a KM project off the ground requires support from a range of people. At our firm we identified the following key stakeholders in the launch of our new knowledge management system: IT, the central knowledge team, the PSLs and the fee earners themselves. At each stage of the project we needed to convince different stakeholders of the value of the project – their buy-in was essential in order for the initiative to move forward. We were surprised to find that one of our biggest challenges was getting the PSLs to feel part of the project and to create a positive energy about the new system. We had assumed that as knowledge professionals they would automatically be supportive of the project and would understand the importance of what the new system will achieve. In practice, this was not the case and was an excellent example of how communication is essential for KM initiatives to succeed. Part of the problem was that the project had initially been managed by an IT projects team who then transferred responsibility to the central knowledge team for the system roll-out. A lack of communication during the hand-over meant that it was assumed by the central knowledge team that the PSLs had already bought in to the project when in fact they actually still needed convincing of its merits. It became clear that the PSLs felt that they had not been adequately listened to during the initial IT development phase and as a result they felt unheard. A big concern for them was that the project meant a lot of extra work in terms of transferring knowhow and precedents into the new system. We quickly realised that communication about progress on the project would be essential and that it was critical that the PSLs were fully informed about what was going on. Within the knowledge team we took a lot of time to explain to PSLs the benefits of the new system over the current system and to ensure that they felt fully supported with the work they had to complete. We also spent a lot of time listening to their concerns and ideas and asking them questions. By listening well and communicating regularly we were able to give the PSLs the reassurance they needed and they are now completely on board with the project.
3.3 Internal marketing
Internal marketing is very much linked to communication. This allows you to consistently relay the benefits of KM, and therefore why you are implementing it. It is an important tool for buy-in and for ensuring understanding amongst employees of how knowledge sharing can assist in their everyday work.
This chapter will go into the benefits of pilot projects for implementation at a later stage, but you should note that this is an excellent way to market yourself and KM, promoting it as a practical solution to problems. Utilise internal marketing tools such as posters, messages on your intranet or customised email signatures, to effectively draw attention to new KM initiatives and lay out how they have helped to benefit users and the firm generally.
Bulletins from the KM team are excellent ways of communicating your day-today activities and to promote KM. These can be done on a monthly or bi-monthly basis. If departments don't have individual bulletins, tack yourself onto a bulletin that is already distributed in your company. Additionally, setting up fairs or events under the banner of KM is an innovative way of communicating your message to many people. 'Knowledge events' can consist of suppliers you invite in to talk about their products or resources, give presentations, and with added incentives of food or competitions. These events allow you to spread your message in an informal and inviting way and can be done annually to cement into the firm's culture. They also allow you to identify your team to the wider firm and ensure that employees know who you are and the services you provide.
