Apart from the positive impact on the performance of an organization as a whole, this also creates an inspiring place where people like to work. It sounds like something we all would want, but resistance to change, missing buy-in from management, and a deficient IT infrastructure can make building a culture that thrives on knowledge sharing quite challenging. OK, so call off the whole organizational change then? On the contrary! Although it requires effort to develop a knowledge-driven culture, the benefits it yields are more than worth the investment. Let's take a look at the different options.
With a knowledge-driven culture, you lay the foundation for more agility, resilience, and competitive advantage. Each is a key condition for success and growth. Especially in a rapidly changing environment – something almost all of us are dealing with nowadays. Changing your organizational culture is a gradual process that requires commitment and dedication from both management and employees. In addition to the human aspect, you want to pay attention to processes and technology. Together, these are the three pillars on which you will build your knowledge culture.
People naturally tend to stick to what they know. That certainly applies to something fundamental as the culture of the organization where you spend a large part of your time. If you want to introduce a knowledge culture, it's important to highlight its benefits from the start. Think, for example, of recognition and appreciation for who you are and what you do, as these are the basis of a knowledge culture. But also, room for personal and professional development are attractive benefits for many.
Cliché, but still true: involve people in the process of change. This can be done by sharing success stories and actively rewarding contributions to the change, no matter how small. Provide training and support, make employees responsible for (small) subprojects, and ensure there are 'champions' in every department where colleagues can turn with their concerns and questions. By personalizing the desired organizational culture, you ensure that everyone is happy to contribute. The knowledge culture, and knowledge management in general, becomes something for and by everyone.
Creating a framework and direction begins with establishing a clear vision and strategy. The vision not only describes what the knowledge culture looks like exactly but also the things you do not pursue. The strategy is about how you will realize the vision. It includes definitions of objectives, priorities, and action plans for promoting knowledge sharing and collaboration within your organization.
The vision and strategy are then translated into policies and procedures that promote knowledge sharing, collaboration, and learning. This policy describes, for example, how you capture knowledge in documents, the use of collaboration tools, and the organization of knowledge meetings. Ensure that the policy clearly indicates what is expected of employees and how they can contribute to a knowledge-driven culture.
Building or changing an organizational culture is not something you do as a one-time effort. It is an ongoing process that requires active involvement and attention. By continuously measuring and evaluating the state of the culture, you discover where you can further improve. The degree of knowledge sharing, user engagement with collaboration tools, and the impact of knowledge management initiatives on the organization's performance are examples of indicators to keep an eye on.
The vast amount of information and knowledge organizations deal with requires the use of modern technology to keep it manageable and efficient. Many actions needed for structuring, capturing, enriching, and retrieving information can very well be delegated to a digital assistant. Practicing the motto 'good tools are half the battle', you can then spend your own time on the more intelligent and enjoyable tasks of knowledge management.