Knowledge Retention & Transfer:

What You Need to Know

February 7, 2012

Jay Liebowitz, D.Sc.Orkand Endowed Chair in

Management and TechnologyThe Graduate School

University of Maryland University College

jliebowitz@umuc.edu1

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Intelligent Research Networks & Next Generation KM

(John Brisbin/Chris Day)

• “Networks are where the knowledge lives and grows”

• “Management is about optimizing the network rules”

• “Innovation DEMANDS networks”

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Strategic IntelligenceStrategic Intelligence““Drives InnovationDrives Innovation””

STRATEGIC

INTELLIGENCE

KM BI

CI

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Strategic IntelligenceStrategic Intelligence

STRATEGIC

INTELLIGENCE

KM=Knowledge-

Enabled

(e.g., KR&T;

SN)

BI=Learner-Enabled

(e.g.,E-Learning,

Analytics, SN)

CI=Community-

Enabled (External/

Competitor)—e.g., SN 6

PEOPLE PROCESS

TECHNOLOGY

Building and Nurturing a Knowledge

Sharing Culture

Systematically Capturing and SharingCritical Knowledge

Creating aUnifiedKnowledge Network

What is Knowledge Management?

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“Leaders Know How to Make the Most of Knowledge Management”

(September 9, 2009, Credit Union Times)

• Society of Human Resource Management study (April 2009): – Organizations that optimize knowledge

management are leaders in their fields.– “While some firms may view knowledge

management as nice to have, proactive organizations see it as a key component of an effective business plan.”

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The KM Journey

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Similar to Desert Types

Hot and Dry Semiarid

Coastal Cold

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Maturity Level Key Indicators

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Inefficiencies in searching for needed information and knowledgeNot knowing who to contact within the organization for answering questionsLack of innovationSilo/stovepiping effects

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Realization that your competition is applying KM concepts and that you may be lagging behind your competitionRealization that there may be a better way of doing business and reaching out to the customers/stakeholders by using KM techniques

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Testing the waters through selected KM pilots KM technology infrastructure starts to be builtMetrics are developed to measure initial success

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Employee morale increases due to an improved sense of belonging/community from KM effortsKM organizational infrastructure starts to be put in placeKM pilots migrate into full-blown projects

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Enterprise-wide knowledge managementLearning and knowledge sharing proficiencies are built into the recognition and reward system of the organizationKM processes are put in place to ensure the capture, sharing, application, and creation of knowledgeNew products or services are createdFunctional silos begin to crumble

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Nirvana is created through the KM activities by establishing high levels of employee morale, increased worker productivity, improved institutional memory building, improved customer relations, increased innovation, a thriving continuous learning culture exists, improved access to people and associated information & knowledge, and a “working smarter not harder” environment permeates

Liebowitz, J. and T. Beckman (2008), “Moving Towards a K3M…”,Advances in MIS: Knowledge Management (I. Becerra and D. Leidner, Eds.),M.E. Sharpe Publishers, April.

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The Ripple Effect

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You Don’t Want to be Alone

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The Key to KM: Building BridgesAcross Isolated Islands

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4 Pillars of a Human Capital Strategy4 Pillars of a Human Capital Strategy

KM

CM

PM

CGM

HumanCapital

KM=Knowledge Mgt.CM=Competency Mgt.PM=Performance Mgt.CGM=Change Mgt.

KM=Knowledge Mgt.CM=Competency Mgt.PM=Performance Mgt.CGM=Change Mgt.

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80% of Respondents Say they Have no Formal Retention Strategy in Place but 38% Have a

Backup Expert in their Knowledge Area

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Percentage of Respondents Answering Yes/No About Having a Backup Expert

Yes

No

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i4cp KR Survey (426 organizations responded)

• Over 77% of the organizations don’t have an owner for KR initiatives

In terms of resources dedicated to knowledge retention, your organization has:

68.14%

16.95%

9.15%

5.76%

No specific dedicated operating budget(s) for KR initiatives

KR initiative expenses funded by business units from their own budgets

A dedicated corporate-level budget that incorporates the expenses of most

ongoing knowledge retention initiatives

Other

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Pillars of KR(Liebowitz, J. (2009), Knowledge Retention:

Strategies and Solutions, Auerbach Publishing)

• Recognition and Reward Structure• Bi-directional Knowledge Flow (bottom-up and

top-down)• Personalization and Codification

(“connections” and “collection”)• The Golden Gem (bringing back talented

retirees into the organization via contractors, consultants, retiree & alumni association, ready pool of retired experts)

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What is Being Done from a KM What is Being Done from a KM Perspective?Perspective?

