Careers in Knowledge Management
Weather your starting a career in KM or just looking to grow into a new career that is more KM-centric, it’s hard to know exactly where to start looking.? There isn’t exactly a category for KM positions on Monster , is there?? And in a discipline as diverse as KM, the positions out there for KM aren’t really limited to one or two spots in the tree structures of most job boards.? So, as a few folks have asked me, where to start?
Vertical job search engines such as SimplyHired or Indeed are great places to start your search.? Searching for the keywords “knowledge management” and then narrowing it down by your location, all positions where the phrase “knowledge management” appears will be returned.? You can also filter either by relevance or date on both sites and the results on both are, more or less, the same.? However, the results from Indeed are presented more clearly and the ads don’t get in the way quite as much.? In addition to vertical job search engines, sites that specialize in roles directly or indirectly related to KM also have relevant KM job postings from time to time.? Some examples include Dice (more IT heavy) and SLA.org (although you have to be a member to see the job details - which you should be a member anyway!).?
There are also a few KM sites out there where KM jobs are posted.? While some of the listings can be found using the vertical search engines mentioned, some are unique to where they are posted.? Here are a few sites where you can find KM job postings:
- KM Jobs at Knowledge Management Reporter as well as KMPro both display a feed of KM jobs from Indeed
- KM Jobs at ITtoolbox.com – not surprisingly, they’re very IT-centric
- KM4Dev Jobs Center
- KM Job postings on the Boston KM Forum site
- Additionally, many of the other KM Communities often have KM jobs posted on their site that may not be posted elsewhere.? Sign up for their forum or discussion lists - people post positions on those frequently (depending on the community)
- KMtool.net also has a few links to additional (dated) KM job resources, but they also have links to executive search firms that do KM recruitment as well
On a related note, there are also a couple of KM career/salary studies out there if you want to learn more.? I had a couple of links to KM salary studies based out of North America, but it seems as if those links are no longer working.? However, information on KM salaries based out of the UK can be found here.? The ICASIT KM career page also has some example KM job titles/descriptions and salary information.? Indeed also has KM salary information which also allows you to narrow your search results to a specific location, which makes for easy geographical comparison.
Networking vs. Notworking
Yet another gem from PHDcomics below, which comments on the ‘value’ of facebook.? As a member of Gen-Y I think I’m supposed to be ashamed of the fact that I don’t have or want a facebook account, but my general feeling is that the time spent on facebook is inversely proportional to the amount of time I could spend doing more valuable/interesting things.? Does that make me an online networking troglodyte, or is there actually something valuable/interesting about facebook that I’m missing here?
I wonder what the comic would look like for a Social-Notworking-Analysis…
Perkins Eastman: Practice Area Communities
Congratulations again to Perkins Eastman and all of my former
colleagues in the Knowledge Resource Team for winning gold in the
Intranet Innovation Awards .? Working with the various Practice Area
Communities (PACs) was one of the things I enjoyed most working there.?
I only wish that I could have shared some of the tidbits I learned
working with the PACs on the video as well, but alas, I ended up opting
out since I had a severe allergic reaction to nuts only a couple days
before (and I’d prefer not to be on video looking like the Stay Puft
Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters), but I digress…
James did a great job editing the video and I think a lot of great
points for working with Communities of Practice are captured.? Since I
was sidelined with an injury at the time (ha), I’ll share a few of my
own thoughts here about why I feel PACs work so well:
- Having gatekeepers who are passionate about sharing knowledge is
critical for that attitude spread to the rest of those working in the
practice area - Also, having those gatekeepers work closely with passionate KM
team members who can propose new concepts or ideas for constant
improvement of the PAC methodology is key - Using the intranet as a vehicle for not just codification, but
collaboration and communication as well gives the PACs more than just
one dimension - Having community members set goals for a PAC, in terms of new
deliverables or just more opportunities to share knowledge in
person/online, can be a huge motivating factor - The practice of pollinating new concepts and ideas by showing one
PAC what another is doing can also be a catalyst for action.? The idea
that, “Hey - we should do something like that too!” can produce great
results
Talking about KM
I recently re-discovered a whitepaper written by some of the folks over at Anecdote titled, “Our take on ‘how to talk about knowledge management .’”? The paper itself is a nice primer on KM and one part in particular really jumps out at me:
“The way we talk about knowledge affects what we do about it. Many KM efforts get bogged down because people have a different understanding of KM.”
