In the past, knowledge was treated as just another company asset, that could be captured, stored and retrieved in a big warehouse. The role of knowledge managers was to 'manage' knowledge. This is still important for certain knowledge, but most of our knowledge is inherently attached to people. Thus, Rather than desperately trying to connect employees with some KM system, it is even more important to connect people with each other. Therefore, the role of a knowledge manager has all of a sudden become even more interesting by thinking of ways to enable employees to connect with others inside and outside the company. The introduction of an enterprise social network is only one aspect to facilitate these connections.
This presentation, given at the Legal KM Conference in London in May 2013, talks about these changes and challenges of introducing an enterprise social network in a professional (legal) environment and particular workstreams of a change acceleration programme.
7. 8
1. Traditional thinking and working methods
Behavioural Psychology
2. Fear, concerns & resistance
Communication & Promotion
3. Resources
Advocate Network
4. Lack of leadership and management
support
Education
5. Improving people’s daily work
Value & Benefit
6. Proving the value
Evaluation
COMMON BARRIERS TO SUCCESS - PEOPLE
8. “Although we are all interested in large scale
change, we must change one mind at a time.”
Peter Senge
BEHAVIOURAL PSYCHOLOGY
9
9. Dragonfly Effect - Framework
BEHAVIOURAL PSYCHOLOGY
1. Pick a clear goal
2. Make people care about it
3. Make it easy for them to change
4. Give them feedback and stories to keep
changing
10
by
Andy Smith and Jennifer Aaker
10. 6 Sources of Influence - Framework
BEHAVIOURAL PSYCHOLOGY
Motivation Ability
Personal
Social
Structural
11
by
Kerry Patterson et al.
I am the Director of thinknext – we are a business consultancy. Together with our clients we solve business problems by applying new thinking and technology that are adequate for the networked world we live in. Before that I worked for over 5 years at Headshift, which later became part of Dachis Group, one of the leading social business consultancies. Also, I had a brief stint at Tibco, where I worked with clients on introducing their enterprise social networking platform tibbr. If you are interested, here are some of the clients I have worked with in the past. But I do not only define myself by the my work. I am interested in:1) Travel, languages but also intercultural communication. This is especially interesting in multi-cultural companies, that do not only have one company culture but also national cultures.2) I enjoy different sports like skiing, running3) And I recently picked up a guitar. I suck at it, but it’s still fun to play once in a while.
I am sure each and everyone of you always had this very slight suspicion that your org chart never really reflected the way people work at your firm. Org charts are great to provide some structure to the organisation but they don’t reflect the way people connect, communicate and collaborate. In the quest to structure and optimize everything org charts have created artificial silos in which employees work. Business has always depended on connections. You prefer to do business with people you know and trust. Ultimately, the success of a company will greatly depend on how effectively we can connect our people internally, but also with the outside worldCONNECTIONS AT SCALEConnections between employeesConnections between employees and leadership teamConnections within HQConnections between business unitsConnections between the firm and customersConnections between the firm and partnerssocial = connected, networked!Social business = connected or networked companyIn a sense professional services companies are predestined to lead the charge of becoming a networked company.
Given the very structured approach to running a company and managing its assets, it should be no surprise that the same approach was applied when KM became a professional ‘profession’. The first generation of professional knowledge management was all about capturing, storing, retrievingknowledge in the most efficient and effective way. It was mostly about structured data factory-like running of a company and industrial asset.. KM vendors rushed in to provide KM tools. In most cases a central database, where people were supposed to go, share their knowledge so that it benefited the firm. Seeing low level of participation incentive schemes were created to encourage people to share knowledge. It all failed. Why did it fail? The approach completely ignored what knowledge is, how knowledge is shared and above all human behavior and human behavior in the workplace. Ignore what knowledge is and how it is shared Knowledge is inherently attached to people. Of course we can document it and it becomes information, but only the right context and the right understanding makes it to knowledge again. In many cases that is often missing when trying to document so-called ‘best practices’. 2) HumanbehaviourPeople don’t just share knowledge for the greater good, unless they see what’s in it for them or are indeed extremely passionate about the company (which according to STATISTC / EDELMAN? 78% are not!). People need to see what’s in it for them and not only for the organisation. 3) Human behaviour in the workplace (no time)Unless it is part of the job description. That does not mean knowledge management is completely dead. There is still a role for capturing, documenting and retrieving structured assets like precedents, know-how. But in this case I would rather talk about information management than knowledge management.
