Knowledge Management Tools and Techniques ... - Index of - Free

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Knowledge Management Tools and Techniques
the tools must gather, understand, and then meet the knowledge requirements of the
business units throughout the member firms worldwide.
KPMG knowledge management groups within business units, marketing, technology,
and other support groups collaborate to leverage all knowledge initiatives. Costs
have been reduced, but, of equal importance, alignment improves the relevancy of
both tools and content.
We have learned that the arrangement of people who deliver knowledge-sharing
capabilities to KPMG must mirror the firm’s structure. At KPMG this structure is a
matrix of geographies, business units, industry professionals, and infrastructure
groups delivering services to clients.
Rather than force a large centralized knowledge organization on this complex
matrix, KPMG found it more effective to leave business decisions to the business. Most
of the content and some of the process and people elements of knowledge management
are managed by knowledge practitioners within the business units. Global and regional
level groups drive strategy and coordinate the efforts of the end-user focused groups.
Each national member firm appoints a chief knowledge officer (CKO) and establishes
a knowledge organization that best fits national needs and resources. Each
works closely with local business units to gather and present content that is relevant
to their people.
At the next level are small regional services groups comprised of knowledge management
practitioners. Regional services supports national groups with deployment,
training, and assistance in leveraging global knowledge management tools. Regional
services also help to ensure that local business requirements are considered in global
knowledge management project planning.
Knowledge centers of excellence located in different practice areas throughout the
firm focus on knowledge innovation specific to their practice areas.
For instance, KPMG’s global Assurance Advisory Services Center conducts research
and creates knowledge tools exclusively for KPMG’s assurance practices. Among other
things, their tools provide staff-relevant knowledge at different phases of service
delivery workflows and provide value-added content to clients and staff in the field.
The scope of their mandate also includes sharing tacit knowledge through activities
like sharing forums, which are regular facilitated conference calls focused on industry,
service delivery, and other issues.
Coordinating all this activity is a small global knowledge management team led by
a global CKO. The global CKO meets monthly with the CKOs of each geographic
region and of the global business units, marketing, and technology units. The role of
this Knowledge Management Steering Group is to promote alignment between
planned knowledge activities and business priorities. Their ultimate goal is the
creation of knowledge tools and services that support client service.
Knowledge practitioners in the global knowledge management group do more than
just coordinate national practices. They also conduct their own research. They analyze
information about business and knowledge trends and determine how to best deliver
knowledge to KPMG people. They advise the business units on what tools should be
purchased, what tools should be created, and what processes should be developed to
make knowledge available to KPMG employees.
The KPMG knowledge organization is lean and focused on leveraging ongoing
knowledge activities throughout the firm. We believe this is the model that should be
followed in both lean and fat business cycles: it allows client service requirements
to rise more quickly to the top of priority lists, while helping to ensure that access to
content is a primary objective.