How Knowledge Management and Change Management Make Beautiful Music Together

Let’s explore the powerful duo of knowledge management (KM) and change management – partners in a symphony of organizational success. Knowledge management is the process an organization uses to collect, retain, sustain, and share information. You might think of it as the key to the vault. If you have something valuable, but you can’t get to it, it’s useless. That’s what happens with poor knowledge management. So, the first step is a strong knowledge management system.

The role of change management is, as always, to engage the people in an organization to get the benefits you expect from some investment – in this case, knowledge management.

Knowledge Management is the orchestra.

• Capture: Use KM as your archivist, collecting insights from employees, internal documentation, and external sources. Make sure you capture explicit, implicit, and tacit knowledge.
• Organize: Establish taxonomies and efficient search tools and processes.
• Collaborate: Create an environment for synergy with wikis, knowledge repositories, and discussion spaces.

Change Management Is the conductor.

• Lead: Let leaders actively model KM and set the tone.
• Communicate: Invite employees into the power of KM through transparency and timely information.
• Engage: Invite employees to give feedback and really own KM.

What do you get from this performance?

• Savings: Organizations without good KM reinvent the wheel, over and over, wasting precious time and resources.
• Speed: KM gives employees a running start on new projects.
• Decision-Making: KM-driven insights form the foundation for strategic decisions.
• Relationships: Access to data on customer needs, stakeholder groups, and the workforce produces stronger relationships and better solutions.
• Empowerment: Enriched and informed employees get smarter and want to grow; they perform better and they’re more likely to embrace change.
• Evolution: Reflecting on documented successes and lessons learned informs planning and improves execution of future change initiatives.

This isn’t just academic for me. When I joined my client, IT information was scattered and decentralized. Since then, we used KM and change management to make big changes.

We established a centralized knowledge base to consolidate valuable content, implemented lifecycle management practices to ensure ongoing relevance and accuracy, and established a robust governance structure. We rolled it out right, using change management to engage and empower employees with the new KM ecosystem. Employees now have seamless access to a single platform with all the information they need, located in a single, easily accessible platform.

Embrace this partnership. Knowledge management and change management create a crescendo of achievement and help your organization navigate change with poise.

Our government is apparently not a fan of TikTok, but they seem to love other innovative technology — especially AI. US federal agencies are starting to harness the power of generative artificial intelligence (AI) to improve efficiency, decision-making, and service delivery.

For instance, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) could use generative AI to model complex public health scenarios, helping them form policies and response strategies. Similarly, the Department of Defense (DoD) is exploring generative AI for simulation and training purposes, to give personnel realistic and varied practice scenarios.

AI promises big benefits, but beware — there are three pitfalls government teams should consider as they approach AI projects.

Consider ethics and policy.

As federal agencies adopt generative AI, they must keep ethics and policy implications at the forefront. They need clear guidelines on data usage, privacy, and security. They must also ensure that AI-generated content is unbiased and equitable; government decisions based on AI outputs can have significant impacts on the lives of US citizens.

As federal agencies adopt generative AI, they must keep ethics and policy implications at the forefront.

Hire and train for the AI-enabled agency.

Generative AI will change the work performed within federal agencies. This is a good thing; AI can take over repetitive tasks, freeing up human workers for more complex and creative work. But that workforce must be prepared to get all the benefits of AI. Agencies should consider AI technology skills as they recruit and hire. They must also invest in training to help employees perform in an AI-augmented workplace.

Generative AI will change the work performed within federal agencies. This is a good thing.

Manage it like any other change.

Integrating AI technology into federal agencies is an organizational change, like any other. Agencies will not see the workforce adoption they need – and the benefits they expect – without effective change management. Dedicated change management teams help federal organizations navigate the complexities of the new technology, address resistance, and promote employee engagement and adoption. The right communication, training, and support minimizes disruption and maximizes the benefits of generative AI, fostering an environment where innovative tools like AI enhance employee performance and service delivery.

