Harnessing the benefits of online communities of practice (CoPs)

Harnessing the benefits of online communities of practice (CoPs) My experience in an engineering consultancy firm John Tropea – Hatch Associates Ark group Oct 2009 Perth KM for the Energy, Engineering and Resources Sector connected forums and workshops

Hatch Associates
Hatch is an employee-owned multidiscipline firm that provides custom process design; business strategies; technologies; and project and construction management from 65 offices around the world for clients in the Metals; Infrastructure; and Energy market sectors. Programs and projects under management by Hatch have an aggregate value of $50 billion.
CLIENTS/PROJECTS
Quebec Iron & Titanium, Transnet, Gorgon, BHP Billiton, Xstrata, Alcoa, Rio Tinto, Bluescope Steel
JOHN TROPEA
Global CoP Coordinator (Knowledge Management)

The issue
“… knowledge workers spend 15-30% of their time seeking specific information and these searches are successful less than 50% of the time.” – IDC Research
Approx 10% of labour costs Employees spend a day a week searching for people and information

The challenge
Distributed global consulting company
Relies on expertise, technological improvements, and relationship building
“ The challenge is to quickly connect staff with other employees in the organisation who retain specific knowledge on our clients, global practices, methodologies, and workflows – everything that we do as a company.”
- Glenn Sakaki, Managing Director, Execution Technology at Hatch

All starts with visibility… … dispersed group … no central body … communities…adding value … never met or heard of Alex … solutions…others…already solved … reduce overhead

…and participation "I was recently faced with a Materials Handling questions and found the Materials Handling CoP a very powerful resource. When I posted my question in their CoP over 100 community members received an email informing them that someone needed help. Within minutes I had responses from community members pointing me in the right direction and using their personal networks to answer my question. This shows the power of a CoP in leveraging off internal resources." - Justin O’Neill

…and cascades SHARING requires TRUST, which is built via CONVERSATION Key – create conditions for conversation

That was then…
No pilot No guidance
Already in production when I came on board
“ Build it and they will come”
Ghost town
Lacked good practice

…this is now
I’m your global facilitator, how can I help?
50 CoPs
30 on request
All word of mouth
Recent global email announcement
Requests for external parties
Bottom-up request, Top-down creation
INFORM, CONSULT GUIDE, SUPPORT

Social tools are different
Deploy, and run…NOT!
Who should own it
Not built for a specific purpose
Interactional vs Transactional
Guidance is paramount
Social network pilots require network effects, groups don’t

If I could go back in time…
Discover and fix tech issues before release
Discover and assist user issues
Dedicate time to assist/workshop use cases
Discover good practices, codes of conduct
Embeds good use to model on, and sustained use

Beware of shiny new toys
Not run like teams
SME needs to be facilitator
Flashy looking CoP syndrome
Teams want CoPs
Push Adoption vs Mutual attraction
Lacks a social network, and demand for ad-hoc tasks

Enables the sweet spot
People really want this stuff
Grass roots (opportunities)
Intranet not timely/formal
Email lacks sense of place
Coping mechanism
Sense-making

Physical space doesn’t scale
OR
"A bulk materials handling specialist in Brisbane just
solved a problem with a conveyor design. But the only
people who know about this are the people in the
same room or email list”
"An engineer in Mississauga may be stuck on a conveyor design task, and isn't aware that a bulk materials handling specialist in Brisbane has the know how to help them out“

The current survival tool
Email as the survival tool
Exceptions to business processes
Sharing/Communicate
Coordinate/Collaborate
Hidden in inboxes
Need to make these exceptions visible in order to cope and adapt in a more productive and effective way

The NEW survival tools for….
Blogs
Tips/Experiences/Insight
Status/Progress
News/Announcements
Forum s
Discussion
Ask Questions
Wikis
Collaboration
Website
one-to-many and many-to-many communication

Work is already social
Hey, do you know where to find…?
Hey, do you know how to…?
When we have a need we turn to our informal network of people we trust
Without this a firm would fail

Amplify offline behaviour
Always on
As it happens
Perpetual conversation
Corporate memory
Re-use existing work
Finding like people and accidental collisions

Context & Connect
We believe true sharing happens when we cultivate conditions for connections and conversations . A community space allows people to get to “know each other” over a series of interactions. It enables people to more easily probe and clarify information they find and re-frame information into their context . These are conditions for optimal communication.

