How can I “know who knows” None of us can personally know a lot more than about 250 people today, but we want our providers to be intelligent, mastering organisations exactly where it is straightforward to find the ideal particular person to speak to. This is why numerous organisations generate “yellow pages” applications, which enable employees to uncover and get in touch with other staff with certain knowledge and expertise. However, these systems can be fraught with difficulty in their implementation, and typically finish up as out-of-date, glorified intranet phone directories. This write-up, drawn from a finest-promoting knowledge management fieldbook by its author, identifies ten crucial steps involved in developing and sustaining a profitable, employee-owned yellow pages system.
The suggestions beneath are drawn from the book “Studying to Fly – Sensible understanding management from top and studying organisations” (Chris Collison and Geoff Parcell), and sets out ten key actions to building a yellow pages systems which truly operates, and has the positive invest in-in of its user community – that is to say, its consumers.
1 Preserve a clear and distinctive vision. Be clear about what you are attempting to reach and keep away from compromise. Beware of becoming “all things to all males” – specifically those in the HR and IT departments! Every person will want a slice of the action – don’t drop sight of the overarching aim of your system – creating it straightforward to locate individuals that you never currently know.
two Strive for private ownership and upkeep. Generate a course of action whereby only the people concerned can develop and update their entries. This will drive a far deeper sense of ownership across the population.
3 Strike a balance between informal and formal content. Encourage folks to share non-perform information about themselves in addition to worthwhile business enterprise facts. Take into consideration prompting for this with “fun” concerns such as: “what was the very first single that you bought?”, “what is your favourite film?”, or even “what makes you delighted?”.
four Assistance the photographs wherever possible. Practically nothing is extra strong and personal than a photograph. It speaks volumes about the individual, raises the interest levels of other folks and generates individual ownership of the content. If attainable encourage folks to include an informal photograph. The safety-pass-rabbit-in-the-headlights shots hardly ever show men and women in their ideal light! Superior to have a photograph which says much more about the person and what motivates them.
five Assure that your product style is flexible and inclusive. Recognize that various people today relate to templates, prompts and structure in different ways. Use concentrate groups to test opinion.
six Get started with a client-facing pilot. Vital mass is all significant, so get started with a group of people today who have a organic have to have to be visible to internal clients. This could contain supporting functions, current networks or communities, or even organization places with new leadership.
7 Deliver through nearby enthusiasts. Centrally-driven push isn? Knowledge Management System to engage the workforce. Tap into neighborhood enthusiasts and champions if attainable ? they will know how very best to “sell” the idea locally.
eight Use achievement stories as a marketing tool. Reinforce the usefulness of the expertise directory at every opportunity. Publicize any examples or successes broadly, and early, to reinforce your project. This is a culture change project, and culture alter occurs one particular story at a time!
9 Encourage use, but lead by instance rather than edict. Stay clear of mandating the population and use of the know-how directory. Persons will present superior excellent content material if they really feel that they are volunteering the info. At the finish of the day, you can?t ever conscript understanding – you can only ever volunteer it.
And let?s face it, there is little point in acquiring the one person with knowledge or expertise that you will need, if when you call them on the telephone, they’re unwilling to speak!
ten Embed into persons processes. Appear for procedure and intranet “hooks” that could initiate and sustain the use of your expertise directory (e.g. recruitment or induction of new employees, the launch of new networks, any reference on an intranet site which mentions a person’s name can grow to be link to their private page.
Conclusion
Creating and marketing and advertising a yellow pages method inside an organisation is a very rewarding project – seize the chance with both hands. You will require a network of champions, the cooperation of the IT and HR functions, tenacity and some marketng flair. The actions outlined above need to aid you on your way. Bon voyage!
Chris Collison Chris Collison is a renowned specialist in knowledge management and an knowledgeable practitioner in the leadership and implementation of organisational alter from a men and women viewpoint.