Knowledge Management - Creating a Sustainable Yellow Pages System
How can I"know who knows" None of us can personally know more than around 250 people, yet we want our companies to be smart, learning organisations where it's easy to find the ideal person to speak to. That is the reason why many organisations create"yellow pages" applications, which enable employees to find and contact other staff with particular expertise and skills. However, these systems may be fraught with difficulty in their implementation, and frequently end up as obsolete, glorified intranet telephone directories. This guide, drawn from a best-selling knowledge management fieldbook by its author, identifies ten important steps involved in creating and sustaining a successful, employee-owned yellow pages system.
The tips below will be drawn from the book"Learning to Fly - Practical knowledge management from leading and learning organisations" (Chris Collison and Geoff Parcell), and sets out ten key actions to making a yellow pages systems that actually works, and contains the favorable buy-in of its user community - which is to sayits clients.
1 Maintain a clean and distinctive vision. Be clear about what it is you're trying to achieve and prevent compromise. Beware of getting"all things to all men" - particularly those from the HR and IT departments! Everyone will need a piece of this action - don't get rid of sight of the overarching aim of your own body - making it easy to locate people who you don't already know.
2 Strive for individual ownership and maintenance. Create a procedure whereby only the people concerned can make and update their entries. This will drive a far deeper feeling of ownership throughout the population.
3 Strike a balance between casual and formal content. Invite individuals to share non-work info about themselves in addition to valuable company information. , "what is your favourite film?" .
4 Support the photos wherever possible. Nothing is more powerful and personal than a photograph. It speaks volumes about the person, raises the curiosity rates of others also generates personal ownership of the content. If possible encourage people to include a casual photograph. The security-pass-rabbit-in-the-headlights shots rarely show people in their own very best light! Better to have a picture which says more about the person and what motivates them.
5 Make sure that your product design is inclusive and flexible. Recognize that different folks relate to templates, prompts and construction in different ways.
6 Start using a customer-facing pilot. Critical mass is important, so start with a group of individuals who have a natural need to be more observable to internal customers. This might include things like supporting purposes, existing communities or networks, or even business areas with fresh direction.
7 Deliver through local fans. Centrally-driven push isn?t always the best method to engage the workforce. Tap into local enthusiasts and champions if possible? They will know how best to"sell" the concept locally.
8 Use success stories as a marketing tool. Reinforce the usefulness of this knowledge directory at each opportunity. Publicize any successes or examples broadly, and ancient, to reinforce your undertaking.
9 Encourage usage, but lead by example instead of edict. Avoid mandating the people and usage of this knowledge directory. Folks will provide better quality content if they feel they are volunteering the information. At the conclusion of the day, you can?t actually conscript understanding - you can only ever exude it.
And let?s face it, there is little point in finding the one person with experience or expertise that you require, when you call them on the telephone, they are reluctant to speak!
10 Embed into people processes. Look for process and intranet"hooks" that may initiate and sustain the use of your information directory (e.g. recruitment or induction of new staff, the launching of new networks, any reference on an intranet site which mentions a individual's name can become link with their personal page.
The tips below will be drawn from the book"Learning to Fly - Practical knowledge management from leading and learning organisations" (Chris Collison and Geoff Parcell), and sets out ten key actions to making a yellow pages systems that actually works, and contains the favorable buy-in of its user community - which is to sayits clients.
1 Maintain a clean and distinctive vision. Be clear about what it is you're trying to achieve and prevent compromise. Beware of getting"all things to all men" - particularly those from the HR and IT departments! Everyone will need a piece of this action - don't get rid of sight of the overarching aim of your own body - making it easy to locate people who you don't already know.
2 Strive for individual ownership and maintenance. Create a procedure whereby only the people concerned can make and update their entries. This will drive a far deeper feeling of ownership throughout the population.
3 Strike a balance between casual and formal content. Invite individuals to share non-work info about themselves in addition to valuable company information. , "what is your favourite film?" .
4 Support the photos wherever possible. Nothing is more powerful and personal than a photograph. It speaks volumes about the person, raises the curiosity rates of others also generates personal ownership of the content. If possible encourage people to include a casual photograph. The security-pass-rabbit-in-the-headlights shots rarely show people in their own very best light! Better to have a picture which says more about the person and what motivates them.
5 Make sure that your product design is inclusive and flexible. Recognize that different folks relate to templates, prompts and construction in different ways.
6 Start using a customer-facing pilot. Critical mass is important, so start with a group of individuals who have a natural need to be more observable to internal customers. This might include things like supporting purposes, existing communities or networks, or even business areas with fresh direction.
7 Deliver through local fans. Centrally-driven push isn?t always the best method to engage the workforce. Tap into local enthusiasts and champions if possible? They will know how best to"sell" the concept locally.
8 Use success stories as a marketing tool. Reinforce the usefulness of this knowledge directory at each opportunity. Publicize any successes or examples broadly, and ancient, to reinforce your undertaking.
9 Encourage usage, but lead by example instead of edict. Avoid mandating the people and usage of this knowledge directory. Folks will provide better quality content if they feel they are volunteering the information. At the conclusion of the day, you can?t actually conscript understanding - you can only ever exude it.
And let?s face it, there is little point in finding the one person with experience or expertise that you require, when you call them on the telephone, they are reluctant to speak!
10 Embed into people processes. Look for process and intranet"hooks" that may initiate and sustain the use of your information directory (e.g. recruitment or induction of new staff, the launching of new networks, any reference on an intranet site which mentions a individual's name can become link with their personal page.
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