Dedicated change management teams help federal organizations navigate the complexities of new technology.

Generative AI offers federal agencies exciting opportunities to innovate and improve their operations. But each opportunity comes with the responsibility to implement AI ethically and support the workforce. As generative AI continues to evolve, it will be fascinating to see how federal agencies leverage this technology to serve the public better.

HR professionals must think of themselves as change agents.

Perhaps no role is shifting faster than the HR professional. If the pandemic showed us anything, it was that the employee experience is essential to survival. HR is not only helping navigate choppy post-pandemic waters, but also evolving into a true strategic partner.

This is not just about external catalysts or inclusion in strategic decisions. It’s about mindset. HR professionals must start thinking of themselves as change agents.

For example, a global company wanted to launch a development program to change the behaviors of its leaders, world-wide. Other initiatives like this had flopped, but this one was a smashing success. Why? In part, it was because HR itself made some significant behavior changes of its own.

1. From understanding business needs to forecasting them.

Having ears to the ground, HR could see early on that the business model was shifting from individual contribution to team performance. Soon, leaders would have to work with multiple global cross-functional project teams and get them to collaborate quickly to drive business outcomes. Because HR anticipated this need, the program was not merely a reaction to a problem; it was a proactive solution.

How they did it:  HR claimed a “seat at the table” and participated in business decisions. They held regular meetings with employees and managers and asked the right questions. They also conducted frequent pulse surveys to gauge the mood of the employee base and respond.

2. From tracking metrics to owning Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

The HR team committed to employee engagement (a company KPI) instead of focusing on tactical metrics like total training hours or training feedback scores.

How they did it: They kept organizational goals front-and-center during every conversation and work session. They brainstormed with their internal clients to identify the right HR success metrics to achieve employee engagement and to drive the desired employee behaviors. For example, training didn’t end in the classroom but was followed by simulations and mentoring to ensure that the learning stuck and leaders managed their teams optimally.

3. From understanding diversity to fostering inclusion.

Even though corporate headquarters was in the U.S., the move to team performance was global. HR knew many typical elements of training and communication didn’t resonate globally, so they paid special attention to that.

How they did it: HR crunched the numbers to identify real data on diversity. Then, they used the quantitative results to make the program culturally inclusive. For example, they knew that employees in other countries might be alienated if the company continued to use U.S. baseball metaphors. So they asked their geo stakeholders to share their stories and metaphors, then applied the lens of local culture to all experiences.

4. From following HR trends to focusing and executing the most relevant trends.

The HR team had a good sense of multi-generational workplace and digital revolution, but they decided to thoroughly examine how these trends impacted the company and how best to manage them.

How they did it: HR read the research and reached out to networks and business stakeholders to get their input. They investigated trends and analyzed impacts. These findings guided all relevant HR actions. They made sure the communications, training, and tools they rolled out resonated with the target audiences. For example, they used the latest technology platform to engage digitally savvy millennials who were primed to be future leaders.

As HR became more involved with company strategy and their stakeholders, they better understood their pivotal role in all organizational change. HR is responsible for promoting employee behavior change. That starts with changing their own behaviors.

Executive Facilitation

Part 6: Signs your executive session was a success.

You facilitated an executive working session and you think it went well! You think… How can you know?

Here’s what you might hear and observe after a solid session.

“This was great.”

It’s not the most rigorous test of your facilitation, but it matters. How people feel coming out of the room is important. It means they feel it was a good use of their time, and they’ll approach your next session with enthusiasm.

What to do when you hear this: Conduct a pulse survey to drill down on why people liked the session. And consider one-on-one check-ins with a few participants to get more detail: what they liked and what improvements you could make.

“This is the new way of doing it.”

Sometimes a session or activity feels so effective that leadership wants to adopt it as a standard practice. That’s a great sign that your session worked.

What to do when you hear this: Document your facilitation process and tools. Post them in a shared folder and let people know where they can find your files.

How people feel coming out of the room is important. If they feel it was a good use of their time, they’ll approach your next session with enthusiasm.