• Expertise (yellow pages) locators• Online communities of practice• Lessons learned/best practice systems• Knowledge sharing forums• Mentoring programs• Job Rotation• Job Shadowing• Creative Learning/Leadership Groups• KM Working Groups/KM Officers/HC Officers/CHCOs/Knowledge

Stewards• Online, web-based searchable video/knowledge repositories• Knowledge Fairs/Knowledge Exchanges/Birds of a Feather

Meetings• Organizational narratives/storytelling/case studies• Knowledge-based/expert/agent-based/intelligent systems• Intranets/shared drives

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ESA

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KM Objectives Within the ESA Operations Teams

• Identify and capture core knowledge across missions and generations

• Facilitate knowledge and operational experience sharing

• Improve community process

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Knowledge Sharing Tenets for Success

• Enhance reward and recognition system to include learning and knowledge sharing competencies

• Acquaint people with knowledge sharing and its benefits

• Share the message that with creativity comes failure and we all benefit from talking about our successes and our failures

• Integrate knowledge sharing into everyone’s job• Educate people about what types of knowledge

are valuable and how they can be used• Make sure the technology works for people, not

vice versa

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Lessons Learned

• It is easier to apply KM strategies that fit an organization’s culture than to first change the organizational culture and then apply KM

• Don’t try to do everything at once• Apply KM to the core competencies of the

organization to show value-added benefits• There will always be skeptics of anything• Don’t put the cart before the horse

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The Informal Organization(Katzenbach Partners, 2007)

“Yet, in most corporate settings, the informal organization is poorly understood, poorly managed, and often disregarded as

inconsequential.”

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5 Signs Your Informal Organization is Alive and Well

[Katzenbach Partners, 2007]

• The Word Gets Out Fast

• “Change” Isn’t a Dirty Word

• Collaboration is the Default Mode

• Employees are Tapped In

• Stories Demonstrate Values

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“Learning Gets Social”(T. Bingham, T&D)

• ASTD and i4cp conducted research on informal learning:– 98% of those surveyed say that informal

learning enhances employee performance– However, 36% dedicated no money to

informal learning and 78% dedicated 10 percent or less of the training budget to it

– Web 2.0 Study (ASTD/i4cp/Booz Allen): only a small minority of companies are using Web 2.0 technologies in learning

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The Value of Social Networking• Networks of informal relationships have a

critical influence on work and innovation• Research shows that appropriate

connectivity in well-managed networks within organizations can have a substantial impact on performance, learning, and innovation

• facebook.com, myspace.com, LinkedIn.com

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Basic Steps to Performing a SNA

• Determine your unit of study• Develop the relationships/dimensions to be used• Create & disseminate your web-based survey instrument

(pilot, then field)• Apply SNA software tools (e.g., NetMiner, UCINet-

Netdraw) to help with the analysis and visualization• Report results• Perform a post-audit 6-12 months after the intervention

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Net Team Layout by Generation

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K Area Isolate Transmitter Receiver Carrier

Context 329 133 190 46

Exp. Pr 361 126 171 40

General 378 118 162 42

Process 442 110 109 37

Relation 445 94 121 38

Strategic 396 113 151 38

Node Types by AreaNode Types by Area

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Importance of Cross-Generational Knowledge Flows

• “Generational differences significantly impact employee attitudes and outcomes in the workplace. If firms are unable to modify their cultures and work environments to adequately meet the needs of their younger generation employees, they will continue to experience high levels of dissatisfaction and turnover.”

Westerman, J. and J. Yamamura (2007), “Generational preferences for workenvironment fit: effects on employee outcomes”, Career Development Int. Journal, 12(2), Emerald.

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Tacit Knowledge Flows

IntergenerationalBiases

Edge Organizations

Main Areas of Research

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Summary of the Findings

• Important as critical success factors for cross-generational knowledge flows:

» Shared understanding refers to having a mutual conveyance and agreement of ideas that are shared between two parties.

» Reciprocity refers to being willing to share one’s knowledge because given a similar situation, the knowledge recipient would share

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Summary of the Findings (cont.)

» Intrinsic worth of knowledge refers to the value and merit of the knowledge being conveyed. A subset of overlapping values to reduce generational gaps is also important to lead to a common, shared understanding.

» Convenient knowledge transfer mechanisms need to exist for cross-generational knowledge flows so that “user adoption” will be enhanced. These knowledge transfer mechanisms could be either codified or personalized approaches to sharing knowledge.

» Interpersonal trust and respect for each other will enhance knowledge sharing as well.

• Knowledge sharing was more likely to occur with individuals with pro-social traits--that is, people concerned more about the group collective goals versus individual agendas

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Future Trends in KM Methodologies

• ROI on KM; KM Metrics

• Socio-technical approaches to KM (e.g., SNA/ONA/VNA)

• Learning from others (taking complementary approaches and integrating them for KM)

• KM Governance (Formal strategies and ownership needed for KR, KM, HC, etc.)

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Concluding Comments

• Techniques like SNA can provide added insights into the grapevine effect and can facilitate innovation and informal learning

• Cross-generational knowledge flows and knowledge retention & transfer will become increasingly important to organizations

• E-Learning will continue to play an important role for stimulating learning and creativity

• Governments need to think about creating “knowledge cities” with universities as urban innovation centers

• These areas will add to macro and micro strategic intelligence

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Final Thought

• Scott Anthony’s “The Silver Lining: An Innovation Playbook for Uncertain Times” (Harvard Business Press, 2009):– “The biggest silver lining for innovation is that

the scarcity that is sure to result from the current economic climate is actually a good thing for innovation.”

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Thank you…Thank you…

Any Any questions?questions?

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