Just-in-time vs Just-in-case Will I search a database? Will I ask people (CoPs)? PEOPLE (Community of Practice) Quick, Referrals, Re-frame to your context, Peripheral information MACHINE (database) Not quick, Assumes shared context, May not exist, May be outdated Into procedures, as common practice, or complementary wiki pages (workarounds, informal practices) Formal answer in database Answer is new information Subscribers learn as it happens Facilitator to feedback integral new information Answer exists in CoP First ask people in the Community of Practice (CoP) Person may point: to an existing answer or a useful bit in the database, or within the CoP itself where the raw contextual information lives An answer to the question may create new information If worth capturing as a new common practice, then put that information into the database (with links back to the raw CoP content eg forum post, and vice versa) If it’s new insight into existing information, forum thread is resurrected, and then update common practice New information can even be fed back into procedures Perhaps procedures need a complementary wiki to list workarounds for different contexts SENSE-MAKING MODEL

Just-in-time vs Just-in-case Member to share information, lessons, experience, tips Will I share it in the CoP, as it happens? Eg Blog, wiki Asked to codify what I know into a database! MACHINE (database) Conscripted (resisted), What’s in it for me, Hoarding knowledge is power, Will it be seen or used, Time intensive, Expensive exercise, Lose context/content, Need triggers for context, Outdates quickly PEOPLE (Community of Practice) On my own terms (engaged), Recognised, Intrinsic motivation, Sharing is power, Comment feedback (may generate new information), Subscribers learn as it happens, Have impact, Feel ownership and connected, As it happens agility, Adapt to uncertainty, Get to know people, Easy-to-use tools, Audience Capturing knowledge that matters (and creating new knowledge) as it happens; rather than stock piling knowledge just in case Facilitator to feedback integral new information Into procedures, as common practice, or complementary wiki pages (workarounds, informal practices) Promotes collaborative (engaged), rather than competitive workforce SENSE-MAKING MODEL

Social Productivity
We like to think that people in Hatch are
more than just their job descriptions. We
all have many and varied talents, and
we all have a need to be able to draw on
the talents, skills and experience of
each other.
This is what we call " social productivity ".

Communities of Practice
Communities of Practice are
groups of people who share
a concern, a set of problems,
or a passion about a topic,
and who deepen their knowledge
and expertise in this area by
interacting on an ongoing basis.
Etienne Wenger, Richard McDermott, William Snyder (Cultivating Communities of Practice)
SOURCE http://snipr.com/3295d

Components SOURCE Etienne Wenger Domain Community Practice Participation Sponsorship Support Nurture People (Members) – Relationship, Learning Body of knowledge - Technical, Role, Issue based CoPs Stories, toolkit, Good practices

Types of CoPs Improvement - Improve a process or strategy Helping - Troubleshoot, Support, Problem solve Innovation - Diversity, new ideas and approaches Common topics - Cross-functional common knowledge

CoPs vs Networks
Networks
My profile and my contacts
No constraints
Requires network effects
Community
Shared identity
Shared space/House rules
Coming together for a purpose

CoPs vs Teams The online tools don’t define how the group operates (many teams are using CoPs) Encourage participation Trust Required participation High interdependency Participation Facilitator Manager Manage Informal roles Defined roles Members Learning/Sharing Ad-hoc Emergence Tasks Processes Outcomes Purpose Community of Practice Team/Task

Organisational groups SOURCE Etienne Wenger Develop knowledge Learning together Community Form relationships Connected to Networks Execute tasks Working on Team Shape organisation Report to BU

More than CoPs
Cross-functional (Share & Learn) Bulk Materials Handling
Cross-functional (Task/Fix a process) Office Security Matrix Team (Task) Upgrade to a new software release Team (Communicate, Troubleshoot, Share & Learn) Document Management Role-based Project Managers Crowdsource (Ideas/Feedback) Execution Technology Ideas Communicate/Support (General/Group) Design tools New initiatives/Pilots Project Lifecycle Process Office site/Events Brisbane Office Special Interest Bicycle Users Group

