Nimmy's ES....ha ha ha (Last Part - Part III)

For an organizational KM initiative to be a huge success or at least accomplish something significant at the end of the day, I think there is a definite need to ‘over’ communicate the need for KM. Some people will not be happy about being consistently bombarded with communiqués but as soon as they see a smooth transition into the demonstration of the benefits of KM, the noise would die down. Also, the communiqués would generate conversations and discussions which are a must for an initiative like KM to take off. Out of sight, out of mind is a cliché to be remembered. The communication needs to driven by the organization’s leaders and more importantly they need to practice what they preach. The association between KM and Innovation needs to be drawn clearly; the organization needs to move away from individual recognition and towards team rewards - to the extent that it doesn’t seem silly (eg: loose recognition and praise given to an entire team for an obvious piece of work done by an individual would be no less than ridiculous). Individual rewards need to be handed out, but the criteria should be designed based on the sharing tendencies of the individual more than anything else. If a person who does well at work but hoards knowledge is rewarded and encouraged, further chatter about knowledge sharing will clearly result in cynicism and bitterness in the team. Overall, I strongly believe that consistent and persistent communication that inspires and corresponding practices from the leaders of the organization may be a panacea of sorts for KM….it will surely have a great impact on the effectiveness of the KM initiative while perhaps not contributing so much to the efficiency (productivity, processes, techniques etc) of KM activities.