Organizational Development for Knowledge Management at Water ...

outcomes. For example, if the desired initiative is knowledge retention, then macro elements of
the project might involve: (1) a fast-track KM approach for those who are leaving in 30 days, (2)
a series of tools and activities for those who are retiring in six months; and (3) a strategic
approach to ensure that knowledge is continuously flowing up and down, and across the
organization, and that there are mandated pre-retirement actions.
These major elements are broken down into smaller pieces which lend themselves to
scheduling and costing and specific activities. This is the process of decomposition. The plan
identifies all the things that must be accomplished during the life of the project. For example, in
the above example, (1) would undoubtedly include an exit interview, (2) might include a
knowledge audit and development of a KM desk guide for every position, while (3) would
include development of communities of practice, use of shared space and the nurturing of
storytelling. Both large and small changes can help make a difference. During the WaterRF
4003 survey process, representatives of more than 200 drinking water utilities listed the
opportunities and initiatives that they felt would make their organizations more successful.
These are detailed in 4003 Research Report #2.
The way a KM plan is implemented is as important as what is being implemented. One of
the reasons is that it is focused on knowledge, and knowledge is very personal—it resides
within people. Thus, while information technology and information management are necessary,
they are not sufficient for success. The KM Plan is focused on people: helping people create,
share, leverage and apply their information and knowledge in support of Utility objectives.
Selecting the Team
The effectiveness of any KM strategy or initiative is highly dependent on the energy,
dedication, collaboration and coherence of the efforts of all major stakeholders that play a role in
its implementation. Thus it is important for the implementation team to not only have the right
mix of people in terms of expertise, capability and organizational connectivity, but to equally
consider attitudes, networking skills and commitment to success. At the core of all successful
change strategies are integrators, those trusted individuals who connect people, information and
knowledge.
Team members should be from different parts of the Utility, have backgrounds representing
the areas of the Utility that the initiative will impact, and understand and feel good about the
purpose and implementation of the task. The team should be heavily involved with developing
the strategy and implementing the plan. This allows them to have ownership of the initiative and
to develop a common perspective and understanding of their objectives, issues and
contributions to the Utility’s performance. If the KM program is relatively large, their task could
be written in a one-page agreement, signed by senior leadership and by every team member.
This agreement would state the objectives, resources and authorities of the team. Team
training and team building time may also be provided, particularly for major efforts. See the MQI
team monogram for more information. Senior leadership needs to support the team as it runs
into issues or difficulties in implementation. This is essential for success, as there will likely be
individuals at all levels who do not understand, or agree with, the initiative.
Since the U.S. Department of the Navy (DON) operates as a large enterprise, it was
necessary for them to create an overarching Community of Practice (CoP) as a guidance body
in the implementation of KM. While this CoP was indeed focused on the discovery and sharing
©2011 Water Research Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.