What’s in it for me?
Sense-making (re-use, find, ask)
Build your reputation/recognition
Sense of belongingness and having impact
Shorter/Less meetings (more about action)
Share on my own terms (audience)
A MORE ENGAGED WORKFORCE

The value of working together SOURCE Etienne Wenger Strategic capabilities Keeping abreast Innovation Retention of talents New strategies Problem Solving Time saving Knowledge sharing Synergies across business units Reuse of business resources ORGANISATION Personal development Reputation Professional identity Network Marketability Help with challenges Access to expertise Confidence Fun with colleagues Meaningful work MEMBERS LONG-TERM VALUE SHORT-TERM VALUE

I create online spaces, not CoPs!
“ A man can no more create a community
filling in a form on a webpage than he can
make a fruit tree by taping fruit to twigs and
twigs to a stump”
- Matthew Sweet http://bit.ly/BgNIe
The manager who thought he could create a community Appoint leader Select members Select topic Select name Select outcomes Congratulations! Create an instant community √ √ √ √ √ “ If a community has value it will form and the technology now allows that.” - David Snowden
Instead CoPs are:
Voluntary
Emergent
Self-selecting

A website alone is not a community
Without conversations it’s just a website
Don’t over design look upfront (time waster), instead nurture participation, and design as you go
Someone has to run it and encourage participation
Facilitate, don’t manage
Unlike email, it has a sense of place, and needs to be tendered and cared
Intrinsic motivation, no rewards

It’s about the group, not the topic
Social computing is messy
Overlapping topics vs
formal prescribed place
Merging may reduce
participation
People will participate when they share the same wavelength, stimulation, comfort, confidence, and trust

Don’t need network effects
Growing a community is like making risotto
- Rachel Happe http://bit.ly/13bTyF
Absorb members in small doses
Capacity to devote attention
All you need is a small group of people who want to participate, trust each other, and have a shared identity
Increasing size may cause congestion, dilution and noise
Networks are different because they are not group spaces

What does a member mean online?
Offline
Turning up shows commitment
Feel more obligated to contribute
“ There’s really only one rule for community as far as I’m concerned, and it’s this – in order to call some gathering of people a ‘community’, it is a requirement that if you’re a member of the community, and one day you stop showing up, people will come looking for you to see where you went” - Adam Fields
Online
Do nothing, be noisy
Give & Take inbalance
Tips!
Use a registration question
Offer a visitor book
Hold a telecon, see who turns up

There is no average contributor
Power law (L-curve)
Average user doesn’t really exist…heavy contributors skew a useful average meaning.
SOURCE http://bit.ly/12S2ll Tip! Nurture those who are already contributing

The low down on participation Design (intuitive / stickiness) Frequency of content Email interaction / bookmarklet Peer to peer influence Champions / Role models Viral approach Post, and send link Attract comments Re-purposing email Hand-holding Raids / Barnraising In-the-flow Feedback (Reputation/Recognition) Group building Confidence/Comfort/Safe Trust Relationships (Give and Take) Personal relevancy

Activities you can try are… Offline to online Member Intros Lounge forum Blog carnival Polls Guest posts Coffee Corner/Fill in the gap Member of the month Weekly roundup Personal stories People travelling Blog columns Engaging media (video) Email signature Newsletter CoP link love Events Portal

Seed, feed, and weed SOURCE http://bit.ly/193dxQ Garden Design Communicate Welcome Assist Support Prompt Correct Guides Promote Re-purpose Suggestions Feedback Congratulate Barnraise Monitor Listen Personal needs Subscribe Specialise

Subscribe, Listen, Facilitate It's of utmost importance that a Community Manager is subscribed to every blog and forum in every community. “ ...next time you should blog this, and then send people the link Reason being is you are sending a signal to the people in this email to use email rather than the CoP when sharing links...this becomes amplified since we are role-models” “ When sharing links, if you have time, it's a good idea to review the article and add your opinion. People will react to your review, especially if you have an opinion...this could lead to a comments discussion” “ This sounds more like a blog post (announcement) rather than a forum topic (question/discussion)…” “ A quick tip - spoil your subscribers by including a link to what you are talking about”