The reason I would prefer to call that kind of knowledge management information management is that I believe knowledge is inherently attached to people. When we try documenting knowledge, it is impossible to capture all the context around it. Things will be missing or differently interpreted by people based on their past experience and expertise. Thus, instead of desperately trying to connect our employees with systems, we should try to connect them to each other. Thus, when we talk about a true KM platform, I think people are the best KM platform. The goal of someone responsible for knowledge management should not only be about managing structured assets like precedents and know-how and convincing people to contribute to it. Equally, or even more importantly in todays networked world it should be about enabling employees to create connections both internally and externally of the firm. Business thrives on connections (especially professional services) and thus enabling people to build their own connections will benefit in the first place the individuals themselves, but subsequently also your firm. it's all about connections communities of practiceCommunities of interest (learning communities) but also social communities (in the true sense of social)lunch roulette Skill swapLawyers are asked to take colleague to clients to understand better what their cases us, understand the client betterdesign of our offices spaces responds to KM strategy in order to promote socialization and knowledge sharing between workers.Fun games in dead spaces: elevatorsPing-pong table (RPC had that…after the sports day)-----------------------------------From nature we have learned that networks are probably the most resilient and powerful structure. Our family is a network, our circle of friends and acquaintances, our colleagues. When we think about it, facebook, linkedin & co are just the digital representation of these networks. For networks you need trust.All employees need sometimes is a way to ask a question to their immediate or remote network and from their talk to the right person.
Thinking and working in a networked way is very different to what companies and employees are used to:Old behaviorsWorking in silosTo get information or even to move up the career ladder people rely on theirimmediate networkHording knowledgeControlHierarchyNew behaviorsPersonal brand / intrapreneursWorking out loudScale, trust, transparency, honesty: Trust: "we are not a team because we work together. we are a team because we trust each other" - @valaAfsharSOCIAL = Sincere Open Collaborative Interested Authentic Likeable Wirearchy (authority is earned not given)Thus, your KM initiative is not about implementing the next great KM tool but it is about influencing people’s behaviour. And that can be very difficult, because change can be very difficult. ----------Why is Change so difficult? The 9x effect says that a potential user of a new product will under weigh the benefits of that new product by a factor of three, and overweigh by the same factor the cost of givingup their current solution. Human beings evaluatenew things relative to the status quo and are riskaverse (the cost of a loss is exaggerated by the mind).If a new product is to succeed, it needs to be nine times better than the current solution.Why do we need a Change Acceleration Programme?Change is hard. Once individuals have acquired a particular product, skill or behavior they consciously and sometimes unconsciously evaluate the benefits of changing them. The 9x effect [1] states that humans tend to under weigh the benefits of something new by a factor of three, and equally overweigh the cost of giving up what they have learned by a factor of 3 (humans are a loss and risk averse species). This means, something new needs to be nine times more appealing than the status quo. Now, humans are not machines and thus the 9x effect is nothing more than a rule of thumb. However, it does help to explain why sometimes change can be so hard. Change is hard, but change is inevitable. Thus, humans have devised mechanisms that facilitate change. Gamification, which has been hotly debated recently, is just one of them. It appeals because its application and benefits seem so obvious. After all, it describes the use of gaming elements in a non-game context. However, it does not mean gamification is a game or turning boring tasks into games. Furthermore, it must not be mistaken for incentive schemes. These schemes have been around for a long time. They can be found in customer loyalty schemes, salary promotions or cash bonuses. Whilst often used as a game mechanic they do not constitute gamification by themselves and certainly do not guarantee success. These days, more and more organizations are deploying Enterprise Collaboration Platforms and Social Networks (ESN). These platforms require change, as they break with long learned behavior patterns in the enterprise. In order to be valuable to the organization and individuals these technologies require employees to share instead of hoarding their knowledge, work out loud instead of working only within their confined (project) team, trust instead of controlling, build their own reputation instead of relying on the manager to be promoted. For people trying to facilitate this tremendous change turning to gamification seems to be a logical step. But whilst the definition of gamification is straightforward, its implications are not. Gartner [2] predicts that by 2014, 80% of current gamified applications will fail to meet business objectives primarily because of poor design.
