Introduction

I work for a major online- and campus-based university with about 5,000 full-time employees and 4,000 part-time faculty. When I began my KM journey, knowledge management within my company, where it existed, was disparate and siloed. It was also limited only to knowledge bases and other similar forms of information management on the DIKW pyramid and even then not managed well.

Because of this, it failed to leverage knowledge collaboratively across the company. By acting independently, we were perpetuating the multiple discovery phenomenon within the company, where individual departments and sometimes different teams within the department were all moving to the same goal in their own way, often duplicating work, making similar mistakes in different ways, and not moving forward as a united front.

This had repercussions and risks in that valuable knowledge was lost, through retirees, department transfers, and general attrition. Financial and process efficiency was impacted, through extended new hire training, recurring development training, repeated mistakes, and more.

Starting Out

I had been asked to lead a new team that focused on knowledge, the first full team dedicated to doing so within the University. At the time, I was also under the impression that knowledge management was nothing more than knowledge bases and document controls. After several months of just getting by, I began to search for training on knowledge management best practices and I stumbled upon the KMI CKM course and sent out inquires.

Initial discovery meetings with Eric Weidner and John Hovell were eye-opening, as my team and I never knew there was so much to KM beyond the knowledge base work we were doing. I was excited to learn more and got approval to host KMI for a private CKM course for my entire team in May of 2018. My team and I loved the training and I was impressed with the depth of Knowledge Management and could easily see how it would benefit the University. I didn’t know how to go about implementing these ideas, but I started to give it some thought while working on other projects.

A couple months later, in July of 2018, I had reason to call together the other individuals in the company who owned knowledge bases within the same CRM platform as mine. I wanted to make a change to the platform and needed their buy-in in order to get it approved.

I organized the meeting at a central location as we were coming from all across the city and we had an agreement within 5 minutes of the hour long meeting. The rest of the time, we chatted about our knowledge bases and the responsibilities thereof. I learned two things from that meeting: First, that mine was the only team in the room dedicated to knowledge, the others had it as a small part of their jobs, and secondly, that nobody in the room, other than me, had any understanding of knowledge management as a whole and what it could do beyond self-help articles. The group itself found the session useful and agreed when I proposed we make it a regular meeting. And so what was then known as the Knowledge Manager’s Council was born.

Building Consensus

We started by meeting quarterly in different locations on campus and in the office buildings the University rented around the city. I would coordinate schedules and often pick a topic for discussion, with a few slides and some research. Many of the topics were ones I had been exposed to in my CKM course. There was always room for open table discussion for the last half of the meeting and we addressed several issues about information ownership and styling in those sessions. We also identified others who had similar roles but not working on the same technology platform that we used. We invited them and several became regular members of the group.

Eventually, after over a year meetings, the knowledge base and platform discussions boiled away and the conversation finally started to turn towards what knowledge management as a field was. Other departments who did not have anyone working in KM had heard of us and had sent a person to one meeting or another to listen to the discussions and my presentations of what I had learned. Most would drift in and then out, without any real change to the group, but a few stayed.

In December of 2019, I proposed that we host another KMI CKM training on-site and that anyone who was interested and could find the budget for it could let me know. To my pleasant surprise, the idea was well received, and we had enough people and funding to schedule a second private CKM class.
Getting Educated.

In February 2020, we hosted our second private CKM course from KMI and instead of consisting of solely my team, we had representatives from several different departments within the University. The class was a hit with everyone who took it and this caused the inter- departmental discussion around KM to really take off.

I often sat in on the training in-between meetings and joined the group for lunch every day. I was interested in what people thought and where their ideas were going. I would ask participants for their ideas and opinions, and to my delight, there was a strong consensus that our company needed more KM and had a willingness to make it happen from the bottom up.

By lunch of the final day of training we had a small group of core believers who wanted to make the effort, and had the capacity, to begin real KM change within the University. There was also general agreement that our quarterly Knowledge Manager Council was really a CoP of sorts and we should formalize it and advertise for membership.

A Call To Action

A small group of participants in the Knowledge Manager’s Council and the CKM course decided to join me in the effort of bringing awareness and adoption of KM methodologies to the University at an inter-operable level. We decided to call ourselves the Knowledge Drivers and our first task was to change the Knowledge Manager’s Council into a true Knowledge Management Community of Practice.

