Nick M. • Don't.

Promote knowledge-seeking instead. The pay-off is instant, the effort much less

Rob K. • This is one I have heard many time before.... It is a bit of a chicken and egg type of thing. Why isn't there much time to share knowledge? Because there is nothing available company wide....? In my company people have learned that our KM system provides them with answers and knowledge so that they do not need to re-invent stuff. This saves considerable time and users see that and then start using the system. Having a bit more time they then tend to give too. It need to be demonstrated constantly though to make people aware of what is available out there.
The focus on knwoledge sharing is secondary: Knowledge finding is far more efficient but it has to be there.... Storytelling as part of the KM system works. IT should not be the handicap either: It has to be a 99.99% uptime (or better) and accessible from anywhere on the company network. Remote connections with SecurID's (or equivalent) will make it even more powerful.
When we started or KM system 10 years ago started small (a couple of CoPs) but made sure there was something relevant to find. (migrated from our scattered Notes databases). Do not expect people to start filling and empty system. Play on healthy self-interest: It has to work for the users from day 1 onward,
We are now at 46 CoP's and 20000 connected users and our CEO calls it business critical. Can't get much better than that....
There is a tipping point: You have to get a sufficient number of users that have successes and save time by sharing knowledge (and getting it !), After that point the word of mouth kicks in.
This does not relieve the management of the KM system to sit back. This type of systems are not IT but almost 100% people based. After all: You do not have to show a PC what is in it for it (yet....). If people see value they will use it.

Looks like Nick Milton is of the same opinion.

Tomasz R. • Identify top 3 problems or challenges they have and organize peer assist or problem-solving sessions. Let them share experiences and ideas to solve the problem & make their life easier. Do not add work, reduce it through knowledge sharing. Do not talk about knowledge sharing, talk only about their business challenge.

Tola B. • I have the same question, and from what I'm hearing, it sounds like CoP's are the best way to get the ball rolling and provide some early quick wins for the KM initiative. For those who have used this approach, do you have any thoughts on how to encourage participation from remote employees (i.e. people who don't work out of the corporate office)?

Rob K. • While replying to this discussion I am working from home a lot via a VPN to our Corp LAN. This is pretty reliable and so it should be. IT must be an enabler.
Fluor is an Engineering & Construction company. For us it is of prime importance that a system like our Knowledge Management is accessible from remote (home/jobsite/internet cafe/mcDonalds or Starbucks wireless). Encouraging people is via the same methods. Only paradigm shift you need to do is that you do not need to see people F2F in order to communicate. With offices in 26 countries we cannot travel the world just to tell the KM message. Telephone conferences or chats need to suffice. You will be working in a virtual team and that is just a matter of getting used to.
I have noticed that there are many trainings just for virtual teams. I have personally done a couple of SkillSoft ones.
What is important in virtual team is that all have photos functions resumes posted in the KM system so users know who they are talking with. This is extremely important to gain trust.
Note that virtual teams (actually the CoP's) need constant driving - even more that with physical teams.
Recognition also plays a key role. People must be convinced that they are valuable to the organization too even if they do not see their boss that often.

Peter C. • Until management commits to the time for sharing (storytelling, etc.) you will remain in your current position. Once commited it is nice (works well for me) to work toward a participative environment (not just knowledge, but ideas and innovative creativity also). Recognition is one of the best incentives, and 'money' certainly helps.In 1989, I started an engineers monthly meeting to share knowledge. It worked so well, I had to get a larger conference room. I structured it so that each group was responsible for a 15 minute presentation (3 groups). The discussion on these presentations always ran over. The only draw back is I soon had to provide lunch to complete the meetings.

Shail S. • i agree with Tomasz Rudolf, priorities order must be decided to get the work done under pressure. Support from Management is must for sustainability..so both are necessary

T.J. T. • I like Enterprise Q&A as the most efficient means of knowledge transfer. It focuses the energy of the org on the pull of the knowledge seeker. To make it work, the solution must only direct questions to people who have volunteered to share their knowledge on that same topic. If seekers can mark best answers and providers can get reputation points, all the better. The ability to add Q&A pairs to the community FAQ takes it over the top.

There is nothing more Green then effective Knowledge Transfer.

jon T. • I have spent the last 16 years analyzing how people collaborate on-line … in some of the largest most complex organizations in the world.

