Leading an enterprise KM initiative can be daunting, but it helps to connect with those who have done it successfully. Earlier this month, I sat down with five KM veterans to learn the secrets to their success.
- Juanita Coyle, CT1 KMSO, U.S. Navy
- Ian Pfaff, CKO, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC)
- Michael Prevou, Deputy CKO, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command
- Kelly Souders, CT1 Program Director, U.S. Navy Carrier Team One
- Allison Wilkins, Knowledge Management Director, Prudential
Below are 9 of their recommendations for developing a KM program, getting people to use it, and improving KM over time. All these KM leaders will be sharing more about their KM journeys at APQC’s 2022 Process and Knowledge Management Conference, taking place May 11–12 in Houston.
1. Align to Organizational Priorities and Needs
A successful KM initiative starts with finding the right problem to solve—something both leaders and end users care about. “Get out there and talk to leaders and their staff about what their problems are,” said Michael Prevou, “and then try to help solve some of those problems.”
Try to get a seat at the table where leaders have meaningful conversations about the organization’s mission and objectives. Hearing the strategy and what’s coming down the pipeline allows KM to enable what matters most.
You’ve got to be seen as a problem solver for the organization, in support of not just the leadership, but the staff that’s wrestling with how they mobilize knowledge within their section.
—Michael Prevou, Deputy CKO, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command
2. Build on Existing Know-How and Experience
Whether you’re new to KM or have been doing it for a while, take advantage of the tremendous body of knowledge and experience out there. “I owe our success to leveraging the APQC framework,” said Allison Wilkins. “That helped us have the right mindset, not boil the ocean, and really look at doing the rollout in phases.”
“We all want to be creative and find some new way to do things, but one of our successes is we got partnered up right away with industry,” said Kelly Souders. “You can get a lot of great best practices, and part of KM is sharing and using knowledge from other industries. Don’t do it on your own.”
3. Speak in the Language of Your Customers
The the words you use matter—especially if your jargon doesn’t resonate with your stakeholders. “One thing that helped us is we stopped using KM language and started using the operational language of whatever organization we were supporting,” said Prevou. “We talked about how we can enable the organization to do X or Y, and they started to see the value and what we could bring to the table.”
4. Start Simple, and Be Patient
Pilot something small and build gradually, even when you see large-scale needs you want to fulfill. “It’s easy to want to do everything at once, but you don’t want to set unrealistic goals or timelines. Using a phased approach really does help to make enhancements along the way,” Wilkins said.
Juanita Coyle agreed. “Don’t throw everything at the crowd first. It needs to be doled out in simple chunks so they can understand. Don’t assume the buy-in is going to be quick. It will take time, and if you try to rush it, you’re going to turn people off.”
5. Celebrate the Wins
As you progress, make sure to acknowledge both participants and milestones. Wilkins integrated a reward and recognition program to motivate employees who embraced KM, including power users and anyone championing KM and helping others adapt. She also celebrates small successes within the KM team. “We make sure the team feels like they’re being acknowledged,” she said.
6. Never Stop Promoting KM
A targeted communication program is critical at the outset. Wilkins had a strategy for each stage of KM rollout. “We did open houses prior to migration, so it gave individuals a sense of: What’s this new environment going to be like? What’s in it for me, what are the benefits? And then after migration, we did office hours so people could come and ask any questions they had or raise any concerns.”
As your program matures, you can take a more expansive approach to KM communications. Pfaff said, “We’ve created a KM documentary to tell the story of knowledge management, not only in TRADOC, but for the Army. We’re trying to communicate: Why is KM important to the Army, to senior leaders, and to the folks who show up to work every day?” This helps contextualize KM and convey its value.
7. Embrace Agile Methodology
Agile—a project management paradigm that stresses iteration, collaboration, self-organization, and customer-centricity—is a KM game changer that both Prudential and TRADOC use extensively.
“We try to do everything that way, from daily scrums to culturally having a balanced team approach, where everyone converges on a project to deliver it successfully,” Pfaff said. “You’re capturing the needs of the customer, iterating with them, and they become part of the process.”
8. Listen to—and Act on—Feedback
Feedback helps KM calibrate its offerings and respond to new problems and opportunities. Routinely ask what you can do better, and don’t dismiss your critics. Prudential just conducted focus groups to understand more about KM end-user experience. “We walked away saying: Wow, there are low hanging fruit, and other things that are going to take a lot more development,” Wilkins said. “But showing our KM users that we’re listening and making change is critical.”
Coyle said she gets useful feedback when onboarding new KM users. “As these people learn, they start asking the ‘why’ questions. Listen to those questions because that can help propel your program farther.”
9. Balance Stability and Evolution
Over time, KM leaders must adapt to new needs and capabilities. But at the same time, don’t change just for the sake of it. You need to balance evolution with stability.
Carrier Team One just came through a strategic redesign of KM. “We had to step back and figure out: How can we keep what we have today, but continue to grow as we move forward?” Souders said. She attributes the organization’s current momentum to that re-evaluation and reinvigoration process.
But Coyle advised keeping the core of the program constant. “When other companies decided to rebuild, they wiped everything clean. It’s important to build off your foundation.” Carrier Team One was able to advance KM, but what they ended up with still felt familiar to program veterans.
Listen to my full podcast conversation with these KM leaders here: KM Success Secrets from Industry Veterans. Or better yet, subscribe to APQC podcasts on Spotify, Apple, and wherever else you get your podcasts.