1. main@SIKM.groups.io
Topics

Suggestions for making the case for KM #value

Gian Jagai
 

Hi Everyone,

I'm trying to make the case to my management to increase the size of
our KM team from one person (me) to 4 people (3 new + me). The
additional roles are 1) community manager to run communities of
practice, 2) technical person to manage sharepoint + wiki and
3)knowledge editor to manage content in the wiki.

Has anyone had to show the ROI or other financial return for such an
expansion of a KM team before?

Thanks

Gian...
HDS KM Program Manager
p_dorfman <pdorfman@...>
 

I've done an ROI, but it was based on the use of KM to improve
productivity in a fairly specific function (help desk problem
resolution) through the use of the knowledge base. The numbers were
relatively easy and that argument has been made many times. You need
to think about what tangible contribution your communities are making
to your organization, and argue that adding three bodies either will
reduce the cost or increase the contribution. I know, it's hard to pin
down if KM is not having a direct impact on some type of recurring
transactions.

Peter Dorfman

--- In sikmleaders@yahoogroups.com, "gjagai" <gjagai@...> wrote:

Hi Everyone,

I'm trying to make the case to my management to increase the size of
our KM team from one person (me) to 4 people (3 new + me). The
additional roles are 1) community manager to run communities of
practice, 2) technical person to manage sharepoint + wiki and
3)knowledge editor to manage content in the wiki.

Has anyone had to show the ROI or other financial return for such an
expansion of a KM team before?

Thanks

Gian...
HDS KM Program Manager
Albert Simard <simarda@...>
 
Edited

Gian -
 
Government agencies are not interested in ROI or financial returrn, so that approach isn't all that useful in the public sector.  However, the approach that I've used is one of what can be done with various levels of investment.  I posted a file A Knowledge Agendafor.pdf that addresses this question from a strategic perspective and I just posted a second file KM Puzzle GTEC 2005.pdf that looks at real applications.  Related presentations are also available on SlideShare.
 
Essentially, one person can only increase awareness and, perhaps, understanding.  A few people, such as you propose, can actually deliver project-scale products.  More people can deliver Program-scale results, such as "preservation."  Finally, it takes an enterprise-level approach to deliver the whole KM enchilada.   
 
Al Simard
carolcsanda <carol.csanda.ae03@...>
 

We've done quite a bit of ROI work. Publish a quarterly scorecard
that shows how engagement is increasing along with some raw numbers
(# communities, members, etc), plus some success stories from
members. Last fall, we did an ROI focused on actual dollars
saved...i.e. elimination of travel from virtual team work, etc.
We also used developmental or borrowed resources for awhile in the
beginning to help withe the work while making the case for
additional staff. Took us four years to get the full staffing that
we wanted...just filling the positions now.
Also would mention that APQC is getting ready to publish KM Maturity
Model and there is some information about metrics and measurement
attached to the various stages.

It's not easy, but you have to keep after it.

Carol Csanda
State Farm Insurance


--- In sikmleaders@yahoogroups.com, "gjagai" <gjagai@...> wrote:

Hi Everyone,

I'm trying to make the case to my management to increase the size
of
our KM team from one person (me) to 4 people (3 new + me). The
additional roles are 1) community manager to run communities of
practice, 2) technical person to manage sharepoint + wiki and
3)knowledge editor to manage content in the wiki.

Has anyone had to show the ROI or other financial return for such
an
expansion of a KM team before?

Thanks

Gian...
HDS KM Program Manager
sswarup44 <sswarup44@...>
 

Gian,
My first thought is that you might be biting off too much when you
want to grow from 1 to 4 people. Your best bet is to justify increase
from 1 to 2 and then take it from there.

Your KM application should have value metrics built into it, i.e.,
time savings, cost savings, quality improvement, and customer
satisfaction to name a few. These metrics should help your case.

My suggestion is to propose a part-time developer, as we had a Ford
Motor Company.

Maintenance of WIKI content – unless, I am mistaken, I thought the
community members add/ edit/ maintain the content.

Community Leader – typically each business unit provides the
leadership of their community/communities.