Global Village… answers, ideas, diversity An idea was posted about a database that would identify what training you required for your role A question was asked about plotting and printing errors The IT CoP ran an ideas program in a forum
The first reply was in the form of an answer that came within 20 minutes
Within a month they got close to 500 contributions A person in another team, on the other side of the world, informed that such a database is in the works and referred to the person responsible Within the same hour there were four replies around the globe Ideas were sorted into various forums, run by champions to bring some of these into fruition

Global Village… sharing, serendipity A forum request was made in the Machine Design CoP for examples of designs done by Hatch to show a supplier It’s great to see what others are doing What 3D printer was used for the image in the wikipage, we want to purchase one Great timing, a supplier created that print-out for free and is visiting tomorrow How many people have clients who would want these 3D print outs to help justify a ROI in buying one It turns out that a CoP administrator came across this forum topic and emailed about an open source product rather than spending $60,000 Hey, lets use a wiki

Global Village… connect, collaborate, cooperate A Mechanical Lead in Canada emailed the designers in his group to review a Plant Layout Design Criteria A reviewer informed him of the Plant Layout CoP As a visitor the lead is able to Ask-A-Question in this CoP He says he would like his team to get involved in the Hatch Standard Layout Design Criteria
His request was welcomed

My Checklist
Request form (gets them thinking)
Read the conceptual guide
Aware of the use policy
Create and Consult
Online Support/Communicate
Presentations
Subscribe to everything
Facilitate
Post-consult (Health check)
Reporting
Promote/Flyer (I don’t do any)
On the look out
Annoy the vendor

First things first
Are you already a community? If so…
If not… Are you wanting to grow a community?
How do you currently share, communicate, coordinate?
Email? Meetings? Lunch time chats?
Do you have interested people?
Harder to get off the ground
Perhaps start off as a forum in another community

Key Ingredients
Do you have a substantial enough topic that warrants it’s own community?
Do you have a community leader with passion and time?
Do you have passionate key members?
Do you have a sponsor allowing you time to run this community?
Do you have a shared identity on what you want out of the community?
What is your purpose? (learn, coordinate, crowdsource, support)
Who is your audience?

Stuff to think about 90% relevant to a random member Your own place and identity (rather than buried) Visible in the directory Local vs Global Community indicators The community leader must approach us “ I am a…” test Broad communities as a fertile ground Crowdsource a community

A workshop ensures…
Bottom-up
Ownership and Relevancy
Members
Building relationships
Who has passion and time to run the place
Role models

What’s our orientation?

A Pilot ensures…
Proficiency
Structure
Guides
Stickiness factor
Populate content

Living and breathing SOURCE http://bit.ly/4ypMEo

Time for a health check

Homepage

Information Desk

Facilitators Community

This is a waste of time Buy in Case studies Investment is cheap IT rogues vs more secure Flow is the new edge Do you want to… … know what the employees think and feel? … have employees connected? … attract new talent? … retain what we know? Value Metrics (Heartbeat) Anecdotes Improved a process Hard to measure conversations, emergence, opportunities
We all complain that…
… we cant find stuff
… we don’t know what others are doing
… we re-invent the wheel

What’s next?
Social networks lead to more CoPs
Group spaces for tasks
Your CoP or mine
Cumbersome to set up and buried
No sense of place
We end up using Outlook
Self serve ad-hoc groups
Lookout Outlook
Synchronous to asynchronous
After meeting, create the group

Connect
Library clips http://libraryclips.blogsome.com
LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/in/johntropea
Twitter http://twitter.com/johnt
Email [email_address]

Questions
Will sharing/learning CoPs (forums) be replaced by internal social networks (blogging, microblogging, bookmarking, wikis)?
Social networks don’t require group engagement to succeed
Are middle management OK with you spending time off tasks or related to tasks?
How does this tie into performance reviews?
Can you afford time to help others if you are not measured?
Social Networks with ad-hoc groups vs Intranet

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Harnessing the benefits of online communities of practice (CoPs)

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