"How quickly they forget" is an adage that could soon have
far-reaching and ongoing implications for public sector
organizations in Canada and everyone who depends on them. The issue
stems from a looming wave of public sector retirements that is
taking hold and is expected to swell in coming years.
Studies show that in the next five years, nearly one-third of
public sector workers in Canada will pack up their belongings, put
on their coats and walk out the front door for the last time.
When they go, they will take with them a vast array of critical
information that may not be replicated anywhere else in their
organizations. To ensure that taxpayers get the most value for
their dollar and the public sector organizations operate as
efficiently as possible, measures to mitigate those real and
extensive losses must be implemented.
One of the ways forward-thinking public sector organizations are
coping is by implementing knowledge management capabilities, the
systemic capture, storage, analysis and dissemination of corporate
information and organizational intelligence.
Knowledge management is about enabling people to quickly and
accurately access the relevant information they need so they can
make the best decisions and determine the optimum course of action.
Relevant information is both correct and complete. When one
considers the enormous number of unstructured information sources,
e-mail, corporate Intranets, the Internet, shared drives, etc., in
a public sector organization, the need to centralize, index and
provide access to this information through technologies such as
portals and collaboration tools becomes apparent.
By implementing robust search capabilities and preparing to
readily navigate abundant and expanding information resources, such
as training course content, procedures and processes developed by
experienced employees and best practices from previous projects,
organizations ensure that tomorrow's employees benefit from today's
expertise.
For years, software firms and others have been developing
technologies to enable organizations to break down informational
silos and to marry unstructured and structured information. Now,
successful deployments around the world are proving that the
initial vision is correct; knowledge management increases corporate
efficiency and can play a central role in dramatically reducing the
damaging performance and cost implications staff turnover can have
on public sector organizations.
Interestingly, while some segments of the public sector are
embracing knowledge management, our experience is that a series of
unfounded perceptions are contributing to the delay of its wider
adoption. The concerns most frequently cited include fears of a
lengthy and complicated implementation, employee reluctance to
place information on the system and contribute to its growth, and
the difficulty of assessing return on investment (ROI). However,
there are many examples of successful implementations where these
perceived problems were readily addressed.
In all cases, successful knowledge management roll-outs should
include a communications strategy to ensure that all employees,
even those not directly involved in working with the system,
understand its purpose and the benefits that both the organization
and the employees will gain from using it and nurturing its growth.
This can be accomplished in several ways.
One provincial public sector organization in Canada recently
implemented a knowledge management application tied to an
enterprise portal. To get employees accustomed to the portal, the
organization encouraged them to share useful "social" information
such as recipes, restaurant recommendations, rental notices and
listings of social events.
This drew staff into the portal and allowed them to become
familiar with the system, turning the portal into a part of their
day.
A more systemic challenge lies in determining ROI, which
traditionally involves cost avoidance or cost-benefit analysis. But
governments and public sector organizations serve many masters, and
financial ROI measurements do not present a full picture of the
value of government programs and services.
Clearly, what is required is an ROI approach that provides a
fuller picture, including the social and political value of IT
investments such as knowledge management. SAP is working with the
Centre for Technology in Government (CTG), located at the
University at Albany in New York, to spearhead an initiative to
develop "Public ROI", a method for defining, measuring and
communicating the economic, social and political returns of
government IT programs. CTG is currently working with Canadian,
U.S. and European government organizations to develop a public ROI
model; the results of this research are to be available late in
2006. 064340
Michael Tremblay (michael.tremblay@sap.com)
is Senior Vice-President, Public Services for SAP Canada Inc.,
managing federal, provincial and municipal government mandates
including health care, higher education and research.
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