Call me if you need to discuss further

Sanjay Swarup
Program Manager KM
ManTech Intl
301.866.4315

--- In sikmleaders@yahoogroups.com, "gjagai" <gjagai@...> wrote:

Hi Everyone,

I'm trying to make the case to my management to increase the size of
our KM team from one person (me) to 4 people (3 new + me). The
additional roles are 1) community manager to run communities of
practice, 2) technical person to manage sharepoint + wiki and
3)knowledge editor to manage content in the wiki.

Has anyone had to show the ROI or other financial return for such an
expansion of a KM team before?

Thanks

Gian...
HDS KM Program Manager
Matt Moore <laalgadger@...>
 

Sanjay,

Based on my own experience, both wikis and communities
need someone apart from the sponsor and members.
Otherwise things fall apart quite quickly.

I agree that moving from 1 to 4 staff is probably too
big a jump and that prioritisation of the 3 role
additional roles and a 2 year "roadmap" of additional
services supported by these people would be handy.

Cheers,

Matt

--- sswarup44 <sswarup44@yahoo.com> wrote:

Gian,
My first thought is that you might be biting off too
much when you
want to grow from 1 to 4 people. Your best bet is to
justify increase
from 1 to 2 and then take it from there.

Your KM application should have value metrics built
into it, i.e.,
time savings, cost savings, quality improvement, and
customer
satisfaction to name a few. These metrics should
help your case.

My suggestion is to propose a part-time developer,
as we had a Ford
Motor Company.

Maintenance of WIKI content unless, I am mistaken,
I thought the
community members add/ edit/ maintain the content.

Community Leader typically each business unit
provides the
leadership of their community/communities.

Call me if you need to discuss further

Sanjay Swarup
Program Manager KM
ManTech Intl
301.866.4315


--- In sikmleaders@yahoogroups.com, "gjagai"
<gjagai@...> wrote:

Hi Everyone,

I'm trying to make the case to my management to
increase the size of
our KM team from one person (me) to 4 people (3
new + me). The
additional roles are 1) community manager to run
communities of
practice, 2) technical person to manage sharepoint
+ wiki and
3)knowledge editor to manage content in the wiki.

Has anyone had to show the ROI or other financial
return for such an
expansion of a KM team before?

Thanks

Gian...
HDS KM Program Manager
sswarup44 <sswarup44@...>
 

Matt,
I guess the culture of an organization plays a large role. I am sure
there are organizations that need more hand holding than others.

However, in sharp contrast to your experience, at Ford I had no
problem whatsoever of Leaders of over 35 Communities of Practice
maintaining the content, training new members and providing guidance
as needed to existing members.

Call me if you need to discuss.

Sanjay Swarup
Program Manager KM
ManTech International
248.974.3781 cell

--- In sikmleaders@yahoogroups.com, Matt Moore <laalgadger@...> wrote:

Sanjay,

Based on my own experience, both wikis and communities
need someone apart from the sponsor and members.
Otherwise things fall apart quite quickly.

I agree that moving from 1 to 4 staff is probably too
big a jump and that prioritisation of the 3 role
additional roles and a 2 year "roadmap" of additional
services supported by these people would be handy.

Cheers,

Matt

--- sswarup44 <sswarup44@...> wrote:

Gian,
My first thought is that you might be biting off too
much when you
want to grow from 1 to 4 people. Your best bet is to
justify increase
from 1 to 2 and then take it from there.

Your KM application should have value metrics built
into it, i.e.,
time savings, cost savings, quality improvement, and
customer
satisfaction to name a few. These metrics should
help your case.

My suggestion is to propose a part-time developer,
as we had a Ford
Motor Company.

Maintenance of WIKI content – unless, I am mistaken,
I thought the
community members add/ edit/ maintain the content.

Community Leader – typically each business unit
provides the
leadership of their community/communities.

