Marko Arsjad – What is Knowledge Management?

The Client

As the leading supplier of high-performance internetworking

products, Cisco provides the infrastructure for the Internet. With

over 40,000 employees and record growth, the need for quick and

easy access to information is vital to Cisco’s ongoing success

To manage costs and practice what they preach, Cisco runs a

significant amount of internal operations on their corporate intranet.

While this technology is very useful in many areas, its role in customer

support is critical.

The Challenge

Exemplary customer service ranks high in the minds of Cisco

employees—starting at the top. John Chambers, CEO, spends up to

40% of his time listening to customers and personally reviewing all

critical accounts every night.

Cisco created the Service & Support Manager (SSM) role to provide a

single point-of-contact for large clients. This one-to-one relationship

gives customers a resource that understands and even anticipates

their needs—a role that benefits both Cisco and the customer.

With the goal of hiring 250 Service & Support Managers in a period of

18 months, Cisco needed to minimize their time-to-proficiency by

providing new SSMs immediate access to critical information as well as

orientation and reference information. Cisco also needed to leverage

the expertise of their more experienced SSMs by capturing and

sharing their knowledge. Finally, vital to their success was fast and

easy access to all of this information.

The Business Objectives

Minimize time-to-proficiency. Orient new SSMs within 90 days of

hire date by providing just enough of the right information about Cisco,

the Customer Advocacy organization, and the SSM role in order for

SSMs to become productive as soon as possible.

Maximize performance and sharing of knowledge assets.

Provide information specific to the SSM role, such as how other SSMs

handled certain customer situations, goal setting, and advice on when

and how to engage other departments within Cisco.

Foster ongoing learning and communication. Provide a

communication vehicle within Cisco’s geographically diverse work

environment for sharing information and experiences with other team

members.

Why VisionCor

For Cisco, an Internet-centered company, a web-based resource was essential. Todd Griffin, SSA Senior Manager,

wanted a partner with experience researching, analyzing, and organizing complex environments.

“There are plenty of Internet consulting firms out there today, but we needed a partner with real knowledge

management expertise and a proven methodology,” says Griffin. “VisionCor understands how to determine what

information to gather or build and how to organize the information so it is truly useful. They did it more quickly

than we thought possible. Rapid solution development is vital to a company like Cisco—we need resources that can

help us continue to grow at a rapid pace. This solution does just that, and we could not have done it without

VisionCor.”

The Integrated Knowledge ArchitectureTM

The Integrated Knowledge ArchitectureTM (IKA) is VisionCor’s

innovative approach to creating highly accessible and usable

information resources to support business operations. The IKA is a

proven, object-oriented approach to organizing content based on how

the content is used. The IKA provides a guide for organizing

information, learning, and knowledge into smaller pieces called

knowledge objects and building meaningful relationships between these

objects. As a result, the end user can more quickly and easily locate the

critical information needed to improve productivity and performance.

The IKA is technology-neutral and can be used to leverage the

capabilities of any portal or web-based KM application.

The Solution

VisionCor assigned a team of consultants that included expert content developers, information architects, and a

project manager. The team used VisionCor’s project management methodology to develop a project plan. Status

reports, project schedules, and conference calls kept the VisionCor team in Charlotte in synch with the Cisco

teams in San Jose, Chicago, New York, and Research Triangle Park.

After a complete project and role analysis, the project was divided into three distinct phases:

Quick Hits. With new hires already in place and looking for direction, there was an immediate need for a 90-day

new hire roadmap. Through interviews with existing SSMs and managers, the VisionCor team gathered, analyzed

and organized the events and tasks required for a new SSM. Within 30 days, the most important new hire information

was made available.

Initial Development. Because the SSM role was a new and highly strategic one within Cisco, the VisionCor team

conducted numerous interviews to assist in building consensus within the company on some of the aspects of the

SSM role.

As a result of this consensus, VisionCor built an overall site map and detailed content plan. The site look and feel

was designed based on content, audience analysis, and the existing intranet. Information was then converted into

web format.

With site navigation, graphics, and an initial content in place, VisionCor conducted usability tests to ensure intuitive

site structure and meaningful content. Experienced SSMs tested specific scenarios to ensure maximized usability.

Core Development. With the initial content in place and tested, development and coding of the site content

began. To confirm the team was still on target, the SSM role was reanalyzed and content categorization was

checked based on lessons learned to date. The remaining content was gathered, developed, and coded, with additional

interviews conducted as necessary.

The site was again retested. In addition to providing feedback, the usability tests also assisted in user acceptance of

the site. User acceptance is vital to the success of any knowledge management initiative.