While at the time we did not, and still do not have, a formal leadership hierarchy within the group, I took on the task of, and remain the, main coordinator for the Drivers and the CoP. I was able to get the word about our new community out through several projects I was attached to and, in early March 2020, we had our first KM CoP meeting, replacing the former Knowledge Manager’s Council. What was a group of about 10 individuals who had knowledge, primarily knowledge bases, as part of their job was replaced with about 25 people, many of the former Council included, who were interested in the discussion about Knowledge in general.

We started off the meeting with an exercise those of us who took the CKM course learned there: the constellation. We asked about our new members familiarity with KM as a practice and their interests. We explained what it was and how we wanted to bring it to the University and we did the constellation again to see who thought it would work for their team.

The first CoP meeting transformed the group from what was originally a council of 5 departments to a community with representatives of 9 workgroups across 7 departments. It was a small gain, but a success nonetheless.

Growing The Community

Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic really hit the United States around this time and less than a week after our first CoP meeting, my entire company was sent to work from home as best we could. Now I found myself having to coordinate a new community as well as a new task- group, the Knowledge Drivers, in a remote-only setting. The answer that helped me be successful with both was something I had learned in my CKM course and participated in when the second course happened: The Knowledge Café.

By utilizing features of our remote meeting software, specifically the ability to host individual break-out rooms from a central meeting, I was able to devise a format to use for the CoP meetings that worked for everyone and replicated the Knowledge Café effect with only minimal adjustment for digital life. We would start out each meeting with a sharing presentation, as the community had indicated as a whole that this was one of the things they wanted to see more of. This is where someone from the community would volunteer to talk a bit about something KM related, either a project their team was working on, their team itself and its knowledge, or even an interesting topic that had little to do with a University project.

We would then have a section where the Drivers, usually myself, would report on the work we had been doing towards our goals and then we would finish off with a community exercise that changed for each meeting. Sometimes we would seek feedback on a specific topic or item, others we have a general discussion, using breakout rooms, around different topics, allowing for more sharing and faster transfer.

This approach proved to be very successful and now, nearly 20 months after our first meeting, word of mouth and our outreach has caused the CoP to grow to an invite list well over 120 people and a regular attendance of 40+, nearly 50, individuals. I have been asked, and have given, talks to other groups in the University on the Knowledge Café model and how it has helped drive community engagement in a world where nobody can enter the same room as the person they are meeting with. These groups included our HR department, Customer Experience, Communication and Marketing, and a few others.

Developing a Mission

While I was working on how to best coordinate and operate a community of practice in a de-centralized world, I was also trying to maintain interest and momentum in the new Knowledge Driver’s workgroup. I had a group of influential and excited individuals who wanted to bring true KM to the University in a standardized manner. My initial challenge was to get the group to agree to what that meant and how we would implement it.

In my opinion, the easiest place to start was to craft a business case. It would force us to look at these questions and have those discussions in a regulated manner. What quickly became apparent was that, while we could talk about the benefits of KM in general, we didn’t have, for lack of a better phrase, a monster to slay.

The solution I found was not something I learned in the CKM training or from KMI in general, though I would gladly see it added to the curriculum. I came across it in my own research. That was the anthropological theory of Multiple Discovery. While still a theory, with its own critics and supporters, the basics of it are commonly accepted: that many civilizations throughout history developed the same or very similar solutions to the same problems entirely independently. Essentially, every civilization invented the wheel on its own.

I was able to educate the remainder of the Knowledge Drivers on the Multiple Discovery Theory and we agreed that this was a dragon that we could slay with KM. Our University prides itself on innovation and being ahead of educational trends, but we could prove the existence of the MDT within the University itself, a barrier to innovation and then relate it to other motivating measures such as cost avoidance, impact of turnover and retirements, and time to proficiency of new hires.

Synchronizing Efforts

Now that we had a dragon to slay, which would help us with leadership buy-in, we wanted to know what other goals we could have. I suggested a process which we still use, and that is presenting to the KM CoP at those meetings and engaging the community in our work, so that it was a true grassroots movement, pushed forward by a dedicated few but with input from the interested many.

