What small things contribute to the failure of Knowledge Management?

We have seen various aspects of Knowledge Management tools and their growth and sustainability. Now let us have a look at the various elements which factor in for the downfall of a well-running knowledge management system. When I say the knowledge management system, it does not mean the portal only, because the portal is just 30% of the KM system. The actual knowledge management happens outside the portal, in training rooms, between the desks, through the exchange of thoughts and ideas that get exchanged during various interactions of the employees. People are the most important aspect of any Knowledge Management system. Knowledge management is a mindset and a culture, not a portal.

An organization is killing a knowledge management system when it

1. Creates multiple repositories for various geography, industry, business units, and so on for the convenience of each of them. This is a recipe for failure and defeating the purpose of knowledge management. The KM system should bring every knowledge asset and knowledgeable person together, on one platform to start something new and create innovation and directly make a difference to the organization's bottom line in a positive way. Multiple repositories and tools not only confuse the users, which loses interest eventually and also an extra effort for them.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

   

   KM is a mindset and it needs space to grow
   
   

   
   
2. Has no buy-in from top management - This you must have heard multiple times that if management does not believe in the idea of KM or have thought leaders at the helm of KM, then that organization should not invest in KM. Moreover, unless management takes a keen interest in promoting it consistently to every team and in every forum and instills the sharing culture on a regular basis, it is very challenging to sustain KM practice for a long time.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
3. Have no budgets for reward, recognition, and KPI's. This happens when organizations treat KM Practice as a cost center. Besides, without any visible financial or other benefits in return, it becomes very challenging to convince the management of the value it brings to the table in terms of retainment and proliferation of knowledge. Even the best of the management consultants are not able to measure on a concrete ROI driven from knowledge management practice. It may provide an indicator but not value in exact percentage or numbers. Eg, if an organization is able to save a loss of $10 million because its knowledge and was captured step by step about its failure, it is a successful KM practice worth $10 million. KM ≠ Marketing or Sales, to talk in hard numbers. but at the same time, KM enables both sales & marketing to a large extend by providing vital go-to-market information when it is required.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
4. Marrying KM practice with other functions such as Quality or Learning & Development. We need to understand that Knowledge Management in itself is a subject of research, consulting, and a full-fledged subject in many universities. An organization has to have a dedicated practice with a thought leader heading it. It cannot be clubbed together with any other practice else its objective and effectiveness get diluted.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
5. Last but not the least is the focus of KM team to spoon-feed basic tasks like search and contribute to its employees. It is the responsibility of the KM team to embed and create a culture of sharing. An average employee in a knowledge organization is mature, seasoned and IT-literate. If the KM team keeps spoon-feeding its employees on simple requests on search and contribution, then it cannot focus on the higher aspects of consulting, process optimization through KM, content creation, sales enablement, and so on in the longer run. Hence it is important for KM team to create self-sustaining knowledge culture.                                                                                                                                  
   To create something meaningful, you need to give its deserved time. 
                                                                                                                    
6. Does not give time to mature into a full-blown practice. A full functioning KM practice needs time, a lot of it. If the management expects instant results and starts cost-cutting or has labeled it as project management for a short term with a list with tick mark items, then it's a big mistake. 

Apart from these above major factors, we should also consider that KM strategy should not only align but help push to reach the organization's goals faster, aligning with business. 

Do you think of any more factors which can lead to the failure of the KM practice?

For book lovers who are interested to read some recommended books on knowledge management and other topics, we have recommended books for your region. 

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