Passing the Torch: Passing the Torch: Knowledge Knowledge

Management and Management and Transfer TechniquesTransfer Techniques

Nancy B. Kiyonaga Director of Workforce and Occupational Planning

NYS Department of Civil Service (518) 485-9274

NBK@cs.state.ny.us

What is this all about?What is this all about?

“Knowledge is the most important raw material of government; working with knowledge is its most important process; and knowledge is what citizens expect government to provide.”

Thomas A.StewartEditorial DirectorBusiness 2.0 Magazine

What’s Going On?What’s Going On?

• The work force is aging

• Fewer candidates are in the "pipeline" due to downsizing over the past decade

• Finding qualified candidates may be difficult in a wide range of occupations

• There are fewer people in succeeding generations than there are in the “baby boom” generation

• Retention of remaining employees may be difficult due to interagency competition

Work Force & Succession Work Force & Succession Planning in New York StatePlanning in New York State

Commissioner’s BreakfastGuide Issued Interagency WorkgroupsAgency ReportsFall ConferenceLocal GovernmentsWebsite (www.cs.state.ny.us)

Interagency Work GroupsInteragency Work Groups

1. Knowledge Transfer

2. Management & Leadership Competencies

3. Management Mobility

4. Mentoring

5. Retiree Resource Pool

6. Recruitment & Selection

7. Retention

8. Staff Development

How Knowledge Fits . . . .How Knowledge Fits . . . .

Wisdom

Knowledge Information + Judgment

Information Data + Context

Data Unorganized Facts

Types of Knowledge: ExplicitTypes of Knowledge: Explicit

Structured - Data elements that are organized in a particular way for future retrieval; e.g., documents, databases, spreadsheets

Unstructured - Information not referenced for retrieval; e.g., emails, images, audio or video selections

Types of Knowledge: TacitTypes of Knowledge: Tacit

Knowledge that people carry in their heads. It is difficult to access and most people are not even aware of what they possess or how it is of value to others. It provides context for ideas, experiences, people, and places and is not easily captured.

Knowledge ManagementKnowledge Management

A systematic approach to finding, understanding and using knowledge to achieve organizational objectives.

Consists of deciding:– what is to be shared– with whom it is to be shared– how it is to be shared

Sharing and using it

Knowledge TransferKnowledge Transfer

The process of sharing knowledge between one person and another

If knowledge has not been absorbed, it has not been transferred

Knowledge Transfer / Knowledge Transfer / Management StrategiesManagement Strategies

• Best Practices Sharing

• Communities of Practice/Interest

• Documenting Processes

• Document Repositories

• Job Aids

• Job Rotation

• Job Shadowing

• Knowledge Audits

• Knowledge Fairs and Open Forums

• Knowledge Maps/ Inventories

• Learning Games

• Lessons Learned Debriefings

• Mentoring

• Storytelling

• Structured On the Job Training

Community of Practice / Community of Practice / Interest: WhatInterest: What

A group of individuals sharing a common working practice over a period of time, though not part of a formally constituted work team– generally cuts across organizational boundaries

and enables individuals to acquire new knowledge faster

Community of Practice / Community of Practice / Interest: ExamplesInterest: Examples

NASPE IPMAASPAASTDNYS Recognition

NetworkNYS Organization

Development Learning Network

NYS Personnel, Training, & Affirmative Action Councils

Federal Gov’t. Knowledge Management Group

Community of Practice / Community of Practice / Interest: WhyInterest: Why

Provides a sanctioned mechanism for sharing knowledge

Leads to improved network of contacts Provides peer recognition and continuous

learningProvides a mechanism for sharing tacit

knowledge

Community of Practice / Community of Practice / Interest: WhenInterest: When

When sharing tacit information is important to achieving better results

When knowledge is being constantly gained and sharing it is beneficial to meeting organizational goals

Community of Practice / Community of Practice / Interest: HowInterest: How

Determine what knowledge people need to share

Determine the purpose of the group, e.g. solving everyday work problems, developing and disseminating best practices, etc.

Clarify roles and responsibilitiesProvide resources and support

Community of Practice / Community of Practice / Interest: StepsInterest: Steps

Identify community membersDevise ways to collaborate, e.g meetings,

on-line messaging or chat rooms, shared databases, etc.

Hold initial event to engage member interest & explain mechanics

Check on progress

Community of Practice / Community of Practice / Interest: RolesInterest: Roles

Functional SponsorsCore GroupCommunity LeadersMembersFacilitatorLogistics CoordinatorHistorian

Community of Practice / Community of Practice / Interest: Do’s & Don’tsInterest: Do’s & Don’ts

Membership should be voluntary

Recruit those who are seen as experts and trusted as information sources

Management should not dictate action

DocumentDocument

A container for informationPaperElectronic

Document Management SystemsDocument Management Systems

Management of the intellectual property that is locked up in the documents of an organization

Management of the entire life cycle of a document from creation through multiple revisions and finally into storage and records management

Document RepositoryDocument RepositoryWhere documents repose. . .

A formal document repository is a collection of textual showrooms that can be viewed, retrieved and interpreted both by humans and by automatic systems

A document repository adds navigation and categorization services to the information stored

Job Shadowing - WhatJob Shadowing - What

Spending a day or more accompanying someone in their work place to observe and learn about a particular occupation.

