Learning from the workplace Sam Marshall Director [email_address] 01244 676097 www. clearboxconsulting .co.uk

Sam Marshall Director of ClearBox Consulting Former Knowledge Management specialist at Unilever KM, psychology & IT background ClearBox Consulting Knowledge retention Enterprise 2.0 Building online communities Team collaboration Intranet strategy Intranets for effective communication

Sam Marshall

Director of ClearBox Consulting

Former Knowledge Management specialist at Unilever

KM, psychology & IT background

ClearBox Consulting

Knowledge retention

Enterprise 2.0

Building online communities

Team collaboration

Intranet strategy

Intranets for effective communication

Coming up… What’s the issue? Why lessons don’t get learned Practical approaches to ‘lessons learned’ Completing the learning loop

What’s the issue?

Why lessons don’t get learned

Practical approaches to ‘lessons learned’

Completing the learning loop

What’s the issue? Corporate memory and Corporate lobotomy

Causes of corporate memory loss Retirement of the baby-boomer generation Restructuring leading to employee churn Generation Y Fluid careers Different learning and communication styles

Retirement of the baby-boomer generation

Restructuring leading to employee churn

Generation Y

Fluid careers

Different learning and communication styles

Lessons learned?

Interlude

End of project reviews Ensure all stakeholders are on-board Ensure everyone understands their role Have a clear deliverables statement Get signoff on changes to requirements Re-plan when things go wrong

Where does it hurt? Generating lessons is hard in the first place People want to move to the next new thing Stigma of talking about what didn’t work “ Lessons learned” dumping grounds Hard to find things People don’t want to read Lessons only useful if timely The knowing-doing gap

Generating lessons is hard in the first place

People want to move to the next new thing

Stigma of talking about what didn’t work

“ Lessons learned” dumping grounds

Hard to find things

People don’t want to read

Lessons only useful if timely

The knowing-doing gap

Knowledge Sharing Experienced Novice Learn One way Find Externalise Store Two way

Tackling the Problem

Building learning into the workplace Learning processes Formal training & secondments Peer Assists and ‘Mastermind’ Learning Histories Social networks and communities Infrastructure for sharing and collaborating Online social networks Wikis, blogs, project spaces, discussion boards… Incentives for sharing & collaborating

Learning processes

Formal training & secondments

Peer Assists and ‘Mastermind’

Learning Histories

Social networks and communities

Infrastructure for sharing and collaborating

Online social networks

Wikis, blogs, project spaces, discussion boards…

Incentives for sharing & collaborating

Here’s how…

When it’s easier just to talk…

Peer-Assist Host Expertise New Insights Shared Understanding Visitor Expertise Home Team Visitor Team Known Unknown Known Unknown Sharing Team Knowledge Workshop format where home team invite visitor team to add insight to their project Home team shares what they know about a challenge Visitors reflect and discuss Visitors examine options Visitors present feedback

Host Expertise

Sharing Team Knowledge

Workshop format where home team invite visitor team to add insight to their project

Home team shares what they know about a challenge

Visitors reflect and discuss

Visitors examine options

Visitors present feedback

Experience Transfer – Mastermind Example Format Pre-interview & career history Colleagues asked what matters most 2 Hour session with small, hand-picked audience Mind-map as memory-jogger Focus is: Knowledge Transfer not Capture Explaining what’s out there Exploring the ‘edges’ of knowledge

Format

Pre-interview & career history

Colleagues asked what matters most

2 Hour session with small, hand-picked audience

Mind-map as memory-jogger

Focus is:

Knowledge Transfer not Capture

Explaining what’s out there

Exploring the ‘edges’ of knowledge

Company Social Networks

When there’s no single version of the truth…

A Z B M X F

Learning Histories Document giving detailed account of events and analysis Share ‘what really happened’ during organisationally complex & significant events How Interviews with main participants Compiled into story-like account with reflections & questions in sidebar Analysis Intro Narrative

Document giving detailed account of events and analysis

Share ‘what really happened’ during organisationally complex & significant events

How

Interviews with main participants

Compiled into story-like account with reflections & questions in sidebar

When lessons build up over time…

Incremental approaches to lessons Build a wiki that everyone can help refine: Wikis are easily edited No sense of a ‘final’ version No need to re-distribute after each improvement Capture as: Process definition Guidelines Collection of tips FAQ

Build a wiki that everyone can help refine:

Wikis are easily edited

No sense of a ‘final’ version

No need to re-distribute after each improvement

Capture as:

Process definition

Guidelines

Collection of tips

FAQ

The Hurricane Information Centre

HIC – Lessons Learned Wiki

Exceptions

When to forget all of the above…. You want a radical turn-around without baggage A psychological connection with predecessors means we support bad decisions for longer Outsiders assesses a situation more objectively Most of what was learned was ‘personal development’ When innovation matters much more than efficiency

You want a radical turn-around without baggage

A psychological connection with predecessors means we support bad decisions for longer

Outsiders assesses a situation more objectively

Most of what was learned was ‘personal development’

When innovation matters much more than efficiency

Conclusions Learning from experience needs building into the fabric of an organization Use a range of approaches Match the type of knowledge involved Match personal learning styles Don’t necessarily try to capture knowledge Connect People Leave ‘information scent’ to resources

Learning from experience needs building into the fabric of an organization

Use a range of approaches

Match the type of knowledge involved

Match personal learning styles

Don’t necessarily try to capture knowledge

Connect People

Leave ‘information scent’ to resources

Sam Marshall Director [email_address] +44 (0)1244 676097 www. clearboxconsulting .co.uk ClearBox Consulting Knowledge retention programmes Learning Histories Knowledge elicitation & mapping Building and sustaining Communities of Practice Virtual team working Collaboration new technology change management Intranet strategy

Knowledge retention programmes

Learning Histories

Knowledge elicitation & mapping

Building and sustaining Communities of Practice

Virtual team working

Collaboration new technology change management

Intranet strategy