Key pillars of success for introducing new (social) tools, especially enterprise social networks.TechnologyAbility to influence; easiest to influence, because it is mostly dependent on the project teamImportance LOW: it does not mean that technology is not important. However, you have have the best technology and yet no one uses it.Success FactorsThe platform needs to be easy to useConsumer-grade experienceMobileIn the flow (integration)SecureFast and stable system performanceSystem IntegrationScalability“Single Entry Point” to systemOrganization – more difficult to influence because dependent on a variety of stakeholder (that are currently not part of the ECP project team (HR, Legal, Work Council, Members of Middle, Senior and Executive Leadership Team)Success Factors Cross-functional and cross-practice team of fee-earners and employeesCommunity ManagementEnsure top management supportDefine engagement policy and governancePeople –Probably the most interesting pillar of success. The rest of the presentation will look at factors on how to influence people and thus overcome some of the biggest hurdle of success when rolling out ESN.Company Structure and Company Culture: At the bottom you can see company structure and culture. According to a McKinsey study, many companies have reported positive ROI for their social software implementations but many of them told McKinsey that they seemed to have hit a plateau. The value that they are now getting from their implementations seem to stagnate. McKinsey says that this is because these are traditional companies using social tools, and not fully networked companies. Whilst company structure and culture are certainly the most important pillars of success they cannot be directly influenced by the project teamImagine, you have been tasked to introduce an enterprise social network and you see that neither your company structure nor culture are adequate to support the initiative, you may as well give up. OR YOU SAY: My organization is made out of people and these I can influence, one employee at a time.
What do we mean by success?Employees using the platform for their own benefit (adoption)Employees finding information fasterEmployees building their own connections / network within the firmMore transparencyMore empathy towards Executive Management, Leadership team, the organization as a whole. most common barriers We are going to address each of these barriers with a particular work stream within the Change Acceleration Program(FYI Stephanie: Some barriers will be addressed by multiple work streams)
We can use carrots and sticks to convince people to change certain habits. We could also offer some extrinsic rewards or give out points and badges. Or we can care. Care about how our initiative affects them.“Instead of asking ‘How can I motivate people?’ we should be asking ‘How can I create the conditions within which people will motivate themselves?’”In the next 2 slides I will present two frameworks that can help creating these conditions. John Stepper has applied both frameworks successfully at Deutsche Bank.How to use these frameworks:Concentrate on 2 or 3 things you would like to change and define them clearly. Identify why the behavior exists in the first place.Identify the audience and be as specific as you can.We will look primarily at the five key factors for intrinsic motivation: progress, autonomy, mastery, relatedness and purpose (RAMP)We will harness selfish behavior: ‘build your own brand’. We need to recognise that people will not participate if we tell them that participation is good for the firm. Only few will really care. Most will ask us ‘What’s in it for me?”. We need to recognise it and address it. We will do so using behavioral psychology. GAMIFICATIONWe can rely on crude carrots and sticks to change behavior. Or we can care. Care about the people affected.