Job Shadowing TipsJob Shadowing Tips

Share a little history of the jobTalk about the roles & responsibilities Describe the personal attributes that match the jobDiscuss educational requirements,the career ladder

for the job and related positionsDescribe your experience, likes, dislikes

Information Audit - WhatInformation Audit - What

Identifies the information and resources and services people need to do their jobs

Shows how resources and services are actually used

Knowledge Audit - WhatKnowledge Audit - What

Identifies the knowledge assets of an organization

Provides information on how the knowledge assets are produced

Identifies where there is a need for a internal transfer of knowledge

 

Knowledge Audit - WhyKnowledge Audit - Why

To identify the people issues that impact on knowledge creation, transfer and sharing

To identify which knowledge can be captured, where it is needed and can be re-used

To determine the most effective and efficient methods of storing knowledge

To facilitate access to and transfer of knowledge

Information & Knowledge Audit Information & Knowledge Audit TogetherTogether

Gives you the ability to assign a level of strategic significance or importance to the knowledge assets

Provides an indication of the criticality of the information

Knowledge MappingKnowledge Mapping

An effort: to discover the location, form, ownership, value and use of knowledge; to learn about people’s expertise; to find opportunities to make better use of existing knowledge in the organization; and to identify barriers to knowledge flow

Knowledge MappingKnowledge Mapping

• Highlights areas of specialty knowledge and expertise

• Encourages better use of information and knowledge and reduces “reinventing the wheel”

• Saves time searching for experts in a particular area

• Saves the time of experts by helping others locate needed information quickly

Assess Categories of KnowledgeAssess Categories of Knowledge

1. What do employees NEED TO KNOW

2. What do employees ALREADY KNOW

3. What do employees ALREADY KNOW that ORGANIZATION DOESN’T NEED

4. Measure the GAP between NEED TO KNOW BUT DON’T ALREADY KNOW

Need

Don’t Know

Don’t Need

Know

X

Mapping “Who Goes to Who” for Knowledge

A Sociometric Map

ChainStarSinksIsolatePair

A

BC

D E

F

G

H

I

J K L

Your Personal MapYour Personal Map

Starting with a “node” representing yourself, map the people with whom you share information, both internally and externally. Try to represent whether you are only receiving information, whether you are only giving information, or whether it is a two-way exchange.

Knowledge Fairs - WhatKnowledge Fairs - What

An event that showcases information about an organization, or a topic.

Examples - Xerox “Team Day”NYS Tax Department “TaxPo”NYS Organization Development

Learning Network Meeting

Learning Games: WhatLearning Games: What

A type of structured learning activity used to make learning fun. They can be used to :– help prepare people for learning – review material presented– evaluate how much learning has occurred– practice what has been presented

Learning Games: WhyLearning Games: Why

Increase participationEngage people’s creativityAddress different learning modalitiesDe-stress learningAdd variety to training programs to keep

people engaged

Learning Games: TypesLearning Games: Types

Scavenger HuntsTV Quiz Shows, e.g. Jeopardy, Family

Feud, ….Board Games, e.g. Trivial Pursuit“Name That” games“20” Questions

Lessons Learned DebriefingsLessons Learned Debriefings

What: Session(s) conducted at the completion of a project where members of the team evaluate the team’s process and the project’s results. They identify what was done right and what could be done better the next time

Lessons Learned DebriefingsLessons Learned Debriefings

Why: Identify and capture the things that went well and the things that could be improved so that team members are aware of and can use the broader team’s learning in their future projects. These can also be shared with future teams so that they can learn from experiences of others.

Storytelling: WhatStorytelling: What

The use of examples to illustrate.

Two types:– Organizational stories - narratives of actions,

interactions or events that are communicated formally or informally.

– Future scenarios describing how things will be different once a particular initiative, change is fully implemented.

Storytelling: WhyStorytelling: Why

Capture contextFamiliar formatHow we make sense

of thingsEasy to remember

Engage feelings & minds so more powerful than logic alone

Help listeners see relevancy to own situation

Storytelling: WhenStorytelling: When

To impart meaning and context to ideas and facts

To aid communicationsTo engage buy-in, market an ideaTo capture attention

Storytelling: HowStorytelling: How

Have a message, an underlying idea being conveyed

Be relevant to listeners’ situations

Be simple, brief, concise

Test before using

Be true rather than invented (if at all possible)

Be plausibleProvide easy mental

leap from story facts to message

Structured OJT - WhatStructured OJT - What

Instruction that takes place on the actual job site , usually involving learning skills or procedures in a hands-on manner following a defined process.

Structured OJT- TipsStructured OJT- Tips

Use good performers who can also teach & coach Provide training & resources for those coaching Analyze the job, breaking into tasks, and develop

procedures and aids for teaching Describe, Describe & Demonstrate, Trainee Performs,

Trainee Describes & Performs, Trainee Practices Tell trainee where to go for help Follow-up with trainee

Discussion QuestionsDiscussion Questions

What role can/should HR staff play in a KT/Km effort?

What kinds of things is your organization already doing that can be built on?

Which of these strategies could be useful in your organization?

What are you personally doing to ensure sharing of the knowledge you have?

Getting Started...Getting Started...

Get the word out into the organization that this is important

Start with “high-value” knowledge - core business processes & programs where most vulnerable to departures

Start small yet work along multiple fronts

Leverage existing approaches

Contributors to SuccessContributors to Success

Organizational CultureRelationshipsRewards & IncentivesTrustSenior Leadership

Support

InfrastructureLink to economic

valueClarity of vision for

KT/KMLanguage for KT/KMMultiple Channels

Selected ResourcesSelected Resources

KM.govCommon Knowledge

Nancy M. Dixon Working Knowledge

Thomas H. DavenportThe Springboard

Stephen Denning

“Communities of Practice,” HBR Jan-Feb 2000

If Only We Knew What We Know Carla S. O’Dell

www.brint.com/km/

To contact us…

Nancy Kiyonaga

NYS Department of Civil Service

(518)485-9274NBK@.cs.state.ny.us>

www.cs.state.ny.us

Debbie Berg

NYS Governor’s Office of Employee Relations

(518) 474-0101Dberg@goer.state.ny.us

www.goer.state.ny.us