Session 502 - Unlocking The Knowledge Potential Of Your Organization (Clarke)

"We all suffer from FOMO...Fear Of Missing Out.  We're not suffering from Information Overload, we're suffering from Information Obsession...even Information Subscription."

HARNESSING KNOWLEDGE

Sarah is a user-experienced designer by trade, originally from Dublin (hence, the accent).  She opens with a question...quite a pointed one: Why is so much valuable information locked away in people's minds, mails and memos when we're more social then every before?  We're more in contact than ever before...constantly.  And, yet, when someone leaves the organization...knowledge goes.  Someone changes roles, knowledge drains out...a little to a lot.  There are three facets to this problem that need
to be addressed, reviewed, analyzed, and, ultimately, planned for:

SOME FACTS AND NUMBERS...
Where does information come from in organizations?
 - 10% comes from Formal Learning
- 20% comes from Mentoring, and Feedback
- 70% comes from On-The-Job
(In other words, 90% comes from interactions among people.) 
- 67% of organizations employing social software noted increases in the level of employee autonomy
- 18% experienced an increase in employee engagement.
- 20-25% increase in productivity in organizations that have implemented a Knowledge Management Platform

Oh...and email is where knowledge goes to die.  Just sayin...


WHO, WHAT, AND HOW IN THE SOLUTION

Who?These are the broadcasters, the experts, the advocates, and the champions.

What?
The platform...not necessarily Enterprise (that would be insanity), but the knowledge platform itself.

How?
It's not enough to have a platform in place, it's about getting your users engaged.  It's changed from being on e directional to being constant and non-linear.  Sometimes, you need to be able, though, to influence the conversation (otherwise, why have the platform and audience available to you?).  It's difficult because these are adults and they already have social media personally in play outside of work, and now you're going to enforce rules? 

You can make it more appealing by making it Repetitive and Addictive.  "Borrow Brilliance" - Roll with what you already know (either from yourself or others), and repackage for your folks (and hide your source when you can).  This video clip nails it perfectly:

"A Branding Lesson" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yy-xh9OT5hI


FURTHER ON THE HOW

Find ways to help them collaborate...get them together.  Coffee.  It's seemingly universal, but not just coffee...more a Starbucks culture.  Yes, we're having coffee, but let's do something, too.  Make your platform "Starbucks-ish".  To bring attention to your brand, be Miley Cyrus...with intelligence and higher levels of acceptability.  But, by all means, be a rock star.  Use the look/feel of a known brand...like Apple.  The way apps look?  The way it vibes?  Make it look similar...make it feel similar.  Not necessarily identical, but similar.  Don't be afraid, through training and educational content, to get people's attention.  Like LG:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4uPN_W2htU

(Who's NOT buying that TV?)


WHAT'S OUT THERE?

Jive, Tibbr, Yammer, Saba, IBM Connections - They're all out there, they all have similar features with benefits to each.  Jive is fastest growing and largest.  Yammer is most like Facebook.  Tibbr is the perfect fit for SharePoint integration.  Saba is cloud-based.  IBM Connections is award winning, constantly updated. 

Find the best and most intuitive system that works in your organization, base on your audience, broadcasters, champions, etc.  Find what allows self-promotion.  Be able to spread the word and encourage adoption, and, conversely, receive your feedback and evaluate/re-evaluate.  Even if you have a good piece of technology in place, be looking for a great piece of technology. 


CONCLUSION

It's common sense in nature, absolutely.  And, yet, to hear it spoken and laid out in an organized fashion, rather than contemplating in a half-panic, it makes that much more sense.   Lay all this in place, you will unleash potential.  You will unlock your organization's intelligence.