Knowledge management programs often fail for several reasons: they lack clear strategies and frameworks; senior management buy-in and support is insufficient; and they do not properly incentivize or evaluate employee knowledge sharing activities. Successful knowledge management requires aligning the program with organizational strategies, establishing clear processes and responsibilities, and changing organizational culture to value and reward knowledge sharing.

1. 12 Reasons Why Knowledge
Management Programs Fail?
Dr. Abdulhameed Alhosani

2. Many knowledge Management
programs start strong with great
enthusiasm and huge expectations but
soon start losing the energy and end up
with failure

3. Rate of
Failed
KM projects
are exceeding
70%

4. Money and a lot of effort is consumed
on technologies and state-of-the-art
databases, consultancy fees, and many
training hours of workshops and
seminars, only to end up with
bitter failure and disappointment

5. This is very bad
news!
What makes KM so hard to
accomplish?

6. Delayed Results usually is
one of the main reasons

7. Returns on KM are
very slow to surface!!
In the beginning only activities
are measured “as success
factors” not real results which
can in times suck energy out of
people

8. Unclear Vision for
the need of KM and ….
what actually drive it and
make it successful
REASON #1

9. KM Strategy is not aligned with the
organization overall strategy
KM program is to help the
business and enhance
performance not as a strategic
goal by itself
REASON #2

10. Missing or unclear KM framework that highlight
required processes to the KM activities and roles and
responsibilities of people involvement
REASON #3

11. Senior management buy-in and full believe in
KM effectiveness plus support to the program is
not manifest enough
REASON #4

12. Acknowledging KM as
another IT tool
for managing knowledge
around the organization
REASON #5
Very minimal focus is given to roles and
responsibilities which represent the
people side of the program

13. Lack or poor organization-wide
Governancefor the KM program
Insurance of KM usage and
application
a) What is rewarded and how?
b) What is measured and how?
REASON #6

14. Absence or inefficient smart
Incentivesystem that
drives motivation among
employee for creating, reusing,
and sharing knowledge
REASON #7

15. KM activities are not linked to
People’s
Performance
Evaluation of such performance
(appraisals) does not includes the
knowledge activities metrics
REASON #8

16. Absence of a dedicated central
KM Unit to run and manage the
program
REASON #9

17. Absence of well trained KM representative in each
department with full responsibility and direct link with the
central KM unit
REASON #10

18. Absence or inefficient Change
Management activities
REASON #11

19. Lack or poor
enforcement
activity to cement people’s drive
to continue living the KM in their
daily work environment
REASON #12

20. How do we make KM programs stick?
Consistently Communicate
the results of your program to all
stakeholders, sharing
stories of how the KM program
helped end users or customers in a
critical situation

21. Knowledge management is a people’s driven practice.
It is not about a state-of-the-art IT system. Only they
can make it successful