Identifying Systems Blockers of Knowledge Flows

This is PART IV in my mini-series on Generating Business Value by unlocking Knowledge Flows - what my independent business KnowFlow Value specialises in.

Part I: Generating Business Value by unlocking Knowledge Flows

Part II: The importance of Culture to eliminate Knowledge Flow blockers

PART III: Common Organisational Blockers of Knowledge Flows

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In the second category of most common blockers of knowledge flows, I bulk together “processes” and (IT) “tools”. Because they are usually shaped by one another, and tools are commonly designed to support and automate an organisation’s business processes – if designed and implemented correctly!

This is the easiest type of Knowledge Flow blocker to identify and to fix. It is also the least sensitive on a people level, albeit can be sensitive to management, process owners and IT folks.        

When systems don’t work, whether it’s a process that is not optimised, or an IT solution that is not well integrated, people are usually not afraid to tell anyone willing to listen to them. The challenging part in identifying those blockers, tend to be to weed out what is real feedback and what is simply noise, sprung from frustration or other factors – like organisational or people blockers.

It is important to validate and organise feedback on systems carefully, to ensure that you identify the root cause, and aren’t just being asked to slap a band aid on a symptom.        

Addressing systems blockers, is where Knowledge Management professionals get a very common piece of feedback: “SEARCH SUCKS!”, which it sadly often does. But the reason for that can be a real and valid one, like security permissions and access controls, or compliance. The problem in those cases are a lack of clarity and communication from leadership and management, hence making the “Search Problem” an organisational blocker.

Leadership transparency and communications are key, to building a strong organisation with engaged employees, who want to do the right thing.        

Another aspect of the “Search Problem” could also be the number of legacy systems driving unclarity, because the task of cleaning up and replacing them is simply too daunting. In that case the symptom in this scenario is a systems blocker. The root cause, however, would be an organisational blocker, which could be caused by a lack of understanding at leadership levels, or simply unawareness, of the problem these legacy systems cause.

Process blockers can be a bit more challenging, than tool blockers. This is because business processes are usually well established, already slimmed down to optimise cost, and integrated into all the solutions. Here I tend to look for things like:

• Overlaps/Gaps – these drive duplicated efforts or employee frustrations.
• Shadow processes – where employees have created workarounds because they are overloaded with administrative, or low-value work.
• Chosen Truths – the worst one, and the hardest one to confirm is “because we’ve always done things this way” – that’s the one to really challenge.

The complexity of untangling business process flows should not be underestimated. It is important to remember that the role of a Knowledge Management professional, is not to solve all these problems, but create awareness at the executive level that they exist and are blocking Knowledge Flows.

<<< Please find the next chapter in this mini-series here: COMING AUGUST 12, 2024.

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