My first effort into this was a simple polling exercise of the CoP using a tool called Menti, which allows real-time anonymous polling by having members navigate to a website, enter a code, and answer the questions. The facilitator, in this case my training lead, could share the results on the screen for everyone to see. I had us start simple and asked the community “What are you looking to get out of this CoP?”. The answers formed a word cloud that proved invaluable to the drivers and what we wanted to do. With answers such as “Learn”, “Process”, “Best Practices”, and “Definitions”, the Drivers had our first few goals.

I worked with the other Drivers and we were able to incorporate these into our business case and put together a roadmap and timeline for our efforts. We divided this timeline into 4+ phases with the first four being defined, that truly reflects the community grassroots movement my efforts have turned into. In July of 2021 we entered the third phased after nearly 18 months of work laying foundations, getting leadership buy-in, and growing the community and its voice. Presenting To Leadership

With the work of the Knowledge Drivers aligned with the needs and wishes of the Knowledge Management Community of Practice, I wanted to address a pressing issue that had come up in several CoP discussions: what did senior leadership at the University think of us doing this?

In the early weeks of 2021, I rallied the other Drivers and we began putting together a presentation that we have come to lovingly call “The Roadshow” that explained the history of the Knowledge Drivers and KM CoP, explained what our goals and desires were, why KM was important and different aspects of our business case, and showed off our timeline.

In May of 2021, we presented to our first group of leaders, the Chief Information Officer and her direct reports. The presentation was given by a group of four of the Drivers, myself included, where we went through the slides and fielded questions from the group. The presentation was a great success with unanimous praise of the grassroots nature and mission. In the following months we presented to other senior leaders such as the Chief Experience Officer and her staff, and the Chief Product Officer and his.

From these presentations we received unanimous buy-in for the movement and its efforts. As the main face of the group and its chief coordinator, I have personally received invitations to three enterprise-level projects that had given no thought to KM as an advisor on how it could be built into the process. This has had the direct result of both the Project Management Office and the President’s Office becoming a key stakeholder and partner to the KM CoP and the Knowledge Drivers and our efforts.

We are still holding The Roadshow, the next group we are scheduling with as of November 2021 is our Executive Vice President of Human Resources and her staff. I have also given a progress report to the KM CoP about these meetings and their reception, which has had a direct impact on attendance and engagement. It seems with the knowledge that senior leadership will not be shutting the effort down, more people are willing to participate.

Looking Back, Facing Forward

While all this work has been going on, we have had other KM successes as a group. In September 2021, I was asked to meet with leaders in our HR and Communications departments who were told about Organizational Network Analyses by a member of the KM CoP after I gave a presentation on it in August of 2021. Knowledge Management has become something of a buzz-word among leadership since we began our Roadshow and I have been asked to consult with other departments, such as Product Strategy, Academics, and the Library, on standing up their own KM initiatives within their department and aligning them with the whole.

One of my team members, who is herself working on her doctorate in KM and who joined my team in early 2020, has begun standing up a University-wide Knowledge Retention program in conjunction with HR. It is early in its pilot phase, but feedback so far has been tremendously positive. She is a graduate of the CKM program herself and I will let the details of the effort be her own MCKM article.

Looking forward, the Knowledge Drivers, in cooperation with the KM community within the University, is already deep into phase 3 of our roadmap, where we have identified and mapped the current state of KM in the university. Our next step is to analyze this map and see what we can start standardizing, looking for both elephant and squirrel sized projects, and really, finally, drive home the work we have all been striving toward, in my case, for over three years. Conclusion

When I took the CKM course in 2018, I was the only person in the University with Knowledge in my title. To the University, Knowledge was limited to knowledge bases and other forms of information and document management. Now, in November 2021, I am one of three individuals with a title for knowledge and Knowledge itself means so much more.

The three of us, all of us Knowledge Drivers, have joined together to make an informal workgroup we call Knowledge Operations with the goal of working as one team across departments. There is promise of more groups joining us in the coming months.

When I first began my KM journey, knowledge management within my company was disparate and siloed. That was four years ago. With consistent effort and a lot of politicking, I have managed to create and lead a grassroots Knowledge Management movement within the company that has taken on a life of its own. It crosses 9 major departments and members of over 30 workgroups. It has caused KM to become a source of excitement and discussion. While we still have a long way to go to be a true Knowledge Age institution, the foundations have been placed and they were placed by a community of people whose interest and drive made it happen. I am proud of this work and submit this account, as well as the accompanying documentation, as my application for the Master Certified Knowledge Manager certification.

