How to Become a Director of Knowledge Management

Knowledge Management is a rapidly growing field that requires excellent interpersonal skills, technological knowledge and an understanding of the operations of an entire enterprise. Ten years ago, these positions were few and far between. But now, with the rise of collaboration software and increasing turnover rates in corporate America, the means and the impetus to manage the knowledge of a company is more important than ever. Learn how to become a director of Knowledge Management and join this exciting professional field.

Things You'll Need

• Experience with collaboration software
• Understanding of corporate structure
• Great interpersonal skills
• Extreme organizational skills
• An eye for detail
• Managerial experience

Instructions

1. Acclimate yourself to various collaborative platforms. This can include document management software, intranets and wikis. Figure out how each one works as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each.

2. Study the structure of the company you wish to become the director of Knowledge Management for. Often this requires either already being an employee of the organization or working as a third-party consultant to the organization.

3. Chart out the company's organizational structure on paper. Who communicates to whom? What types of knowledge does each department contain? Do some departments naturally rely on the work product of others? Which departments have the highest turnover rates?

4. Interview employees in various departments within the company. Ask them questions about their day-to-day workload. Where do they save information? How do they communicate with colleagues? How do they preserve information when a colleague leaves?

5. Devise a Knowledge Management plan based on the information you gleamed from your research and your interviews. You should be able to graphically chart out how the various units within the company interact with one another and operate independently. Be sure to note what kind of technology would be most useful where. For some departments, an affordable open-source wiki solution might be the best way to go. For others, such as a legal department, pricier matter management software might be more effective.

6. Call a meeting with the top executives at the company, including department heads. Show them the organizational chart you have created along with any ideas you have about how to capture knowledge within the company. Also be sure to state the benefits of knowledge management as well as how the lack of such a program is currently affecting the organization adversely.

7. Request from the executives a budget to get the company's knowledge management program off the ground. This should include your salary, money to hire any assistants and money to spend on knowledge management technology and training.

8. Implement the technology you have chosen to deploy. Be sure to provide training to all employees who will be using this technology. Also, make sure to incorporate the knowledge management program into company policy to ensure all employees actually take part in the program.

9. Maintain the Knowledge Management program. If new technology enters the market, study it and see if it would be worthwhile to deploy. Follow-up with departments and individual employees to see if any of them have recommendations on how to alter the current program. Ensure that employees continue to take part in the company's Knowledge Management program.

Tips & Warnings

• Sometimes a KM program is best implemented department by department. Oftentimes executives will balk at the idea of a firm-wide initiative, but might be open to the idea of a test run for a specific department.

• Consider getting a job within a KM consultancy in order to build your credentials as a KM expert.

• A knowledge management program that isn't properly maintained is worthless. You must constantly ensure that your employees are using your KM system and that the system is working properly. This of course applies to KM technology but also the various processes and policies you have put in place.