“Remember what we said during our meeting?”

When participants reference the ideas, skills, or decisions you made during the session, that means your session is resonating and making an impact.

What to do when you hear this: Capture those things that are resonating and make sure everyone has access to them.

“I’m following up on my action item.”

At the end of a good executive session, you define next steps and responsibilities. When you see those things happening, the session is making a difference. You’ve taken the value out of the room and into the organization.

What to do when you hear this: Celebrate and normalize. Share who’s moving the ball forward; this will nudge others with to-dos to do the same.

“We’re kicking off the project.”

Many strategic working sessions are convened to make strategic decisions. Those decisions turn into strategic projects. You can feel good if the rubber is hitting the road, with projects funded and underway.

What to do when you hear this: Keep an eye on the project born during your session. Document your success story: you gathered the right people and they produced something impactful!

“Here are the numbers.”

Strategic decisions are intended to make an observable, positive impact. Hopefully, the actions and initiatives born in your session end up showing those results. That’s the ultimate sign that you made a difference.

“Let’s do this every year.”

If your executive session felt right to leadership, produced sound ideas and decisions, and generated positive outcomes, it had obvious value. Leadership might feel so good about it that it becomes an essential tool for your organization. Well done, facilitator!

ICYMI: Executive Facilitation Series Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 & Part 5

Launching AI? This is what your Change Lead wakes up thinking about.

Every day, I talk to people leading technology projects for our clients and the Emerson change leads who support them. No surprise that the coolest projects are in the Artificial Intelligence space.

Organizations are modeling operational scenarios on production lines and making data-driven decisions using AI. They are using AI to better schedule their truck fleet routes and drivers, getting products to customers faster and at a lower cost. They are improving their employees’ digital experience through AI-enabled chatbots that solve their problems in the moment of need.

As IT project teams are focused on seamless delivery of AI to the business, here’s what a project’s change management leads wake up in the morning thinking about.

Are the Executives on this AI initiative all on the same page?

This typically happens when they’re trying to document the messages that should go to the impacted audiences. When this happens, the change lead often hits the “pause” button to ensure that sponsors and change agents are communicating clearly and consistently. They get key leaders aligned on the problem we are solving, the way we describe the solution, the approach, and the results we will achieve.

Have we identified all the impacted audiences for this AI project?

Will an unidentified audience “come out of the woodwork?” Ideally, key leaders participate in the current-state and future-state workshops at the start of the AI project. The change lead documents all the audiences and captures the new ways of working for each audience. They identify what each group will gain and lose with the introduction of AI, how best to communicate with them, what they need to know-learn-do to be successful. This detailed impact “topography” is the basis of every change intervention that comes after, so it’s important to get it right. So, after they think they have identified all the impacts, change leads follow up with each audience to validate their understanding. What they’re asking is, “Are these all the stakeholder impacts? Is there anyone we‘ve missed?”

What’s the best way to reduce fear and engage stakeholders?

Change leads try to figure out what makes each impacted audience tick; they use that to engineer an AI change strategy. A good change team uses what motivates each stakeholder group to help them engage in a positive way with the impending changes. Change leads also use that knowledge to come up with creative ways to focus attention on the change. For example, Emerson change leads engineer adoption by pulling three levers: they use what feels familiar to stakeholders, they give impacted audiences a sense of control, and create successes during the project so that employees feel safe and confident moving forward.

Change leads try to figure out what makes each impacted audience tick; they use that to engineer an AI change strategy.

AI is transformational. The nature of AI is that it gets smarter the more people use it. A change lead is the only member of your AI project with a laser focus on getting people to use your new, fantastical AI technology. The success of your AI initiatives, and the ROI of the investment, hinges on your ability to ready the workforce and customers to ensure they embrace the transformation.

For more information on the right way to engage the workforce in AI initiatives, read Artificial intelligence and your workforce: Three tips for leaders.

Think differently about your investment in user performance.