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It may sound strange, but pop culture has a lot to offer Knowledge Management, especially science fiction and superhero franchises. Some of these institutions now stretch across several lifetimes as well as every conceivable kind of media. This includes adaptations in film, television, comic books, radio, podcasts, magazines, novels, gaming of every variety, and much more. Overtime, this body of work has led to a wide range of strategies to simply keep track of it all. This makes these franchises particularly content rich with a lot of characters, alien planets, and generations of creative teams who made it happen. Consider that Superman and Batman are almost a century old at this point, representing an incredible amount of information to organize from their many adventures. And other iconic heroes aren’t far behind! So after carefully reviewing the most popular franchises over quarantine, I wanted to share what stood out most and what seems applicable beyond just your next trivia night.

Why?

You might wonder, why bother tracking an epic battle between good and evil on a planet that doesn’t exist? The short answer, of course, is that people enjoy it and it makes money. But that’s not the complete answer. Even the knowledge products that aren’t directly profitable still contribute by encouraging the myriad outlets of fandom and inspiring more creative endeavors – artistic collaborations, cosplay, and reimagining something that’s been around since before your parents were born! But before you can boldly go where you’ve never gone before, you have to know where you’ve already been.

Who?

Because these franchises are corporate owned intellectual property, it’s no surprise that there’s paid staff dedicated to them, producing a variety of knowledge products for internal reference and future consumption. What’s more noteworthy though are the legions of fans that populate unofficial wikis, zines, and comment threads for no other reason than because they like it. This synthesis of paid and voluntary work is necessary and even reinforces itself, where more of one sparks more of the other.

How?

Search through the information available about a franchise and you’ll soon find official databases and bulky encyclopedias that document every hero and villain, alien species and speculative piece of technology in the galaxy. Then, there are the video interviews and making of featurettes, documentaries and in-depth guides that unpack all the components that collectively make up these cultural enterprises. Communities form around them and become forums for discussion and debate. Interestingly, the franchise and these knowledge resources are really one in the same, just an extension of the experience that empowers people with more ways to engage with the story.

So What?

Your latest project might seem like it’s a universe removed from summer blockbusters and hit TV shows. The difference is that your work, those it benefits, and the results you’re achieving are real – like really real in the real world where things matter. More time and energy might get devoted to fiction, but the best practices pioneered for our entertainment can be useful guideposts towards a higher calling, your higher calling.

Let’s review some key takeaways:

• Combine the paid Knowledge Management efforts of a few with the voluntary passion of many.
• Encourage a sense of community for those who are interested in what you’re doing. These are your biggest fans, thoughtful advocates, and potential reinforcements in future endeavors.
• Develop engaging and easily accessible resources about your work and how it was accomplished, because it deserves that conversation! It’s these things that allow other people to learn from your valuable experience.
• And most importantly, use all these touchpoints to spur a creative cycle where past projects inform and inspire future ones in new and imaginative ways.

One benefit of fiction is that it helps people rethink and redefine what’s possible. And hopefully, that same impulse behind today’s blockbusters can get us all to look at our own Knowledge Management work a little differently from time to time. Don’t forget that with great knowledge comes great responsibility. I’m sure it’s a burden that you know very well. But in the herculean tasks ahead, you are the real deal and the hero of this particular saga. Good luck and Excelsior!

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A reactive approach to running a business is just not enough. Instead, you need to actively find new ways to provide value to customers. This is why a proactive approach must be adopted. One of the ways you can be more proactive is by combining your knowledge management system and CRM. 

Integrating knowledge management (KM) with CRM has become a necessity. It allows organizations to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. When it comes to managing customer relationships, every bit of information is important. The worst mistake that you can make is overlooking issues.

A robust KM and CRM integration will support your business in ways that you cannot even imagine. Besides, around 89% of customers expect businesses to provide the best experience. Read our guide to find out how integrating knowledge management and CRM can prove beneficial.

What is a Knowledge Management System?

Before we cover what a KM and CRM integration can do for you, you must understand the purpose of a knowledge management system. It is an IT system that stores and retrieves knowledge for improving collaboration, understanding, and alignment.