The Results

The Service & Support Advocacy intranet site was very well received within the SSM organization. “This web site is

such a great resource,” says Mike Pusich, SSM for Boeing. “Everything I need is in one place. I can find what I need

when I need it without having to wait on an e-mail reply, walk around looking for someone, or search through gigs

of information on the intranet. Plus, after working through difficult situations, I can post my lessons learned on the

site so my colleagues can learn from my experiences.”

“I’m a new SSM, and this web site is a gold mine of information,”

says Rob Dacey, SSM for GM. “It guided me through

my first 90 days, helped me build a support team, and introduced

me to other SSMs. Now I’m using it to define my objectives.

Basically, this site just makes my job easier and gives me

more time to focus on servicing my customer.”

Today, Cisco is working with VisionCor to leverage the

knowledge and benefits gained from the SSM project into

other areas of their organization. Record-breaking growth and

razor-sharp focus on customer satisfaction could be chaotic,

but the focus of VisionCor’s knowledge management

expertise coupled with Cisco’s commitment to customer satisfaction

turned Cisco’s information overload into knowledgeon-

demand.

About VisionCor

VisionCor is a 12 year-old, consulting firm based in Charlotte, North Carolina dedicated to helping companies

provide their employees with the information, education, and knowledge that they need to work smarter, faster.

VisionCor focuses on creative highly accessible and usable information, education, and knowledge management

resources including learning and knowledge portals, training, and performance support applications. VisionCor has

worked with many leading organizations such as Bank of America, Cisco Systems, and Wachovia Corporation.

VisionCor experts are frequently invited to speak at national knowledge management and e-learning conferences.

For more information, visit their website at www.visioncor.com.

Pembahasan:

Normative Structural: Mengumpulkan, membangun dan memgatur informasi sehingga benar-benar bermanfaat.

Normative Activity: membuat inovasi dalam pendekatan membuat sumber daya informasi yang mudah diakses sehingga mendukung operasi bisnis

Normative Behavioral: Membuktikan konten dengan cara pendekatan berorientasi pada objek untuk mengatur konten yang digunakan. Memberikan panduan untuk mengorganisir informasi, belajar, dan mengumpulkan pengetahuan.

Strategic Structural: Melakukan kunjungan cepat dengan merekrut karyawan yang sudah berada di tempat dan sesuai dengan arah. Dan siap dalam melakukan proyek selama 90 hari

Strategic Activity: Melakukan wawancara dengan menggunakan sistem ervice dan Support Management.

Strategic Behavioral: Menyusun kegiatan dan tugas-tugas yang diperlukan didalam SService and Support Management System.

Operational Structural: Mengembangkan pengetahuan, membangun infomarsi, dalam sebuah pelaksanaan proyek

Operational Activity: Menganalisi dan merancang informasi berdasar intrnet yang kemudian di konversi ke dalam bentuk web.

Operational Behavioral: Menguji konten di tempat, pengembangan coding dari situs konten yang kemudian diperikas dan diupdate berdasarkan pengetahuan baru.

Murni Shariff is a KM Manager attached to Group Technology Solution of PETRONAS, the National Oil Company of Malaysia. She has been working with PETRONAS for more than 18 years in the area of Information Technology, Business Process management and Knowledge Management. KMTALK recently discussed with Murni on the Knowledge Management programs in PETRONAS.

• Tell us the nature of your company’s business

We are in the Oil and Gas business. PETRONAS is fully owned by the Malaysian Government and have presence in more than 30 countries across the globe. PETRONAS is ranked as the top 100 FORTUNE global company in 2008.

• When did you begin doing KM?

Started to do KM strategically for the entire organization for the past 2 years (2006). Before that PETRONAS have had pockets of KM initiatives at departments/OPUs – however the focus on the past was on content/information management. Now we have moved to more than managing content – more emphasis has put on managing connections, relationship and extracting/transferring the tacit knowledge of our staff

• What was the main objective, issue or problem you were using KM to address?

