Role of HR in Knowledge Management

Human Resources plays a significant role in effective Knowledge Management in an organization. Here are some of the ways -

• Developing an open culture in which values & norms highlight the importance of sharing knowledge.

An open culture emphasizes the importance of constructive relationships via mutuality & trust. Long established cultures are difficult to change but HR can encourage the change by developing purpose & value statements which state sharing knowledge & expertise as a core value important to attaining competitive advantage. Thereby being in alignment with the business strategy. Sounds rhetoric but constant supervision with application can allow the change.

• Promoting a climate of mutual trust, solidarity & commitment

A cordial environment is apt for developing & sharing knowledge. HR can contribute to it implementing communication, education and training programmes, reward processes and initiatives to increase involvement & ‘ownership’.  Trust can also be enhanced if knowledge is exchanged via forums, conferences etc

• Organizational Design & Development

HR can contribute to effective knowledge management by advising on the design of horizontal processes that rely on networking and cross functional project teams. Focussing on team building & ‘communities of practice’ as part of a ’sharing’ culture along with emphasizing knowledge sharing both as an accountabilty (key result area) and a competency.

• Resourcing

HR plays a wholesome role in being almost entirely responsible as to what kind of employees are hired by an organization. Hence, the HR department should advise on resourcing policies and provide resourcing services which ensure that employees who contribute to knowledge sharing & creation are attracted and retained. Assessment centres can also include exercises & tests designed to test the ability to share knowledge.

• Advise on motivating employees to share knowledge & rewarding those who do

Knowledge workers are amply motivated when they realise the opportunity for personal growth along with monetary rewards. Task achievement in lieu of being very beneficial to an organization has also been identified as a highly motivating factor. Hence, to make the most of it two approaches can be used in an organization- the ‘codification model’ involves encouraging employees to write down what they know and get it into electronic format followed by real monetary incentives while the ‘personalization model’ involves some rewards for sharing knowledge which need not be financial but part of the performance review process

• Performance Management

As Knowledge Management has gained importance in giving a competitive edge to an organization over others, it has been made part of various HR processes including performance management. At Ernst & Young, 1 of the 5 criteria for performance review includes an employees utilization & contribution to knowledge. At Bain, employees are also evaluated on the basis if how much direct help they have provided to colleagues. During 360 degree feedback also one area of assesment involves the extent to which an individual shares knowledge.

• Organizational & Individual Learning

The HR department should work in conjunction with the IT department to make sure that simple systems are developed for capturing and distributing knowledge. This can be enhanced by organizing workshops, conferences, seminars etc because as an individual learns & importantly shares, a whole organization learns.