January 2004

Our Knowledge is Your Power

Knowledge Management: just what does that mean?

The phrase 'knowledge management' often makes people think of computer technologies like database systems, the Internet or something else relating to information technology. Whilst information technologies typically have a part to play and often facilitate Knowledge Management systems, the phrase knowledge management is more concerned with the: identification, storage, retrieval and sharing of information/data or indeed, any knowledge that may prove useful to someone within the workplace. One way of examining the implications for failing to manage knowledge is by way of example:

"Because knowledge has become the single most important factor of production, managing intellectual assets has become the single most important task of business"

Example A: The external training course

Lets take a scenario that is quite typical within many companies: the external training course. Often one or more employees will receive training via an external training programme, typically when employees need to quickly acquire knowledge and understanding of a particular skill. Often when employees return from external training courses, the company fail to provide them with a project to apply these new skills or the project where they can apply their newfound knowledge arrives when they are beginning to forget the information. What can companies do to capture the information when the employee(s) return? After all, they have made a significant financial outlay for their employees to gather the knowledge and understanding in the first place.

Example B: The knowledge author

How many times have you approached a colleague for information? For example, do you frequently approach a colleague who is very knowledgeable about a certain topic, area or field? When you approach them, do they ever consult a note pad, post-it notes or any other materials that they reference to answer your question? If so, then this information or knowledge is evidently valuable and unless procedures are taken to capture it, the person may take this information with them when leaving the company or indeed, the information is unavailable if they are out to lunch, on holiday or have left for the evening!

Example C: The temporary specialist

Have you ever hired a contractor? For example, have you needed to fill an urgent resource requirement that your existing staff is currently without the relevant competencies to perform? Moreover, have you ever actioned the contractor to coach/train existing staff or do you have a process in place to transfer the knowledge from the contractor to your permanent employees? In this situation a knowledge management system offers two clear advantages. Firstly, if you already possess a knowledge management system then you can reduce the number of contractors because their knowledge may already reside within the system; secondly, if your system is without the knowledge of a currently employed contractor, then you can use the system to store their knowledge, thus potentially removing the need to rehire someone with this skillset.

So what is Knowledge Management then?

Knowledge management is the approach to identifying, creating, representing, storing, distributing, converting and protecting an organisation's knowledge. The systems used to achieve this, whether manual or automated is less important than a sound methodology for managing knowledge and the value that information has on both an individual and collective basis to an organisation.

Relating to example A, a knowledge management approach would encourage that organisation to capture the concepts, theories, knowledge and understanding from the training course and make this information accessible and searchable for all employees. Moreover, the people returning from the course could even paraphrase the material and make a course from a course, perhaps for internal publication on an Intranet. An organisation could take a similar stance with the situations as outlined in examples B and C, whereby an e-learning author could transform notes into a fact sheet or basic tutorial for internal publication.

So what Knowledge Management solutions do we offer?

As a brief example, Pro Enviro has a Knowledge Management solution called: Essentials - an internet-based Knowledge Management tool that helps you store and retrieve corporate information relating to your management systems. Our Essentials brand is divided into three separate products: Quality Essentials, Health and Safety Essentials and Environmental Essentials - all these products support the area they relate to.

To assist your staff in using both the product and moreover, to help them understand the theories, concepts and legislation that underpin your company's policies and procedures, we have developed a series of training courses, that Essentials is permanently linked to. The table below provides a flavour of the courses that will support your staff should you use one or more of the products from the Essentials line.

Pro Enviro Course Portfolio

Category	Course	Product
Environmental	Climate Change Levy for Directors and Managers	Environmental Essentials
Environmental	Emissions Trading for Directors and Managers	Environmental Essentials
Environmental	Reducing Energy Costs	Environmental Essentials
Quality	An Introduction to Quality for Directors and Managers	Quality Essentials
Quality	An Introduction to Quality for Employees	Quality Essentials
Quality	Auditing	Quality Essentials
Health and Safety	An Introduction to Health and Safety for Directors and Managers	Health and Safety Essentials
Health and Safety	An Introduction to Health and Safety for Employees	Health and Safety Essentials
Health and Safety	Offshore Health and Safety	Health and Safety Essentials

Please contact John Burns should you require any further information on our progressive e-learning titles.