The changing face of knowledge management in 2021
The only constant in life is change, and this truism definitely applies to knowledge management, which – as Alex Smith reports - is undergoing evolution on several fronts.
Everything from the methods that form the bedrock of knowledge management (KM) efforts, to the reputation it enjoys within organisations, to the types of problems that KM is being asked to solve are shifting in interesting ways.
These transformations look to continue apace in 2021, giving us a closer look at the changing face of KM: one that is not just dynamic, but increasingly buzzworthy, and even a tad glamorous.
A merging of methods
Historically speaking, there have been different approaches to KM depending on the part of the globe from which you hailed. The United States’ approach to KM has long relied on technology, search, and data. In the UK and other parts of the world, the focus has been on creating content and knowhow.
Change is afoot, however, and these approaches are starting to come together across the globe, merging the two. In the US, there is more adoption of the knowhow and process-based approach, while the UK, Europe, and Australia are increasingly embracing the analytics that the US have always used as the foundation of their approach.
Much of this has been driven by the rise of big data and the increasing desire among corporations of all stripes to take a “data-driven approach” to nearly every aspect of their operations. This has necessarily led to some dissolving of the walls that have traditionally existed between innovation departments and KM departments in order to make this merger of methods a success.
Lending innovation a hand
Many enterprises – professional service firms in particular – have been a little bit disjointed in their approach to innovation. Innovation is allowed, and people have initiated projects here and there. The firms have brought in experts in Lean Six Sigma and process reorganisation and have maybe even dipped their toes into the AI pool a bit.
The result? A bunch of slightly isolated units doing different things with knowledge, innovation, process improvement, pricing, and analytics. Somewhat lost in the shuffle is the fact they’re all part of one continuum about how to get things done properly.
Organisations are starting to realise, however, that if they want to scale innovation or if they want to make the process and efficiency pieces really work, they need knowledge involved.
Put another way, there is a growing recognition innovation doesn’t happen in isolation – it requires an in-depth understanding of internal processes. KM, of course, is ideally positioned to provide this in-depth understanding. In this way, KM shakes off some of its stodgy reputation and steps into the spotlight alongside the more glamorous “innovation” to provide new ways of driving value.
As they look to embrace this new approach, organisations will have to ask themselves whether they have the right people, tactics and structures in place. And the answer is probably no.
The best way forward, then, is for firms to start with the basics. This means improving processes, putting the right knowledge assets in place, and being consistent about the data they’re creating for the more “innovative” AI or analytics products to work with.
By focusing on the basics at the front end, an organisation will have better data on the other side that they’ll be able to leverage for the more analytical, data-driven piece. The bottom line is that “sexy” projects like AI and “big data insights” can’t really take hold and take flight without proper KM, and there is growing recognition of the important role KM plays in making this happen.
“When times were good, professional services firms might not have paid much attention to how efficiently they were operating or what processes they were using to service the client, as long as the cheques kept coming in. That’s no longer a wise choice.”
No office, no problem
KM is further burnishing its reputation by helping to address the challenges associated with a changing work environment – one that has been dramatically impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Remote working has become the norm for a vast swath of the population over the past year, and this trend is likely to continue for at least the first half of 2021 until the pandemic is fully brought under control. In the meantime, knowledge flow is challenged because there are no physical offices for people to centrally gather in, serendipitously encounter one another in the hallways to discuss the latest project, or pop into someone’s office to ask them a question about a particularly esoteric area of law or finance.
At the same time, there is the spectre of financial downturn on the horizon as the world navigates the dark final months of the pandemic. When times were good, professional services firms might not have paid much attention to how efficiently they were operating or what processes they were using to service the client, as long as the cheques kept coming in. That’s no longer a wise choice.
In this current environment – one where knowledge workers are operating in a remote, distributed manner, and where the global economic outlook is uncertain – KM only grows in importance. In fact, it could be argued it has never been more important than right now.
That’s because KM ensures knowledge continues to flow throughout the organisation, regardless of whether a return to the physical office is in the immediate future or not. In addition to curated knowhow, KM can use underlying technologies like AI to identify and suggest specific knowledge assets that will be most useful or relevant, proactively serving them up to the knowledge workers who need them in order to carry out their jobs in the most efficient and cost-effective manner.
From a knowledge management perspective, this is a powerful capability. Consider it a new way of delivering the right insights at the right time to the right individual – and a new win for KM to chalk up.
A buzzworthy beginning
KM’s continued evolution shows that far from being, it is more than capable of changing to suit the times in which it finds itself – adjusting its methods and tackling new problems, all the while enjoying new stature within organisations for the critical role it plays.
Time will tell what other changes are in store for KM in 2021, but so far, it’s handling the changes with aplomb and off to a buzzworthy beginning.
About the author
Alex Smith, Global Product Management Lead for iManage RAVN, has over 20 years of experience in product management and service design, including new and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, semantic search and linked data, as well as content management. Prior to iManage RAVN, Alex has held positions at Reed Smith LLP and LexisNexis UK.