Not only can a KM system be used by teams within the organization, but it can also be used to center the knowledge base for customers.

What Is A CRM?

CRM stands for customer relationship management. It is a tool that helps businesses establish long-term relationships with customers. It assists with developing, acquiring, and retaining customers.

The software ensures smooth and efficient interaction with consumers to increase overall profit. It gathers customer data from various channels to provide detailed information about customers to make the right decisions.

A popular CRM that you might have come across is the Real Estate CRM. It is a powerful tool that can be integrated with your KM system to provide outstanding results.

How Can Knowledge Management and CRM Can Support Your Business In 2021?
1. Increases Productivity

One of the ways KM and CRM integration can support your business is by increasing productivity.

The integration will enable your employees to access company information and commonly asked answers directly from the KM system when responding to customer requests in CRM.

It would help eliminate research time and the need to conference with other employees, which would significantly increase productivity. Besides, switching between applications would only require customers to wait longer, which would frustrate them.

2. Reduces Redundant Tasks

Another way a KM and CRM integration can provide support to businesses is by reducing redundant tasks. The CRM system will update the information learned during every resolution, whereas solutions for repetitive issues can be converted into an article on the knowledge base.

As the world of business evolves, you must eliminate redundant tasks to stay ahead. Otherwise, your company would become redundant altogether. Keeping up with the latest innovations is the only way you can compete with major players.

3. Improves Customer Satisfaction

By integrating KM and CRM, you get to provide your customers with self-service capabilities which they can use when they visit your website. They can easily browse through the FAQs online and find a solution for the problem that they might be facing.

Moreover, if there is no answer or resolution for the issue, your customers would be instantly routed to a live agent who can take over things from there. New cases would be automatically generated by the system, which would alert agents. Thus, you will benefit from improved customer satisfaction.

4. Increases Effectiveness

Keep a complete track of the questions, emails, and calls with the help of the integration. It will ensure that you benefit from a clear measurement of Effectiveness. Find out how well your team is doing to ensure accountability and improve Effectiveness.

Besides, you also get to find out which issues are the most repetitive and active for making sure that you can resolve the issue for good. Only when you monitor each issue extensively will you be able to provide real value to customers.

As you respond to customer needs, you will be able to build knowledge where appropriate and track Effectiveness. This would allow you to monitor the productivity of customer-facing employees and motivate them to work harder.

How to Integrate Knowledge Management and CRM?

Integrating KM and CRM is not easy. However, it is possible by following the steps mentioned below.

1. Source the Information for the Integration

The first thing that you need to do to integrate the two systems is to know what knowledge to document. Find out which problems, questions, and issues customers face the most and how you can document their answers.

Make sure to involve the CRM team to determine which issues customers frequently face. There are different pieces to the puzzle. Hence, you must ensure that every piece is integrated to cover the entire customer experience.

2. Organize the Integration

The next step that you need to take is to organize the integration. Here is how you can do this.

• Chunk articles into topic categories.
• Determine the most frequently asked questions.
• Create a separate page for knowledge management on your website and integrate it with supplementary resources like live chat.
• Measure the Effectiveness of the integration by including a feedback mechanism.
• Use different types of media such as text, images, and videos since people learn differently.
• You should also consider leveraging Google Analytics for developing advanced customer education training.

3. Continuously Optimize the Integration

Finally, you have to continuously optimize the integration to keep customers satisfied. Analyze customer success and track metrics such as conversion rate and bounce rate to make necessary improvements. Make sure to evaluate customer feedback to keep track of every minute detail. Then, you can proceed with the changes to provide greater value to customers.          

Takeaway

KM and CRM provide extensive support to businesses. By integrating the two, you can take your business to the next level. Our guide aims to provide you with a foundation on the topic. Always remember that a proactive approach is the best way forward.

By implementing the integration, you can expect to increase productivity, reduce redundant tasks, and increase Effectiveness. Hence, it is about time that you started planning the integration.

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In today’s healthcare industry, we need all the help we can get. COVID-19 continues to cause sickness and even death among the population, filling hospitals and overwhelming medical staff. There aren’t enough professionals to comfortably manage the situation or stem the tide of demand on the horizon as the population continues to age up.

