Before you invest in your Knowledge Management Program, you must answer the following questions
1- How will knowledge management help my organization achieve its goals?
“Knowledge management” is not an end in itself. For your initiative to have a chance of seeing the light of day and expanding over time, the value it will bring to the organization must be clearly defined. Accelerating innovation, increasing employee performance, improving user experience, reducing churn… the choice is yours.
2- How will I measure the value of the knowledge management program?
Depending on the objectives you have set, you must define key performance indicators (KPIs) that will allow you to assess your impact and your progress.
3- Am I ready to make a long-term commitment?
Knowledge management is not a sprint, it is an endless marathon. Yes, the early stages of an implementation project are the hardest and the most expensive ones, but keep in mind that a knowledge management program never ends. It will therefore be necessary for someone within your organization to be responsible for it in the long term to make it evolve and keep it healthy.
4- Is it the right time?
Implementing a knowledge management program is a major change for employees and managers. The culture and values of the organization will have to be adjusted, as well as certain habits of employees on a daily basis. If another major change is already scheduled (or has just been completed), it is better to wait a bit before starting.
The program will also require some adaptations in your business software suite, so it will also be a good idea to ensure that the IT team has the bandwidth to support you.
5- Who will champion this initiative within the organization?
If you are reading these lines, it is surely you 😊. In any case, it is necessary to identify very early on who will be the leader who will be in charge of promoting this initiative internally, securing investments, explaining it, communicating on the benefits achieved, to mobilize and motivate employees…