Thanks and KM in consulting companies

Dear participants,

I'm Anna, a Swedish environmental engineering consultant. I have undertaken quite a few assignments in developing countries where it has been part of my work to either i) identify, access and review existing information/knowledge and produce specific advise requested by (mainly) government institutions, and/ or ii) try to build long-term technical- or management capacity with these institutions (improved efficiency, quality, …). Thus, one can say that knowledge management has been both a means/tool and a desired end product of my work.

I have benefited from the many good ideas which have been posted under these KM e-conferences without ever having contributed anything myself (= so typical, isn't it…?). I will not try to make full amends in the 11th hour, but just say thanks to you all, and add a few comments.

To begin with, specifically as regards KM in consulting companies (possibly also applicable to NGOs applying for projects…?):

I can see the challenge of convincing my boss that better KM either a) Makes his staff produce more in less time, or b) Can be presented as a (quality assurance?) feature of the company and provide a strong sales argument with clients.

With regard to the latter, I would perhaps start by showing my boss some examples I have seen of consulting companies which produce annual "Intellectual Capital Reports" in tandem with the annual financial report. I have seen that these can cover both knowledge resources, knowledge processes (= KM?), and their results.

Examples of some indicators I have seen:
- Number of external lectures per 100 employees held during the year.
- Number of publications available to the public per 100 employees recorded during the year.
- Number of professional networks within the company
- Staff participation in professional networks
- Number of "best practices" posted on the company intranet

I believe a company (or NGO) which values and supports the above processes can more easily draw on existing experiences when undertaking assignments, and thus do better jobs. So, if the KM system is "packaged" properly for the prospective clients to see, we have our sales argument, and hence hopefully the necessary incentive for the boss to budget for some KM activities…

Lastly, about how to convince others to share knowledge: I believe there is a lot we all can do just by "living as we preach". I have myself experienced that just one or two persons who start to share their knowledge more freely can create a "snowball effect" even in contexts/organisations where normally "knowledge is power" (power to bureaucrats, power to researchers, power to consultants, …). Just share, and you will get enough returns to compensate for your effort, that's my belief.

Best Regards

Anna Tufvesson
Hifab International