Fortunately, Knowledge Management (KM) is here to help the medical industry handle extreme levels of demand by collating, organizing, and disseminating important public health information. As a result, we can apply practical solutions and insights in dealing with even the most disastrous of situations.

By collecting data, making care more accessible, and empowering health research, KM brings new levels of practicality and efficiency to healthcare today. Here are the important details.

Collecting Healthcare Data

The COVID-19 response has been an exercise in adapting KM systems to produce better health outcomes. In fact, much of the response has stemmed from the use of these tools in collecting healthcare data regarding the coronavirus and its spread. Public health experts have used KM frameworks to evaluate everything from exposure data to the pressure on front-line workers. From there, they can cultivate unique solutions.

Knowledge Management is integral to gathering the kind of data needed for any large-scale health response. Epidemiologists, for instance, require comprehensive access to positive tests, spread information, and rising numbers. KM systems collate this information in a singular dashboard, providing epidemiologists with the insights they need to structure intuitive next steps that protect public health.

In this fashion, KM is critical to a practical health approach. After all, the ability to manage knowledge like data makes all the difference when formulating an effective response to emergencies like a global pandemic. Without this transparent and comprehensive view, public health officials would be completely at a loss for how to implement policies that truly make a difference, instead forced to rely only on hearsay.

In turn, maintaining a comprehensive center of valuable data gives health providers the means to make healthcare more accessible. This is possible through advancing technology and the marketplace of valuable data.

Making Care More Accessible

KM makes healthcare more accessible by democratizing insights for a greater user base. 97% of Americans have smartphones and this massive demographic means that data and knowledge can be cultivated where they are most helpful, like when it comes to emergency care solutions.

For instance, medical smartphone IDs are applications that make important healthcare metrics available to first responders even if you are unconscious. The medical professional simply has to push a button or scan your wearable device to get info like your name, blood type, known allergies, and emergency contact information. This is, of course, if you have allowed your device to offer such information and the providers are savvy enough or have been trained to look for it.

Medical smartphone IDs are just one of the many ways medical knowledge has become more accessible in the situations in which it is most needed. This has life-saving potential, as the ability to quickly identify a patient and pull up their conditions and risk factors could make the difference in first-response care.

But emergencies aren’t the only times KM makes care more accessible. The entire telehealth industry—popularized during the COVID-19 pandemic—exists because care providers can streamline their knowledge for easy access when it comes to treating patients over the web. This means active databases in which patient identity can be quickly and accurately verified alongside all their treatment history.

KM is revolutionizing the healthcare industry through practical and accessible applications like telehealth. In turn, care providers now have access to more medical data than ever before, which further empowers both knowledge and care solutions.

Empowering Research

Last but far from least, Knowledge Management plays an essential role in empowering research. This is because data comes with the territory of accessible care. Now, care professionals are simply applying this available data into more powerful information systems, equipped with AI analytics and cybersecurity protections.

Little has disrupted the future of KM quite like these tools. With AI, for instance, health researchers can scan and connect thousands of data points in an instant. No longer will experts have to manually review diagnostic imaging or rely on invasive visits to gain insights about a patient. Instead, AI applied to big data sets can pull out connections in symptoms, risk factors, and avenues for treatment.

This means that research can now be done on an unprecedented scale, as well. All a smart KM system has to do is de-identify medical data to ensure HIPAA protocol is maintained, then analytics can be applied to health-related problems. Imagine the knowledge that can be cultivated through well-maintained medical databases. With information assembled across a global population, understanding of medical conditions can be revolutionized.

Already, KM systems are being applied in the effort to cure diseases and save lives. One AI model even outperformed a radiologist when it came to diagnosing breast cancer. With the power and potential of effective management of medical knowledge, we can implement life-saving solutions for all kinds of diseases. It all starts with the knowledge needed to enhance performance.

In today’s healthcare industry, Knowledge Management is both practical and effective. In the future, these features will only empower better care and more accessible treatment.

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Knowledge management is by far one of the most important tools in the inventory of a successful business. In other words, having a knowledge management strategy can directly impact the way your business functions and how well it performs in different aspects.

However, there’s also a different side to knowledge management. If used incorrectly, knowledge management can be harmful to your business.

Read on to find out about the successes and failures of knowledge management and how you can use it in your own business.

What Is Knowledge Management?