During this time I have discovered that many people deal with information overload by ignoring all information until it becomes something they can action … in their moment of need ... that gives immediate positive benefit ... at a personal level.

So instead of adding to peoples information overload and using complex documents to force people to take actions that many people do their best to ignore ... I would chose to place information into a format that enables people to see a positive action (as judged by themselves) ... they can take for themselves ... in their moment of need ... without forcing actions or outcomes on anyone.

hope that makes sense

Roan Julius I. • Hi Angelo,

I agree with what most people have written above. One thing that I would like to add is, you need to begin with a wicked issue that is close to people's heart. So, here are three steps:
1. Find that wicked business issue that many people are talking about during lunch
2. Encourage people to form teams / groups / communities to tackle the issue
3. Offer implicit rewards such as reputation or recognition.

You would likely find people are more cooperative with one another and share knowledge / resources, because to solve wicked issue, people need to collaborate and share knowledge. No one has all the skills / knowledge to solve wicked issue.

DR Ravindra N. • I work in a University environment. For me to share knowledge we need to start in small groups who have common interest and mutual trust - something like a COP. I am at the moment trying knowledge sharing to increase my research profile which is critical for success in my workplace. Time constraint can be overcome by mutual contact through online faciltiies. If there is a will to share, it will definitely take place in some form. This sort of KS activity and its benefits may ultimately become visible to others, thus encouraging further KS.

Jindra C. • Dear Angelo, Jon and others - this is a great conversation. I work with int'l non-profits and they also really don't have time. I completely agree with Jon that KM needs to help them with "something they can action … in their moment of need ... that gives immediate positive benefit ... at a personal level." Tha'ts why I find using an Appreciative approach so helpful - celebrating what works (and who works best) so great. I try to keep it task oriented to solve immediate needs. Cheers, Jindra

June N. • My feeling is that you need a cultural shift. How many of the managers are task oriented, quick on the jaw, and rapid fire? The meetings that we have are brain storm driven and action is the watchword. We are now trying to promote reflection within the organisation and the merits of learning. I sense it will take time but I can see some movement. The take up of CoPs is not good and they all need drivers. The question for me is how can we reflectors promote learning and reflection and its added value so that the activists are persuaded and not driving the qgenda and processes all the time.

Ebie H. • This may sound prosaic, but "making it easy to do it" -- building it into people's daily habits -- is probably a helpful start. At one company I worked with, we provided both passive and active vehicles for engaging people's knowledge sharing. Some of the key steps we took to build into people's daily habits, we: 1.) ensured that turning on the computer equated to landing on a shared intranet "homepage" 2.) put visually front-and-center on the "homepage" postings of key initiatives and inquiries (e.g. "Need help with XYZ technology - anybody doing research on safety pins?"); 3.) ensured 1-click access for response to inquiries/adding to the repositories; 4.) ensured everything was searchable (and searchable included intranet and web, so web postings could be easily added to the corporate knowledge base; and 5.) provided a 1x/week internal "newsletter" update on initiatives/inquiries/findings/news...it was like starting a movement: over time word spread, people printed out the weekly like it was the one must-have periodical they had to read, and after a while they became the primary, active content providers to both the intranet and the website. If I were to do this today, I would add scrolling, interactive digital displays at the water coolers, coffee machines and directly across from the restrooms.

Peter C. • If all else fails - replace management.

Andrew B. • Not sure about Peter's suggestion..you need to have a few cooks in the kitchen, someone has to work out what do do with all those diced vegies! :)

I would tend to agree with Ebie in that sharing knowledge needs to be embedded into the SOP of an organisation.needs to be part of what people do in their jobs - ie. it shouldn't be something else they have to do.

This is relatively straightforward to achieve when it comes to capturing the knowledge artefacts people produce within their CORE job description. For example if your job involves writing proposals, then you will have proposals to share with team members. If you save your proposal into some ECM system, like SharePoint, it will be relatively easy for colleagues to find it - more so if the systems administrator has added a few relevant & clear properties for classification/discoverability.

A more challenging proposition is capturing NON-CORE knowledge - knowledge & expertise that isn't a requirement of a job description, but is nevertheless valueable - 'how-tos', lessons learned, insights, commentary & opinion are common examples of this. A small percentage of workers will produce this sort of content proactively - blogs, wikis are the usual tools.