Companies continue to invest in technology. Digital, artificial intelligence, and cyber security are all over the headlines. Cloud and ERP also continue to be big. In fact, the global ERP software market is expected to reach $78 billion by 2026.

Most of these investments come with expectations for a large return on investment. Seasoned IT leaders know that the integration of people, process, and technology is what drives ROI. The business case is rarely realized if human behaviors and processes don’t change.

Despite IT’s decades-long focus on change management, budgeting for the “people side of change” is a mystery to many. And it doesn’t help that project budget numbers must be submitted and approved long before all the implications of the change are clear.

The traditional way is to estimate 15-25% of project spend for the people side of change. A quick google search will show firms like Gartner promoting this ratio. While the old school “percentage of IT investment” is a starting point, it can lead to under-budgeting.

Seasoned IT leaders know that the integration of people, process, and technology is what drives ROI.

Why? First, technology has never been cheaper. Sometimes it’s even free. So you’re using a percentage of a shrinking number. People, however, remain consistently expensive and require things like new organization structures, process changes, work changes, training, and communications. Technology cost is irrelevant to what’s required to equip people to support the organization’s success.

Here’s a better way to estimate:

Technology-focused projects and budgets have evolved. Planning for change management on these projects should evolve as well. Go beyond the traditional “percentage of project funding” when budgeting for the people side of change.

Wrap up the year with effective goal setting.

It’s the end of the year, and most organizations are embarking on everyone’s favorite holiday activity: goal setting.

Leaders analyze the past year’s performance and estimate what they can and must accomplish in the coming year. Executives then review these goals and finalize organization-wide, measurable objectives that drive success.

This annual exercise is necessary, and it makes sense. But why is it so hard?

First, each role has its own relationship to goals. Top leaders want to dominate the market but must also consider the health of the organization. Executives and managers want to push for greatness but also take morale and capabilities into consideration.  Employees feel pressure to impress the boss but have to balance that impulse with what they think is realistic and achievable.

And, after all that work and rounds and rounds of reviews, the final goals are cascaded down to the organization, which can be like a game of telephone. By the time a line employee gets his work objectives, they might no longer be recognizable to top leadership.

So, as a leader, how should you approach annual goal setting? A clear process and sound principles will make strong goal setting easier on everyone.

Listen up.

Teams understand their capabilities and limitations, and if given a safe platform, they will tell you what they really think. It’s good to be aspirational, but make sure you propose goals the team believes in and feels inspired to achieve.

A clear process and sound principles will make strong goal setting easier on everyone.

Align up, down, and across.

Departmental goals should directly support organizational goals, and departmental goals need to make sense across teams and divisions. As you translate overall goals to objectives for teams and employees, check them against the strategy. This type of alignment is critical to business strategy and execution — every part should contribute to the whole.

Balance.

Make sure your goals are balanced across your strategic and operational capabilities. Don’t set one goal so high that achieving it saps energy from other areas or from overall productivity. Discuss where your key balancing metrics are, like volume and customer experience, and allocate investment and resources across those areas, not just those that obviously hit the bottom line.

Share now.

Employees need to know as soon as possible what they are being measured against. The later you share this information, the higher the risk. On January 2, your teams are already supposed to be working toward the new year’s goals. They need time to shift and ramp up. So, give employees a preview of the new year’s priorities. This is especially important if your company ties goals to merit pay; this is not an area where employees want to be surprised.

Employees need to know as soon as possible what they are being measured against.

Review and support, often.

Create a safe space for employees to report on their progress and ask for help where they feel stuck – otherwise goals can feel punitive. Give people space to tell the most accurate story of where they are so you can support them. That’s a win-win.

Goal setting has big impacts on productivity, morale, and the bottom line. Make sure you use this time to create meaningful goals that help your business succeed and your people thrive.

Three considerations before launching your tech pilot.

Smart teams think about people during their digital transformation pilots. They know that the employee’s digital experience is where the IT investment is realized. The most fantastical tech is worthless if no one is using it — or using it right.