1) Ageing workforce – A good percentage of PETRONAS workforce is retiring in the next 5 to 10 years. We need to increase productivity and accelerate growth of our young engineers to bring the organization to greater heights

2) Attrition – our skilled staff are increasingly being ‘poached’ by competitors. We need to retain and grow skill to remain competitive. We need to ensure that relevant knowledge remains in the organization by having the right KM programs in place

3) Our operations are becoming increasingly international. KM will help assimilate plants to operate using the ‘PETRONAS way’ and transmit relevant knowledge assets across borders

• What is the main focus of KM in your organization? ( i.e. technology, process, people management/culture)

When we first started 2 years back, we put quite an emphasis on technology as we did not have a single unified KM platform for the group (we have disparate databases which makes sharing cumbersome ) . However, like other organizations, we have learned our lessons that technology is easy while changing people’s behavior is hard. Now a big chunk of our efforts are focused on strengthening Communities of Practice (connecting people to people) and changing the behaviors of the staff (culture) via intensive change management programs. We also put substantial efforts into enabling KM habits into work processes and daily activities

• In brief, what do you do in KM?

In brief, the activities can be classified into the followings :-

1. Technology – KM system development/support/maintenance, system training & communications, content management and delivery

2. KM Change Management – Communities of Practice, KM Awareness/education, KM Roadshows, Change Agent Programs, Rewards & Recognition, Top Mgmt Engagement, KM Collaterals, Newsletters, Technical Sharing Sessions, Expert Interview

3. Enablement activity – KM Strategy development, KM measurement, KM processes

• What technologies (if any) do you use for KM?

We developed our own KM platform using MS sharepoint. It has quite modest features including discussion forums, document library, yellow pages, CoP Portal, Search Engine that helps facilitate groupwide knowledge sharing and collaboration

• What KM concepts and techniques did you initiate to assist staff in managing knowledge wisely?

I suppose the Ask, Learn and Share (technique used by Shell) is pretty generic and applicable to everyone including PETRONAS. We encourage our people to practice the very same in all their doings – especially in project. Lessons Learned / Retrospect are pretty common too in PETRONAS culture.

• How do you monitor progress?

At the moment, we have established some metrics to measure our KM system utilization and knowledge content. We also monitor our CoP activities/effectiveness via some metric that was internally developed.

• What challenges or barriers have you faced in implementing KM? How have you overcome them?

Generation factor – varying degree of acceptance from staff from different generations. We tried to use different approach for different age group – elder generation (baby boomers) are more comfortable with personalization approach while the younger generation ‘Y’ are at ease with technology. For Gen ‘X’ staff we use mix approaches.

We also found that average life span for KM staff is quite short i.e about 2 years (teleportation syndrome –term used by Patrick Lambe). We haven’t found a solution for this as yet, but we are trying our best to soften the impact of people leaving KM jobs by having regular sharing session amongst KM practitioners and transferring the KM skill to as many people as we can in the organization.

• Any lessons learnt for other companies who are willing to implement KM?

1. Consider having a central budget for KM initiatives – easier to implement programs. But to get a central budget, you need to get higher management buy-in.

2. Correct the perception that KM is about managing information/content – it’s much much more than that…

3. One size doesn’t fit all – different approach work for different people/organization. Just don’t copy a KM model from another organization and try to fit in your culture.

Pembahasan:

– Normative Structural: pensiun dalam waktu 5 hingga 10 tahun.Agar meningkatkan produktivitas dan mempercepat pertumbuhan organisasi dengan lebih tinggi dengan menggunakan lulusan “Fresh Graduate”

–  Normative Activity:Menjaga keterampilan para karyawan dengan cara mengelola pengetahuan kompetitor sehingga dapat bekerja dengan kemampuan yang kompetitif.

– Normative Operational: operasional  yang semakin internasional sehingga dibutuhkan KM yang dapat membantu operasioanal perusahaan dengan cara menyebarkan pengetahuan yang relevan di seluruh aset perbatasan.

– Strategic Structural: Mengelola konten menempatkan penekanan lebih pada pengaturan  komunikasi pengetahuan antara staff.

– Strategic Activity: Mengembangkan/menyupport dan memelihara sistem, melakukan pelatihan dan komunikasi, mengelola konten dan penyampaian informasi.

– Strategic Behavioral: Mengubah perilaku ( budaya) staff secara intensif melalui perubahan manajemen dan mengusahakan KM menjadi kebiasaan dalam proses bekerja sehari-hari.

– Operational Structural: Mengukur pemanfaatan informasi secara efektif melaluli metrik yang dibuat secara rutin berdasarkan hasil kinerja.

– Operational Activity: Membuat beberapa ukuran untuk mengukur pemanfaatan pada sebuah sistem dan pengetahuan dari Km. Memantau efektifitas kegiatan.

-Operational Behavioral: Mengelompokan staff dari berbagai generasi. Dengan menggunakan pendekatan yang lebih nyaman dengan pendekatan personalisasi. Dan pada generasi muda dengan cara pendekatan dan pengenalan terhadap teknologi.