When looking at reasons for success or failure of a KM initiative I think that this is one of the factors that is absolutely critical.? If KM is to succeed in an organization everyone needs to be on the same page about what KM is.?
This also becomes relevant when going to conferences and the like.? The more I meet folks involved with KM, or claiming to be involved in one way or another, the more I find myself wondering what they really mean when they talk about it.? It’s easy enough to weed out vendor-speak (can I have a side of KM with my jargon, please?) - but have you ever had a conversation with someone about KM and walked away knowing that you were talking about something totally different?
I talk about this issue briefly in my dissertation but I’m thinking about exploring it a bit more.? Feel free to add to the list, but doing a bit of research on the origins of KM you can quickly find support for it arising out of MIS, EIS, DSS, HRM, TQM, AI, IT, fields like psychology, sociology, organizational management, philosophy, librarianship, etc.? I don’t think any of this is really wrong, as KM has emerged atheoretically as a field of practice, so the conceptual confusion when implemented in organizations is to be expected if it isn’t explicitly managed from the start of a KM initiative.?
Trying to simplify the origins of KM, I think Carrillo* does a good job when talking about the dominant perspectives in KM having either an HR or IT-heavy slant, but I enjoy the description of the integrated perspective of the two; which really boils down to the common People-Processes-Technology model of KM.? Coming from the integrated perspective that Carrillo suggests, and tying this back into the quote I mentioned from the Anecdote whitepaper above, I think that one of my favorite definitions of KM is from Robert Logan**:
“Knowledge management is about using information strategically to achieve one’s business objectives. Knowledge management is the organizational activity of creating the social environment and technical infrastructure so that knowledge can be accessed, shared and created.”
For me personally I like this definition because I first because interested in KM from the strategic management perspective.? I like it also because it touches on the People-Process-Technology model without necessarily framing it that way, which I think is helpful.? There are a few other KM definitions I’ll use for a quick elevator conversation, but if I’m allowed to speak for a few minutes on the subject to those relatively new to the concept, this definitely is great for framing the discussion.?
What elevator definitions do you have for KM?? Is there a definition or line of thought that you use to cut away at some of the conceptual confusion?? When a vendor tried to sell you their ‘knowledge base’ solution do you just start hearing ‘wakka-wakka-wakka’?
*Carrillo, P. (2004). Managing knowledge: Lessons from the oil and gas sector. Construction Management and Economics, 22, 631-642.
**Logan, R. K. (1997). The fifth language: Learning a living in the computer age. Toronto: Stoddart.
Individualist vs. Communitarian Cultures in KM
The other night at KM Chicago Ann Lee presented a summary of the CKO Summit from last October. There were a few interesting things that came out of the presentation, one of which was a slide discussing how globalization is impacting KM. Specifically, as organizations become truly global, how do those in the KM field account for differences between cultures that are more individualistic versus those that are more communitarian.
A graph was presented which identified the UK and US as more individualistic societies while China and India were more communitarian. This is a big question – how do you design KM initiatives so that it works for all cultures encompassed within a truly global organization? This ties in with something that emerged from my dissertation (which I’ll hopefully be posting a summary of the results in the next couple of months – stay tuned).
When asking participants of various geographical backgrounds to rank/rate Critical Success Factors (CSFs) for KM, the majority of participants found the listed CSFs as successful.? However, there were some differences that emerged between participants.? Although not statistically significant, participants that indicated that their primary geographic location of work was Asia ranked the CSFs slightly lower than participants of any other geographic region.