Pick a clear (measurable)goal: “Reduce Blackberries by 20% and mobile bills by 10%.”* (not like: we want to improve collaboration)Make people care about it: “We can save over $7 million! Donating 5% of that can bring clean drinking water to 14,000 people!”Make it easy for them to change: “The Geniuses will be in the lobby this week to help you set up your iPhone or iPad.”Give them feedback and stories to keep changing: “Here’s a story from Jane who said iPad access to work “changed her life.” And a moving video taken by our Mumbai office about a nearby village using their new well for the first time.”*Example from Deutsche Bank, which deployed Jive as their Enterprise Network solution.
Not all 6 sources / forces need to be always present. Obviously, if you can tap in as many as you can, the easier it is to influence behavior. Note that this framework looks specifically at ABILITY and MOTIVATION = key elements of any gamification strategy without naming it gamificationPersonal motivation: Why should someone care to behave a specific way? Building personal brand / advancing in careerBecoming a better manager (even Managing Partner)Personal Ability: Can they literally do it? How can we make it simpler to start? -> make it easy to participate. For example: ESN: enable lawyers to post content by using email or at least offering a mobile app-> start easy: lawyers don’t have to write long blog posts on what they are working on…140 characters per day is enough…repost something that they have read recently, ask a question, share an interview that they recently gave in the press…it’s easy to get started Or just very simple: provide guidelines so that people feel comfortable applying the new behaviourSocial motivation: Who are influential leaders who can model the vital behavior? And can we identify relevant peer groups who are already behaving in the desired way?e.g. Managing Partner or Senior Partners….who are they influenced by? Other MDs at other firms? Press? Team membersShare success storiesHow many of my friends are already showing the desired behaviour?Social ability: Do people around me support my behavior and help me out with it when i need help? How can we develop social ties – e.g., buddy systems, peer support groups, advocate programs - that can help an individual get better at the vital behavior?Reverse mentoringStructural motivation: Are there rewards\\punishments for good\\bad behavior?What are extrinsic rewards we can put in place that are immediate, gratifying, and clearly tied to the vital behavior? (Only consider these rewards after intrinsic motivators and social support are in place.) To tap into all 6 sources of influence, we’ll still need to change the policy to help with structural motivation – e.g. changing the reimbursement policies over time so it becomes increasingly unattractive to use a corporate device. We’re not doing enough to appeal to those who aren’t personally motivated to give up their corporate Blackberry.Structural ability: Does the physical environment support this behavior?How can we change the physical environment to make the vital behavior easier or to eliminate the things that pose a risk to that behavior?
Having gone through these networks the results will help you to make the right decisions for the rest of your programme, e.g. communication.I think there is no real surprise about communication and promotion…I have depicted here the learning process: awareness, interest, resistance … Communication and promotion have an effect on the first 3 three steps in learning. …. Define all the relevant communication channelsCreate awareness and influence peopleInfluence scepticsDistribute key messages, e.g.focus on use cases instead of functionality Focus on individual benefit instead of organizational benefit (“What’s in it for me”?)Success stories around productivity and people (STORYTELLING)PROMOTIONCombine competitions with desired behavior (one example of gamification), example:1) We want people to fill in their ECP profiles. Tracksuit competition: To be eligible to win, employees do not only need to upload a picture but also have a filled-in profile2) We want people to become comfortable with commenting and starting to engage. Photo Competition: It is not enough to simply like a picture but need to comment on it.3) We want to create connections and engagement: Oscar / World Cup competition: People predict Oscar Winners / results from World-Cup on ECP. To enter the competition participants need to propose an activity/hobby that they would show to others. The winner(s) of the competition can then select a proposed activity/hobby and get together with that person to learn that activity/hobby. In most cases these will be people from different departments, but through the ECP/competition we are facilitating these connections.
