Let me preface this post with a quick statement: knowledge management is easy.

Well, what I should say is that getting knowledge management strategies working for you, no matter how big or small your organization is, is easy.

While working in and studying knowledge management (as always I’ll point you to Wikipedia’s definition of knowledge management in case you’re unclear on what exactly it is), I’ve come across a few methods through which you can ensure your organization to grow and innovate.

1. Use technology.

I talked about specific technologies that you can use in your business in a previous post, so I won’t get into too much detail about this point here.

Just remember that where face to face interaction can’t happen, technology can be a substitute for that human interaction (but it will never be as good as getting people to talk face to face).

Also don’t forget that you have to manage all of the content that’s generated by any expertise-gathering or knowledge exchange system. While it may sit in a low-complexity environment like a forum, you may eventually have to figure out how to choose a content management system if you want to put it all into something more complex like a portal or intranet (you may also want to read my previous post on how to choose what software you need).

2. Don’t depend on technology alone.

Technology is not a panacea, it’s merely an enabler. You have to build systems and processes that encourage people to share knowledge between them, not sit in front of a computer trying to figure out software.

The key enabler to open knowledge exchange is open communication between people. And what’s the best way to get people to exchange their knowledge? Face to face.

But don’t do it in a meeting — the best exchanges of knowledge happen informally. Give people open spaces to congregate and chat, and encourage them to do so.

3. Be open.

When putting together a system to manage or increase the exchange of knowledge between people, it’s very difficult for such a system to flourish unless it’s open and transparent.

Let me give you an example of what I mean. Say you need to build a knowledge-exchange system for a group of service technicians, and this takes the form of a moderated forum where people can post questions and answers to specific problems.

How do you know if the system is working? The only people that can really tell you are the service technicians themselves. So not only do they need to be able to use that system, they also need to be able to critique the system that they are using in order for it to improve.

4. Bonus tip: stop planning, start delivering.

Knowledge management activities, by their very nature, are risky (because they are dependent on all 3 tips I talked about above: technology-heavy, dependent on specific human behaviours and open). Unlike most project, knowledge management activities don’t often have a definite start and end date.

So instead, build something with a minimal amount of planning, and expect it to change quickly and often. This is the ultimate key to the success of a knowledge management project: being both forward-thinking and adaptable.