One possible explanation for this is linked to the potential North American bias that exists in the current literature on CSFs for KM, as well as other disciplines which the CSFs in my study were drawn from.? Not surprising considering there are a few publications suggesting that the design of KM initiatives and especially the design of KM systems have a heavy North American bias.
This brings about a new question which I would love to know the answer to: What CSFs for KM exist in Asian companies that don’t exist (or at the least aren’t as prominent) for KM initiatives in companies based in other geographic regions?? If we know what different CSFs for KM exist and can account for the relative weight of importance in each culture, can we then design better KM initiatives and systems?? I’m also curious if there are any organizations out there now that are bridging the gap successfully and how they go about it…
Personal Information Ecosystem
How do you describe all of the areas that you receive information from? How does what information you consume impact your future consumption habits?? How does this impact your professional life?
I’ve been trying to come up with a way to describe this concept.? At this point I believe that “Personal Information Ecosystem” is a good fit for what I’m trying to describe.? Although I thought I was clever and thought of this term first I see a couple others (1) (2) have gotten there before me – although their focus seems to be primarily on personal device synchronization/management.? When I say Personal Information Ecosystem (PIE), the idea I’m trying to summarize is the following:
Elements within any ecosystem interact with one another, changing or sometimes totally transforming the landscape of an ecosystem.? The Personal Information Ecosystem of each person is no different.? As elements within the ecosystem interact and new ones are introduced, each person’s information ecosystem adapts and evolves, over time transforming ecosystem.?
Instinctively, I think that most changes to your PIE happen on a micro level, but the possibility for bigger change is certainly there.? Take blogs for example – most of the posts that show up in my feedreader are good food for thought, some are insightful and, although rare, every now and then one shows up that challenges my thinking or provides an ‘ah-ha’ moment that provides deeper understanding and a true insight on an issue or concept.? How I change based on what I consume in my PIE is what I’m most interested in with this concept.? How does each individual’s PIE influence their professional or even personal life?
In this post I’d like to tackle the following areas:
- Information elements in my Personal Information Ecosystem
- Example of how my Personal Information Ecosystem has shifted as a result of the elements within (as a result of the interaction of various information elements)
- Reflections to date on this subject?
Information Elements in my PIE:
I’m sure I’ve missed some in here, and please feel free to share information elements that I haven’t listed that you find valuable as well.? Information elements in my own Personal Information Ecosystem consist of the following:
- RSS Feeds
- Web Alerts
- Online Journals
- Peer-reviewed Journals
- Social Bookmarking Site (Del.ici.ous, Reddit, Digg, etc.)
- Online Communities (KM Focus, CoP Focus, etc.)
- Online Discussion Forums, Listserves, etc.
- Wikis
Example: A Changing Ecosystem
A personal example of this is when I first began to incorporate RSS feeds and blogs into my daily reading and PIE.? When I set up my first feedreader there were roughly 20 feeds I added to it.? After time, this began to grow (and grow, and grow, and grow…) - primarily due to references from the authors showing up in my feedreader.? I also began to learn of new journals and online communities that also became incorporated into my PIE.? While my PIE had a heavy KM focus, the breadth and depth of it is now is much greater than it was even just a year ago.? But more than that, the new information elements that I’ve started incorporating into my PIE have also shifted my information ecosystem because I’ve been introduced to new topics, or had other topics presented in a new light.? These new and/or clarified concepts have not only shifted what information elements I consume, but they have also crept into my dissertation and my daily work in KM.?
You are what you eat, and I suppose it isn’t any different when it comes to the information elements consumed either.
Reflections on this Subject
This is a concept that has really just been kicking around in my head and this was my first attempt at making it explicit.? I still feel as if I haven’t totally been able to describe what I’m thinking, but any thoughts you have on this would be great.? What other information elements am I missing?? Are there any publications or research in this area that I haven’t stumbled upon yet?? How might this, if at all, fit in with PKM?
