Knowledge Management
The Secure Group knowledge management strategy enables our organization to create, apply, and share information, breaking down silos and increasing the usage of valuable data.
It's a no brainer that knowledge enables us to grow and innovate. But, it's a fact also that this is easier said than done. Before we reached our ideal Knowledge Management strategy, we faced some problems:
- It was inefficient when serving only individuals: Information needed by many was often shared from individual to individual in conversation or email.
- It was repetitious and time-wasting: Often a few Subject Matter Experts are heavily relied upon to verbally provide information, and they spend their time repeating the same information rather than doing value-added work.
- It was impermanent so ineffectual: Research shows it is difficult for people to retain information, especially when it is transferred verbally.
- It had no accountability or control: When no one was held accountable, the data shared could be inaccurate and out of date, and this was a problem that was difficult to fix.
- It was a self-fulfilling prophecy that recurs: The knowledge transfer process stopped when the information was shared, but the knowledge gap still existed in the wider organization, leading to problem recurrence.
And after learning from our past mistakes, we then decided where knowledge should NOT be:
- In inaccurate published content: Information may be published in manuals or on the intranet, and this may be outdated, inaccurate and hard to find, wasting time.
- In somebody’s head: Information only held in someone’s head is only of use to that person. Worse, they will be interrupted frequently with questions about it.
- In the cloud: Information may be recorded informally such as in emails, but this too is hard to find and often badly explained.
We also knew that each of the generations has a different way of learning, advancing and collaborating. We recognized this by sharing knowledge in two formats. These are reading and face to face courses with a practical application.
Knowledge sharing is also built into the Levels in our Framework. To progress, individuals must demonstrate the capability of sharing knowledge in a structured way and the capability of applying Tech Sessions.
We share knowledge through our internal wiki Confluence. Our wiki acts as a single source of all knowledge for our organization which can be created, edited and modified by any employee. Confluence functions as a central repository for managing and distributing all company knowledge and information. Here, all co-workers can store internal documentation about company policies, processes, how-to guides, projects or products they are building, common workflows, procedure checklists, and more.
In our Management Model and structure of the Career Framework, we are currently assessing knowledge regarding the following categories:
- General Knowledge: a list of indispensable software, tools, platforms and more, for Secure Group, that employees need to know (it can be a little bit out of the scope of their position). If it’s an item described in this category, employees should learn the subject matter on their own and share their knowledge amongst the company. We will provide context on the application of the tool/software/platform within a defined process.
- Specific Knowledge: a list of concepts, tools, software and etc., that are indispensable for them to develop under the scope of their position. If it’s an item described in this category, employees should learn the subject matter on their own and share their knowledge amongst the company. We will provide context on the application of the tool/software/platform within a defined process.
- Secure Group Knowledge: a list of products, company profile and features that they need to know in order to succeed in Secure Group. It’s part of the Learning Day.
- IT Knowledge: a list of essential concepts that we consider to be basic for our Frameworks and that we expect employees to master. It’s part of the Learning Day.
The Learning Day is our knowledge-driving initiative and it occurs on the last Tuesday of each month. It is a whole day dedicated to Learning. We start with breakfast at 9h00 filled with brain booster food and after that, we start the training according to the following formats:
- Tech Challenges: consist of a presentation with an instructor that will act as a facilitator for the employee to assimilate the knowledge. After the training, employees receive a Tech Challenge to prove that they are capable of completing tasks relating to what they just learned.
- Tech Sessions: consist of a collaboration activity or open format seminar. It can be given by an external training and it also comes with a task to be completed that varies from topic to topic.
Subjects that we provide training
- Secure Group Knowledge because it's an internal category and it affects the KAI of every position. We provide training regarding our products and Management Model.
- Processes defined in the RACI, because it's internal knowledge and it affects the Level Chart of every position.
- Basic IT Concepts for non-technical people and Basic Business Concepts for technical people, because it provides Context regarding our industry.
Please note, if you attend training regarding some of these topics you need to score a grade 3 in the KAI related to the topic.
Subjects that we don't provide training
We don't provide training regarding topics that belong to Specific Knowledge or General Knowledge of any framework. We understand that this should be developed by our employees on a daily basis and it's a good practice that shows adherence to our value "Devotion to Learning" shown in the Culture Code.
What's like to be a trainer/trainee in Secure Group?
Knowledge sharing it's part of the Levels in our development path. In order to progress, employees must demonstrate the capability of sharing knowledge in a structured way and applying Tech Sessions.
Responsibilites
| Instructor's responsibilities | Manager's responsibilities | Management Model Expert's responsibilities |
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Knowledge Accountability Index
We already established that we keep “good” processes that promote accountability. The same applies to knowledge. In order to measure, manage the existing knowledge in the company and to promote accountability we created a Knowledge Accountability Index aka. KAI.
The KAI is an instrument used to view everyone’s ability and competency in a specific occupation. It also measures all the technical skills and knowledge sets a person needs to progress. The KAI is divided into four categories: General Knowledge, Specific Knowledge, Secure Group Knowledge, and IT Knowledge.
The index captures a wide range of abilities and organizes them into five grades. These range from “Fundamental Awareness” to “Expert”. The index can be used by an individual to compare their current level of proficiency to top performers in the same occupation and it enables us to:
- Centralize effort to understand technology trends from a holistic view
- Define knowledge as a key component in high performance
- Anticipate and adapt to changes in external/internal environments to obtain/retain a competitive advantage in a quantifiable structure
In Secure Group, the effective management of knowledge aids competitive advantage. When people are accountable for knowledge it can be shared more efficiently and productively. We have put in place systems and good processes to achieve this so armed with knowledge, our employees are better able to innovate in their work.