How do you get the most from your pilot? Put change management in the cockpit.

Here are three things to think about:

Don’t wait to start change management.

Before the pilot, you should have conducted a change impact assessment. This will tell you which stakeholders are affected and how. Select your pilot testers and construct test cases based on those real-life impacts.

Smart teams know that the employee’s digital experience is where the IT investment is realized.

Also, be thoughtful about the messages you’re sending as you test. The impact assessment will tell you what certain user groups will gain and what they will lose. Use the key points of the overall project message — the problem, solution, approach, and results — then customize those messages for your testers. It’s a great opportunity; they will report back to their work teams and set the tone for your go-live.

Test as much as you can.

Don’t just test the tech. Try out your communications and training on the pilot group. As you do, keep the focus on testing assets and assumptions. Don’t let perfection get in the way; a pilot is for gathering information to make things better.

And measure! Collect data on users’ readiness for the new technology and how well they adopted new ways of working. Your exposure is limited in the pilot, but you can learn so much that will inform the rollout.

Create your go-live playbook.

Record your results, tester feedback, and your lessons learned. Assemble the change management tools you tested, like the communications and training assets. Create an updated set, incorporating what you learned, to guide the team for your go-live. Package your roadmap and recommendations for the rollout.

Your digital transformation pilot will test whether your technology is ready.

It’s also the perfect setting to learn what will “fly or die” with your impacted audiences. Don’t take off without change management in your pilot’s cockpit.

Are MSPs or CoEs right for your organization?

I remember being on large projects in the early 2000s when clients — and even colleagues — would ask, “What is change management?” It seemed like part of my job was to justify the very existence of change management on the project.

These discussions eventually morphed into “yes, and” conversations. Most times, the conversation went something like this:

Client: “I know what change management is. Change management is communications and training.”

Me: “Yes, communications and training are usually parts of a change management solution. But it’s more, including determining stakeholder impacts, addressing employee motivation, and identifying and changing key behaviors.”

Today, most business professionals have a more sophisticated view of change management and its value. It’s now common for transformation, tech change, and M&A projects to have a dedicated behavioral change management focus. Project-based change management is still the most common model, however…

Many Fortune 500 companies are moving away from individual project decisions and toward a new model.

Two models are gaining momentum: building internal capability through a Change Management Center of Excellence and forging a managed services partnership with a single consulting firm. Emerson Human Capital helps clients build change centers of excellence and serves as a change management managed service provider.

 Change Management Center of Excellence (CoE)

What It Is and How It Works

A Change Management CoE is a team or department made up of employees who advise and execute change within a particular company.

CoEs are usually launched because there is a steady flow of projects that require change management. CoE team members are often the ones doing the change management work on projects. Other times, the Change Management CoE is more focused on project intake and centrally sourcing change needs to a handful of external consultancies. Some companies even have a very light touch CoE that is more focused on building a baseline level of change competency in an extended team or Community of Practice.

While the models and team sizes can vary, virtually every CoE designs, builds, and/or curates a change management methodology complete with common tools, templates, and examples.

What It Gives You

• Change Management on Demand – If there is an ongoing need for change management across departments and/or projects, an internal CoE is always ready to deliver.
• Self-Reliance – Once it’s up and running, it’s easier and more effective to work with an internal unit rather than a series of external partners.
• Cost Savings – Employee resources often cost less than external consultants.
• Consistent Outcomes – Common methods and tools across enterprise projects drive consistent change management and project outcomes.

Managed Service Provider (MSP)

What It Is and How It Works

A change management managed service provider or outsourcing model means having a designated partner/company for change management. The managed service provider or partner executes change management across projects for the client company. The company pays for change management as a service and evaluates performance against designed service level agreements.

