Rio Tinto Communities Of Practice

Communities of Practice
Mark Bennett
LearningCollaboration
mark.bennett@learningcollaboration.com

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Presentation outline
Knowledge Management / Knowledge Transfer?
What are Communities of Practice (CoPs) – why are they important?
What have others done?
Global CoPs in practice….
Where do we go from here?
Questions & Answers

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See how Communities of Practice are helping Rio Tinto people share expertise and collaborate across the world (available on YouTube and from Rio Tinto website)

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Knowledge Transfer: What’s the problem?
“We can always know more than we can tell, and we will always tell more than we can write down. The nature of knowledge is such that we always know, or are capable of knowing more than we have the physical time or the conceptual ability to say.
I can speak in five minutes what it will otherwise take me two weeks to get round to spend a couple of hours writing it down.”
Dave Snowden

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What types of knowledge exist?
The wealth of expertise, ideas and latent insights that lies scattered across or deeply embedded within organisations.
It’s sometimes very difficult to write down, and is often transferred by conversations, informal e-mails, presentations and methodologies such as a Community of Practice & the RTCF.
It can easily walk out of the door….
Tacit Knowledge
Explicit Knowledge
“Hard” data, procedures, guidelines, policies, project plans, deadlines, reports. By definition it’s written down.
Even though tacit knowledge is “soft”, there is far more of it in an organisation than explicit knowledge; Both are required and need different tools….

Transfer of
Best Practices
Groups that share, learn
Held together by common interest in topic
Trade tools, templates, best practices
Solve business problems
Networks
& CoPs
Facilitated transfer
Internal benchmarking
-Process Masters
-Knowledge Champions
-Best Practice Teams
Self-Service +
- Intranets
- Portals to key info
- Search
- Yellow Pages
- Expert directories
Human Interaction
Higher
Lower
Knowledge Transfer Approaches
Tacit
Explicit

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Yellow pages in action, linked to CoPs

Transfer of
Best Practices
Groups that share, learn
Held together by common interest in topic
Trade tools, templates, best practices
Solve business problems
Networks
& CoPs
Facilitated transfer
Internal benchmarking
-Process Masters
-Knowledge Champions
-Best Practice Teams
Self-Service +
- Intranets
- Portals to key info
- Search
- Yellow Pages
- Expert directories
Human Interaction
Higher
Lower
Knowledge Transfer Approaches
Tacit
Explicit

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Questions & Answers

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What is a Community of Practice?
“Communities of Practice are groups of people who share a passion for something that they know how to do, and who interact regularly to learn how to do it better.”
Source: Etienne Wenger

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Innovation - Focus on developing ideas and innovative practices
Helping - Focus on members
connecting to other each, allowing them
to request help for problem solving and
sharing ideas
Best Practice - Focus on
developing, validating and
disseminating leading practices
Knowledge Stewarding - Focus on organising and managing CoPs common
knowledge, including any material that members use on a regular basis
Communities of Practice are regarded as KM’s tour de force, but one size does not fit all: 4 types
Source: APQC / Wenger et al

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

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Questions & Answers

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Many other companies have made significant use of CoPs
British Petroleum
British Telecom
Buckmann Laboratories
Caterpiller
Cap Gemini Ernst & Young
ChevronTexaco
DaimlerChrysler
ExxonMobil
Ford
Halliburton
IBM
Schlumberger
Shell
Siemens
The World Bank
Xerox Corporation

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Shell’s experience (II)Sharing Expertise

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Concept of a Global Network (CoP)
The answer is
new “Information”
Discussion Group,
High traffic area
What do others know ?
Add the new Information
Coordinator &Subject Focal points
Start with
inserting your
current Information
Knowledge Base
What information do we already have ?

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Shell’s experience: show me the money!
Pecten Cameroon (a Shell company) shared its techniques for improving production from a gas lifted well, by injecting demulsifier, reducing viscosity in the production string and thereby increasing production. They obtained a gain of 500 barrels a day ($5 million per annum), and the approach is being extended to 17 other wells with prospective gains of 9 million per year.
A ~US$200m benefit

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The ExxonMobil Approach
First priority: Discover & Adopt
Second priority: Discover & Adapt
Last Resort: Develop (&Share!)
We work for ExxonMobil – not just a BU

Community
of
practice
Maintaining a Knowledge AssetDual Citizenship
Kwinana Nerefco Toledo
Dual
citizenship

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Questions & Answers

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Linking local and global CoPs
Linking BU CoPs with global CoPs….
It’s a win-win when we get it to work.
Global CoP structure – source McDermott

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RTCF Usage

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Questions & Answers

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Build Trust; FTF meetings
Coordinators
WIIFM?
Shared Ownership
Incentives
Executive Sponsorship
Culture of “Discover & Adopt”
Evangelise
Overcome fear of groups
Facilitate
PEOPLE
PROCESS
Sell, educate & train
Spark debate
“Dual Citizenship”
Learn by doing
TECHNOLOGY
Customer focus – making collaboration ridiculously easy
RTCF
Portal
RioNet
WebeX, phone conf
Community of Practice - Enablers
Wiki

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A simple process to keep building a vibrant portfolio of Communities of Practice
Before any business activity: Ask and Search
During any business activity: Learn
After any business activity: Share
With thanks to Shell International

Communities of Practice
Mark Bennett
LearningCollaboration
mark.bennett@learningcollaboration.com

Rio Tinto Communities Of Practice

by Mark Bennett on Jul 03, 2009

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