People Challenges for Knowledge Management System Projects

In my previous post I wrote about the technology challenges for knowledge management system (KMS) projects.  These technology challenges are the most visible of the issues facing KMS implementations.  However, they are not necessarily the most important.  The people challenges are the most important of the three categories of KMS implementation projects.

Before going into the details of people challenges we must first acknowledge the role people play in knowledge management.  We must remember that people are essential in creating knowledge.  Creating new knowledge cannot be automated but rather requires individuals to take existing knowledge and information, frame it within their own experiences and values and the environmental context, and conceptualize or codify the new knowledge.  The process of knowledge creation is a people-driven process.  Therefore, individuals should be the primary consideration for any knowledge management system project.

One of the people challenges of KMS implementations is the knowledge workers perceptions of the KMS.  The knowledge workers may not be aware of the value the KMS has to their own work as well as the value the system provides to the organization.  Additionally, the knowledge workers may not have sufficient time in their work processes to identify knowledge needs and interact with others to disseminate knowledge and learn from each other.

The more significant challenge with people in KMS implementations is the willingness of knowledge workers to participate in the knowledge management initiative.  Knowledge workers who see their value to the organization tied to the proprietary knowledge they possess are less likely to share this knowledge.  These employees perceive shared knowledge reduces their value to the organization and makes their employment less certain.  As a result, some knowledge workers will hoard their knowledge in order to stay valued and employed by the organization.

Knowledge hoarding results in KMS implementations lacking contributions to the knowledge repositories.  With this lack of knowledge contributions, the KMS knowledge repositories are less valuable and fewer knowledge workers will use the system to discover and apply existing knowledge.  The KMS will be unable serve its purpose to build and apply new knowledge for the organization.

People are central to the developing the organization's knowledge so the KMS implementation project must carefully consider the knowledge worker when designing and rolling out the KMS.

Next: Organizational Challenges for Knowledge Management System Projects

References

• Butler, T. (2003). From data to knowledge and back again: Understanding the limitations of KMS. Knowledge and Process Management, 10(3), 144.
• Gupta, K.S. (2008). A comparative analysis of knowledge sharing climate. Knowledge and Process Management, 15, 186-195.
• Marks, P., Polak, P., McCoy, S., & Galletta, D. (2008). Sharing knowledge. Communications of the ACM, 51(2), 60-65.
• Riege, A. (2005). Three-dozen knowledge-sharing barriers managers must consider. Journal of Knowledge Management, 9(3), 18.