What It Gives You

• Change Management on Demand – If there is an ongoing need for change management across departments and/or projects, an MSP is poised to deliver.
• Strategic Priorities – Many organizations would rather invest in core capabilities than in a non-core function such as change management. In that case, an MSP makes more sense than a CoE.
• Consistent Outcomes – A single partner across projects, using common methods, tools, and service level agreements, drives reliable project outcomes.
• Agility – Employees are often fixed costs but change management demand is dynamic. A managed service partner arrangement makes it easy to flex up or down to meet current project demand.
• Innovation – Employees can be limited by what they know. Expert firms or managed service partners leverage the latest thinking and practices around change management and learning.
• Cost Savings – A managed service agreement is usually cheaper than ad-hoc consultant contracts.

Change management has come a long way since the dawn of the millennium. Companies are maturing on change management. Some are realizing that the traditional consulting model is not necessarily the best way for companies to manage change.

BTW, Emerson Human Capital wrote the book on change, literally. We’ve seen it all, and we know how to partner with you for the best outcomes.

Whether you are just starting your change management journey or are deep in the throes of change, we’d love to talk with you.

Six ways to jump-start your newly formed organization

Your organization’s merger or acquisition (M&A) is a done deal. Congratulations!

It’s a big win, with big benefits and big challenges. When your organization structure and logistics are sorted, policies and procedures are final, data and systems integration challenges are met, you’re ready for the change that is coming.

Are you, though?

Too many organizations overlook a strategic ally for an M&A transition: the Learning and Development organization.

Onboarding is training brand new employees experience (or endure, depending on your perspective). But it’s also right for M&A. After all, on Day One after a merger or acquisition, every employee will be coming to work at a new organization.

Whether the organization takes on an existing identity or creates a completely new one, it’s a new environment.

Everyone is experiencing some level of uncertainty, everyone has questions, and everyone can benefit from a level-set that your L&D team can deliver.

Here are six things you can accomplish with onboarding for a newly merged organization:

1. Establish the culture, mission, values, and vision of the new organization. Your culture, mission, and vision might come from one of the existing companies, from both of them, or it might be completely new. Addressing a new culture, vision, etc. is obviously a necessity, but even a review of existing ideas is beneficial. The training environment can also be a safe place for employees to discuss what the culture, mission, values, and vision of the new organization look like for them, and how to bring them to life.
2. Send the right message. Having everyone participate in an onboarding class tells employees that everyone is starting anew! There are no “incumbents,” “winners,” or “losers” – just one team that is moving forward together.
3. Engage SMEs across the new organization. Intentionally and thoughtfully pulling in SMEs from across both constituent organizations is a great way to build multiple perspectives into your onboarding. You’ll get the terms and references right for all groups, and get insights to the mindets of your onboarding participants. Bonus: it might be the start of some rewarding new connections. Speaking of which…
4. Encourage new working relationships. Think about previous onboarding classes that you have been a part of. Chances are good that you can remember one or two people who were in your class; they might have been the first colleagues you reached out to when you had a question or needed a sounding board. There is something about being in a room full of people who are a little uncertain and starting on a new path that bonds people together.
5. Set new expectations for employee development. In many organizations, employee development is partially intentional and partially left to chance. Thoughtful employee development approaches are the exception. In fairness, “development” has evolved a lot in the last four decades; ideas like career paths, peer mentoring programs, and performance improvement have become commonplace. Now is your chance to start with a clean slate of resources and offerings that invest in the new organizatoin’s most important asset. Instead of fostering feelings of risk and uncertainty among your team, this M&A event can accelerate their professional development.
6. Refresh your learning solutions. Whether because of our love for the status quo or the tyranny of the urgent, L&D organizations rarely do a complete audit and refresh of their offerings. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” right? But a merger or acquisition is a great opportunity to get a new perspective on learning solutions, including new-hire onboarding. You have a new “customer” base, new SMEs, and new priorities. Take advantage of them!

Our Director of Change Management, Rory McKenna, wrote an excellent post on The People Side of M&A. I won’t spoil it for you, but he references our change methodology that includes making the change feel familiar, controlled, and successful. It’s a great read for anyone facing M&A.