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CyNexLink Blog • December 5, 2017
A company can greatly improve their business practices with the implementation of a knowledge management program, a plan that outlines the creating, sharing, using and managing of knowledge in an organization.
Yet, many businesses make the mistake of diving into the initiation of a program without paying heed to the necessary particulars to create an adequate system. A desirable knowledge management program will analyze culture, technology, processes and people.
First, it’s beneficial to cultivate a culture that values knowledge and the sharing of it. This philosophy creates an environment wherein knowledge fuels enterprise. In addressing technology, businesses can choose how to configure and use the tools needed for knowledge management.
Analyzing processes allows for best practices to be established for the management, identification and dispersal of knowledge. It’s also necessary for companies to examine the people that make up the business because they represent the transferring of knowledge within the institution.
After analyzing each of these components, then the initiation of the knowledge management program can commence. But, how should a company start?
First, objectives need to be established.
Owners and managers need to identify shortcomings in the business in need of rectification so that adequate solutions can be determined. These solutions should be factored into short- and long-term goals.
Then a more abstract issue arises: how do you prepare the company for the inevitable change?
The changing of a business’s knowledge management protocol beckons a cultural evolution. Employees must learn to modify the way they comprehend and share knowledge. It’s incumbent on ownership and management to identify how best to blueprint this cultural shift.
As referenced earlier, business leaders then need to identify the technology that can support the program and its objectives. Costs and benefits need to be cross-analyzed for each piece of technology. If heightened computing and automation is needed, then that needs to be factored into the purchasing scenario.
Once these pieces are in place, then an obvious but necessary step in the program is to assess the current state of knowledge management in the business. This should cover the previously mentioned topics of culture, people, technology and processes.
The next step is implementation. This will require significant funding, resources and commitment. The process may be arduous so incremental advances are necessary. A business needs to pay attention to the short-term gains as the plan advances.
It’s important for businesses to monitor the effectiveness of the program as it moves along. It would be wise to have baseline measurements from the pre-implementation system to measure against the new program.
A knowledge management program requires time and funding but can increase a business’s staff productivity, deliverable consistency and product quality, so it’s worth it for companies to put forth the effort.
With the right knowledge management program and IT infrastructure, you can boost your firm’s organizational and productive capabilities. Take a look at our portfolio to see how we’ve helped our clients enhance their productive efforts. Contact us and find out how our IT specialists partner with you to accomplish your business’s goals.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