Call me if you need to discuss further

Sanjay Swarup
Program Manager KM
ManTech Intl
301.866.4315


--- In sikmleaders@yahoogroups.com, "gjagai"
<gjagai@> wrote:

Hi Everyone,

I'm trying to make the case to my management to
increase the size of
our KM team from one person (me) to 4 people (3
new + me). The
additional roles are 1) community manager to run
communities of
practice, 2) technical person to manage sharepoint
+ wiki and
3)knowledge editor to manage content in the wiki.

Has anyone had to show the ROI or other financial
return for such an
expansion of a KM team before?

Thanks

Gian...
HDS KM Program Manager
Arthur Shelley
 

Gian, Matt and Sanjay,

My experience is the attitude of the individuals makes the biggest difference to how well this is taken up by members.  Of course, these attitudes are a big part of the overall culture, or perhaps to some extent determined by the culture.  Even in a non-collaborative culture (overall) one can usually find some individuals prepared to assist with enthusiasm.  The difficulty remains getting enough of them for sufficient time and maintaining them over time.

 

If you can get them to be positively recognised (as opposed to rewarded) for their efforts, you attract more for them and keep them longer.

A public thanks from a senior manager often goes a long way.  IN my prior role, we had community members maintain all content.  Some sites got stale and others did a great job.

Regards

Arthur Shelley
Author: The Organizational Zoo A Survival Guide to Workplace Behavior
www.organizationalzoo.com
Ph +61 413 047 408

From: sikmleaders@... [mailto:sikmleaders@...] On Behalf Of sswarup44
Sent: Monday, 19 May 2008 4:13 AM
To: sikmleaders@...
Subject: [sikmleaders] Re: Suggestions for making the case for KM

 

Matt,
I guess the culture of an organization plays a large role. I am sure
there are organizations that need more hand holding than others.

However, in sharp contrast to your experience, at Ford I had no
problem whatsoever of Leaders of over 35 Communities of Practice
maintaining the content, training new members and providing guidance
as needed to existing members.

Call me if you need to discuss.

Sanjay Swarup
Program Manager KM
ManTech International
248.974.3781 cell

--- In sikmleaders@yahoogroups.com, Matt Moore <laalgadger@...> wrote:
>
> Sanjay,
>
> Based on my own experience, both wikis and communities
> need someone apart from the sponsor and members.
> Otherwise things fall apart quite quickly.
>
> I agree that moving from 1 to 4 staff is probably too
> big a jump and that prioritisation of the 3 role
> additional roles and a 2 year "roadmap" of additional
> services supported by these people would be handy.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Matt
>
> --- sswarup44 ..> wrote:
>
> > Gian,
> > My first thought is that you might be biting off too
> > much when you
> > want to grow from 1 to 4 people. Your best bet is to
> > justify increase
> > from 1 to 2 and then take it from there.
> >
> > Your KM application should have value metrics built
> > into it, i.e.,
> > time savings, cost savings, quality improvement, and
> > customer
> > satisfaction to name a few. These metrics should
> > help your case.
> >
> > My suggestion is to propose a part-time developer,
> > as we had a Ford
> > Motor Company.
> >
> > Maintenance of WIKI content – unless, I am mistaken,
> > I thought the
> > community members add/ edit/ maintain the content.
> >
> > Community Leader – typically each business unit
> > provides the
> > leadership of their community/communities.
> >
> > Call me if you need to discuss further
> >
> > Sanjay Swarup
> > Program Manager KM
> > ManTech Intl
> > 301.866.4315
> >
> >
> > --- In sikmleaders@yahoogroups.com, "gjagai"
> > wrote:
> > >
> > > Hi Everyone,
> > >
> > > I'm trying to make the case to my management to
> > increase the size of
> > > our KM team from one person (me) to 4 people (3
> > new + me). The
> > > additional roles are 1) community manager to run
> > communities of
> > > practice, 2) technical person to manage sharepoint
> > + wiki and
> > > 3)knowledge editor to manage content in the wiki.
> > >
> > > Has anyone had to show the ROI or other financial
> > return for such an
> > > expansion of a KM team before?
> > >
> > > Thanks
> > >
> > > Gian...
> > > HDS KM Program Manager
> > >
> >
> >
> >
>
1 - 8 of 8