Managing Knowledge

1) Map out the current Managing Knowledge requirements of your company. When information is collected, what happens to it? How do people share it? How does your company currently index and catalog information and data in your organization

2) Take a knowledge inventory of your company. What information do you have in your databases? Do you have legacy systmems that need to be integrated? Understand what knowledge assets you have and where they exist.

3) Identify the knowledge hot spots in your organization. Most firms have places that provide the majority of knowledge and others that need to use that information. Wher is information Managing Knowledge coming from and where does it need to go?

4) Determine where your company’s knowledge ‘dams’ or ‘leaks’ exist. In most firms, information flows freely in some areas but not in others. Critical information needs to be shared throughout the organization, with appropriate security and access controls.

5) Decide where you can improve current knowledge-sharing relationshipships. This will happen in places where partners, suppliers and customers frequently share information. By making this process more efficient, these groups can become virtual teams.

6) Assess whether you have the technology you need to support knowledge management. This requires and understanding of all existing IT investments, and an inventory of required systematic and technological improvements.

7) Find out how every meeting and conversation can benefit from additional knowledge. You want information at your employees fingertips during both structured and unstructured times. How can you make this happen?

8) Promote a culture in which the employees trust the process. People are accustomed to knowledge hoarding, not knowledge sharing. If your employees distrust the knowledge management system, they won’t use it, plain and simple.

9) Understand how your knowledge management system is adaptable to change. Just as your organization will adapt to new processes, your knowledge management system will need to adapt to your organization.

10) Make sure that management is behind you and supports your initiatives. This may require establishing the position of chief knowledge officer. Explore ways to measure return on investment in order to garner more support.