Still thinking…
Google Launches ‘knol’
While it appears to only be in private-beta at the moment, Google has just launched ‘knol’ - their knowledge service where people who are recognized as subject matter experts are asked to author an article on a particular subject.? Jack , Doug and Rich have already covered this announcement and have shared some of their thoughts.? Not wanting to be redundant since I agree with most of what has been said by each, I thought I would share a different observation I’ve had on this.
Often a bit of news will get picked up and will be discussed in many of the blogs and sites that I frequent; however, this is usually where the discussion ends.? Not everyone I know gets as excited as I do about a new and interesting KM article that has just been published or cares to discuss how LinkedIn will transform once is opens up to developers.? Fair enough.? So just imagine my surprise when I saw that The Drudge Report picked up on the knol announcement today with the headline/link to article, “Google to tackle Wikipedia with new knowledge service. ” It seems that this may just be one of those things that everyone is a little bit interested in seeing where it goes…
KM in Accounting, KM Toolkit, and CoP Links
Over the past few days I’ve had a chance to catch up on quite a few of the items that have been piling up in my feed-reader and thought that I’d share a few that caught my eye.
Knowledge Management in the Accounting Industry:
CCH recently surveyed accounting professionals and have published the results.? The report, “New CCH Survey Guides Accounting Firms in Building More Intelligent Businesses” notes that Knowledge Management is a cornerstone for success in this industry.? An interesting snippet from the article:
“Firms with a formal knowledge management (KM) program consistently performed at a higher level as an intelligent business than firms without a program in place. Firms that are moving forward as intelligent businesses with formal KM programs identified significant benefits, including:
- 76 percent reporting increased efficiency;
- 69 percent improved client service;
- 63 percent increased productivity; and
- 62 percent increased revenue.”
Tools for Knowledge and Learning:
Odi.org.uk has published a good list of tools used in KM here: Tools for Knowledge and Learning.? There is a lot of good information in there and the tools are centered around five areas:
- Strategy Development
- Management Techniques
- Collaboration Mechanisms
- Knowledge Sharing and Learning
- Knowledge Capture and Storage
Communities of Practice Articles:
Stephen Dale discusses “Responsibilities and Guidelines for Communities of Practice“.
“I was looking for some inspiration in putting together some guidelines, rules and policies for online communities of practice. Nancy White over at Full Circle Associates is always a good starting place for this sort of thing.? Here is another example. Feel free to use or elaborate on…”
Anecdote has an interesting piece on “Finding the Domain for communities of Practice“.
“One of the key challenges in starting a community of practice is to find the right domain - the topic that people are passionate enough about and interested enough in to contribute some of their discretionary time and effort. One of the tests we use is…”
Gian Jagai shares an Update on Communities of Practice at Hitachi Data Systems with us.
Building a Community at Intel
Heath Buckmaster has shared a great post on building a community for IT over at the IT at Intel Blog. The post is great because it’s more than a “how-to” on building a community, rather, we’re provided some great context and?given the methodology to-date.? Heath takes the time to discuss the origin of the business problem, why communities were identified as the ideal solution, what tools?are used, and in general he shares the journey so far.? There are some great ideas in there that I encourage you to check out.? The post ends with what’s next for the community:
“Here’s the big challenge…and I don’t have an answer for you yet on this one… How do you make the move from awareness, to participation. In other words, if you’ve got thousands of people reading your content every day, how to get those thousand people to actually reply to, change, or add to your content? How do you get more people to create pages on a wiki, or add/answer questions in a forum? How do you turn visibility into action?”
Communities of Practice Resources
Found this via the NLH KM website .? It’s a bit dated, but a lot of the info in there is still good.? From the site:
“The materials on this site are some of those originally developed in the course of helping a client roll out a company-wide knowledge management (KM) initiative.? The materials here have been adapted for more general audiences.”
Check it out: Communities of Practice Resources