Tools & Techniques for Knowledge Retention: UOP’s KM

Initiative in Action

Laura Claggett

Christina Krawczyk

May 10, 2005

UOP• Founded in 1914 • Invents, develops and delivers technology

solutions to customers in the Refining, Petrochemical, Gas Processing and Manufacturing industries

• HQ in Chicago area• Owned 50/50 by Dow & Honeywell• 3,000 Employees - scientists & engineers• $1 Billion in Revenues

Agenda

• Identifying KM Needs

• SBU Needs Assessment

• Leveraging Current Tools

• Knowledge Continuity Pilot

• Coming Soon - Expert Knowledge Capture

Essentially, all earnings are derived from the knowledge held by UOP employees. Nothing is more important to UOP than the knowledge it holds.

Graeme Donald UOP CEO,

Retired

UOP Knowledge Issues

• Importance of Knowledge

• Capture and Re-use of Existing Knowledge

• Creation of New Knowledge

• Retention of Critical Knowledge

UOP’s KM Vision

LinkingLinkingPeople to People People to People

and and People to InformationPeople to Information

to to Work TogetherWork Together

for for Better Business PerformanceBetter Business Performance

• Help capture and share the knowledge of UOP’s experienced workforce

• Help improve the results of business processes through knowledge sharing

• Help promote a knowledge sharing culture

UOP’s KM Core Team Goals

Identifying KM Needs

Identifying KM Needs

• Captured with focus groups and customer needs survey

• Got voice of the customer

• Provided evidence-based management

• Identified needs that helped us set priorities and know what KM methods and tools to focus on

• Conducted five 90-minute sessions with a good cross-section of employees

• Asked “How do you …• CREATE• CAPTURE• SEARCH/RETRIEVE• TRANSFER• APPLY

• …and what prevents you from doing it?”

Focus Groups

Customer Needs Survey

Each focus group participant was asked to complete a survey to help us identify the importance and satisfaction of 34 different customer needs captured during the focus group sessions.– Access to Documents– Access to People– Network/Security– Work Processes

Customer Needs Survey

Focus Groups/Customer Needs Survey

Top Issues• Difficulty locating current and past internal information

• Limited knowledge of what exists and where to find it

• Need access to all relevant internal databases

• Need the ability to identify who knows what at UOP

• Need immediate access to information

Business Unit Needs Assessment

SBU Needs Assessment

• Developed Knowledge Audit Questionnaire

• Linked those concepts to Six Sigma productivity tools

• Recently met with SBU strategic planners to discuss priority KM needs

• Will determine SBU-specific and companywide projects for 2005

Example Needs Assessment

Benefits of Needs Assessment

• Utilized common tools, since Six Sigma productivity tools are used at UOP

• Review will help determine timelines and staffing needs for projects

• Combined the efforts of the KM team and the business units – each a partner in the process

Leveraging Current Tools

An IT tool by itself is An IT tool by itself is

NOT NOT

Knowledge ManagementKnowledge Management

Current Tools

• Expert Locator – Connect

• Document Management System

Expert Locator - Connect

• Launched in 2002, currently 30% of UOP employees have created profiles

• Of those participating, only:– 73% have knowledge listings– 58% have entered their experience– 38% have their photo on the system

Ideas To Increase Participation

• Train summer interns to interview departmental experts, then fill out profiles for them

• KM Team can attend staff meetings to take photos of entire staff

• Drive awareness through announcements, presentations, poster sessions

• Partner with mentoring committee to increase usage of system

Document Management System

Documentum is a document management system that enables people to collaboratively create, manage, deliver, and archive the content that drives business operations – from documents and discussions to e-mail, Web pages, records, and rich media.

Documentum

Place to store and access internal documents

Serves as a common, central location for important information

Helps capture, share and preserve internal knowledge/information

Contents of Documentum

There are over 18,000 UOP Research Reports in the Documentum system. Most of these reports were previously kept in the SoftSolutions Docman system

Recent additions to Documentum include General Documents such as presentations, R&D Today Newsletter, and NACE Proceedings

Knowledge Continuity Pilot

Knowledge Continuity

• What is it?

A process for preserving organizational knowledge and productivity when

employees change jobs

Knowledge Continuity

• What does it accomplish?

Transfers critical job knowledge from one employee to another

Knowledge Continuity

• How is it helpful?– Preserves on-the-job knowledge– Brings new people up-to-speed faster– Leaves a legacy– Increases long-term company

effectiveness

Key Components in Pilot Program

• Kick-off Meeting

• Knowledge Audit

• Perform Social Network Analysis

• Develop Knowledge Profile outline

• Provide training on Knowledge Continuity concepts

• Roll out and follow-up

Social Network AnalysisSurvey Questions

• "Name up to 10 people whom you exchange information, emails, documents, dialogue, and/or other resources in order to perform your role.”

• "Which experts do you seek out for critical information and knowledge to complete your process or tasks?"

Who do you go to for expert help?

Red – outside analyticalBlue – RiversideBlack – Des Plaines

Who do you go to for expert help? – Pilot group only

Who do you go to for expert help? – Managers & supervisors removed

SNA Summary• Personal Networks are important for getting the

information you need.• Overall, the connectivity of the pilot group is good,

both internally and externally.• Next steps – are there specific areas where we

might be able to improve, for example:– How good is everyone’s awareness of others’ skills?– How accessible are people when needed?– Are there certain skills or expertise that need building? – Are there communities of practice that make sense?– Other?

Developing Knowledge Profiles

• Needed to document individual and group knowledge, processes, etc.

• Wanted a visual representation of it

• Chose MindManager software from MindJet

• Worked with the pilot group to develop guidelines and best practices for use of the knowledge maps

Important Considerations

• Emphasis should not be on the tool – MindManager was great for some of our pilot group and unnecessary for others

• Important factor is that knowledge should be documented

• Whatever is documented needs to be kept in a central location and easily accessible

• Focus on sharing knowledge

Sample Individual Job Map

Sample Team Map

Overall Satisfaction with KC ProjectExcellent

(Extremely valuable)

4%

Good (Valuable) 35%

Adequate (Somewhat

valuable) 38%

Poor (Little or no value) 19%

Very poor (Waste of time)

4%

Tips for Success

• Clearly define what knowledge is important to the organization

• Encourage knowledge sharing with some sort of incentive

• Explain the applications of new tools before training

• Show KM benefits such as:– Simplifying work processes – Organizing projects– Saving time and effort

Coming Soon – Expert Knowledge Capture

Expert Knowledge Transfer

• Several UOP experts on track to retire in the next 5-10 years

• Business units have stressed the need to capture that knowledge before they leave

• We are working with them to identify the best method to use

• Pilot of expert knowledge transfer may occur later in 2005

Interviewing Method

• Determine how information will be used once it’s recorded– Blueprint for successor– General business knowledge– Searchable file, point of need access

• Determine who will interview the expert– Potential successor– Other interested junior staff

Interviewing Method (cont.)

• Write the interview script to facilitate in-depth discussion of pertinent topics

• Decide on method of recording– Notes taken by panel– Video/audio capture

• Transcribe & review document (both interviewee and panel)

• Store information for easy access

Q & A

How to Contact Us

• Laura Claggett– Laura.claggett@uop.com– 847-391-2265

• Christina Krawczyk– Christina.krawczyk@uop.com– 847-391-1483