At its core, knowledge management is an approach to organizing and sharing knowledge within an organization or company. It’s a highly systematic approach that helps you convert expertise into value within your business. A knowledge management system (known as KMS) is a tool that will be useful to businesses of all types and sizes, no matter what your industry or niche is.

Knowledge management might seem like a fairly recent invention, but it actually has its roots in the 1980s. In fact, the term itself was coined in 1987. Management consultants were the pioneers of knowledge management at the time as they realized how important capturing, organizing, and sharing knowledge within an organization was. When businesses started transitioning to a more digital-based setup, knowledge management gained more traction.

To put it simply, businesses realized that the new tech they were integrating into their systems could be used to connect different departments as well as new and veteran employees. By using databases, wikis, and intranets among other things, businesses were able to share knowledge and information easier to build better business infrastructure.

But even though knowledge management might seem like a solution to all of your business problems, it’s not that simple. There are many challenges to using knowledge management and many ways how everything could go wrong if you use knowledge management incorrectly.

Successes of Knowledge Management

Obviously, it’s worth starting from the successes or advantages of knowledge management. Here are just a few major ones:

• Better Organization: First and foremost, knowledge management can help you get better organization within your business, both in terms of processes and the way you manage data. It will be easier to find and recycle or reuse resources and information which will lead you to…
• Structured Business Processes: More relevant information and resources will help you create better products and services and maybe even outperform your competitors.
• Informed Decision-Making: By using your knowledge correctly, you can perform more informed decision-making. This will lead you to develop a better strategy for your business.
• Faster Problem-Solving: By making informed decisions, you can solve problems much faster. In other words, you can increase productivity as well as operational efficiency of your teams and individual employees.
• Easier Sharing of Expertise: Knowledge management allows you to share expertise easier between your employees. This will help them grow and develop while fully utilizing your intellectual capital.
• More Innovation: Using knowledge management means using all the skills, resources, and information you have which can indirectly lead to more innovation in your business. Besides, you could even predict market trends before your competitors.
• Improved Communication: As you share knowledge within your business, you will improve communication and collaboration between your different departments. This can diversify the opinions you get in discussions and can lead you to even better decision-making (and increased profitability).

Whether you want to improve your email marketing by helping your customer service and marketing departments work closer or you want to make your onboarding process for new employees run smoother, knowledge management could be the tool you need. That being said, there are still some things to consider before you get started.

Failures of Knowledge Management

Undeniably, knowledge management has many benefits, but it also has failures or disadvantages you shouldn’t forget about. Here are some major issues you can encounter:

• Aligning Knowledge Management with Business Strategy: Perhaps the biggest challenge for any business when getting started with knowledge management is trying to align it with your existing business strategy. You already have goals and objectives which could be difficult to pursue when you set knowledge management aims that may go counter to them. This is why it is important to consider your existing strategy before you start thinking about objectives for your knowledge management plan.
• Difficulty Finding Information and Resources: Another major challenge on your way will be actually finding information and resources. It may sound easy at first, but you will be surprised just how much knowledge and expertise within your business is taken for granted or even hidden from you. This knowledge is valuable and needs to be detected which is why you need to put together a clear set of rules and guidelines for capturing, recording, and sharing knowledge within your business.
• Absence of Efficient Knowledge Capturing Methods: To use knowledge management effectively, you will need to define the methods you will use to capture the said knowledge. It’s not enough to simply find it – you should also be able to capture it, store it, process it, analyze it, and share it. To do this, you will need to consider the budget, tools, and training necessary to execute your knowledge management strategy.
• Choosing and Integrating Knowledge Management Tech: One challenge you might not expect is choosing and integrating appropriate knowledge management tech. As mentioned above, you will need to have the right tools to execute your knowledge management strategy. If you have a tight budget, you will need to carefully consider it before you decide on any particular tech you choose to use for your knowledge management.
• Motivating Employees to Use Knowledge Management: While you might not expect it, you might get some pushback from your employees when you start trying to integrate knowledge management into your company. This is why you need to explain why your business needs knowledge management and then start nurturing a corporate culture that values knowledge above all else.

Final Thoughts

To sum up, knowledge management definitely has many benefits, but it needs to be applied correctly. If you misuse knowledge management, it could end up harming your business instead of helping it succeed. Therefore, use the tips in this article to aid you with your knowledge management strategy.

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