Organizational Development for Knowledge Management at Water ...

Bring Employees into the Project
By keeping employees aware of intent, progress and direction of the KM project,
employees will have opportunities to get their questions answered and become actively involved
in supporting pertinent aspects of the project. These actions gain employee awareness,
understanding and acceptance of the project, thereby gaining their cooperation and reducing their
resistance to the project implementation.
Resource Support
The financial resources must be available to implement new KM initiatives. Examples of
financial needs could include new technology, travel for individuals implementing the project, or
bringing outside experts in as advisers. Where capital projects are concerned, the Utility’s
Commission would likely have to approve the financial investment. To ensure the costeffectiveness
of a KM initiative, a business case that addresses return on investments, sources of
funding and a well-defined purpose should be developed and approved by you, the governor's
body or senior leadership of the Utility.
Good Communications
Good communications is essential to project success. The sharing of information
between executive and operational branches and the encouragement of open conversations,
questions and suggestions allows employee participation and engages cooperation and
collaboration. As elements of the project are implemented and necessary redirection occurs,
good communications keeps all employees fully aware of progress and minimizes the danger of
surprises or misunderstandings. New initiatives and desired results need to be clearly stated and
understood by employees, if they are not, the employees may well resist changes.
A Team-Based Approach
A team-based approach encourages local groups and teams to take on responsibilities and
provides the opportunity for open and honest communication among small groups. Teams
involved in implementing new initiatives develop ownership, a broad perspective of the Utility
and an understanding of the expected performance to be achieved by the KM project. At the
same time, teams also result in effective decisions since they create a broader (systems)
perspective on the Utility and its needs. As teams develop ownership of a project due to their
responsibilities in its implementation, they also communicate to many employees on an
individual basis the reasons why the project is important. The project then becomes not one of
management decree, but one of widespread acceptance and implementation.
Allowing Time for Change to Occur
Organizations do not change quickly. Typically, it may take from two to five years for a
significant change to occur in the organizational culture or ways of doing business. Thus any
major KM effort may take time and patience to achieve successful implementation of a new
organizational structure. A second aspect of time is to ensure that Utility employees are
Appendix A 42
©2011 Water Research Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.