RPC: Communication at firm and team leader. Spoke to team leaders. Individual level = early adopters. Identified once EDGE was rolled out. Communication and promotion done also by Business Development!!! It’s not a KM tool, but also BD tool. Enabling teams across the business to talk about their use of the tool. Project based. Teams/departments promote the use of the tool in the context of their use. In the framework 6 sources of influence I mentioned SOCIAL MOTIVATION. We are more likely to change our behaviour if someone we know and trust tells or even shows us. That’s more powerful than coming from a central project team or some distant person. In an ideal world project teams would have unlimited budget and unlimited resources. Unfortunately, we don’t always live in a perfect world. In the real world our resources are limited and thus our personal reach does not scale across the business. That is why we need to solicit the help of people that share our excitement and thinking around the ECP. Approach: How are we doing it?IdentifyPeople that already use social toolsPeople that you have talked to in your DISCOVERY Phase of the projectJust asking peopleAlso, after launch these advocates will emerge automatically and become visible. E.g. RPC: once their platform was rolled out teams started talking about their own use of the platform…much stronger than the project team trying to push messagesEngageEducate advocates on the vision and mission of the ECP and advocate networkKeep advocates involved and updated about the progress and thinking of the ECPMake them feel responsible, special and important for the success of the ECPSupport Provide the tools and support to the advocates in support of the mission of the advocate networkMaterial with key messages, curriculums, trainingRewardReward advocates with intrinsic rewards (e.g. visibility, reputation, access to certain material or certain people or eventNo extrinsic rewards (monetary, gifts/presents)-----------------
Rationale: Why are we doing it?Many people have misconceptions and prejudices about social tools inside a businessPeople waste time chatting onlinePeople hoard their knowledgeEmployees fear publishing information that is wrongEmployees fearing that they need to participate because of performance reviewsManagers don’t have time to participateBlurred line between private and businessApproach: How are we doing it?We will divide all firm employees into different audiences and assess their needsEnd User, Power User, Workspace OwnersEmployees, Middle Managers, Senior Managers, Executive ManagersCreate curriculum for each audienceManagers / Employees: “What’s in it for me”?; Fears & Concerns, “What do I do with it”?, FunctionalityWorkspace Owners: Use Cases, FunctionalityWe will use a variety of approaches and learning methodologies, for exampleWeb-based learningClass-room learningHelp-Forum1:1 TrainingWebinarTip of the WeekBrown-Bag LunchesWizzard, Help / Recommendations within the applicationMove away from functional training (simply explaining functionality). Move to storytelling based on relevant use cases for the audiences. Easier to relate and understand for users.DescriptionPrimarily for Enterprise Network and New Way of WorkingEducation and coaching activities for employees AND managementRATIONALEAddress concerns and fearsProvide guidance not guidelinesHelp employees understand and adopt the new way of workingAPPROACHDefine audiences and communication needsCreate curriculum for employees and managersCreate additional material (e.g. flyer, support material)Variety of approaches used, e.g. formal, informal and social learningStorytelling vs. Functional Training
Your tool might be very sexy, but if it is not useful, people will stop using it sooner rather than laterBesides usable, delightful and accessible it needs to be USEFUL. You need to be able to answer: “What’s in it for me”, “What do I use it for” for firm’s employeesDefining relevant use cases is extremely important. Define where the pain and need for collaboration and communication is greatest. Most often, groups that work in different locations, across practicesExamples:Generic Use Cases:Find people (experts)Build your networkAsk questions / get answersGenerate ideasQ&AEmployee recognitionSpecific:Aggregating tasks and approvals in one placePulling instead of pushing news. Beyond the mandatory news channels employees are able to subscribe to channels they find interestingProject CollaborationTeam CollaborationCommunities of Practice for industry groups, key client groupsBusiness DevelopmentCurrent Awareness
The better you have defined your use cases, the easier it will be to define the KPIs. Collaboration is not a goal in itself. Collaboration happens to do something. Define this ‘something’, ‘Collaborating on a bid’ - Define how this is currently accomplished using existing tools. Conduct interviews or send out questionnaires to evaluate the effectiveness of the tools. Try to quantify the effort or at least capture quantitative feedback. Once you rollout your initiative, evaluate how well the chosen tool accomplishes the use case and compare the feedback with the feedback on the previous tool.
Q&A
Since it’s all about connections, let’s connect@christoph