Technology and the knowledge within

Most companies are a treasure house of information and knowledge. Case studies, Client Backgrounds, Industry Knowledge, Tools & Techniques, Industry Best Practices – they all exist in every organisation in some form or another – but this knowledge remains a closely guarded secret in dusty folders,  in archived files on various hard disks, and more often than not remain on someone’s personal computer to keep as if it was their own, and take away when they leave the organisation!

This secrecy and lack of sharing isn’t the result of any top level strategy to prevent misuse of information, but pure blindness to the value it can bring to the entire organisation; coupled with the laziness of not wanting to take on another project that isn’t holding a gun to your head and saying “do me or else..!”

The fact that knowledge is power, and history is a great teacher is forgotten in many large organisations today. And organisations that don’t know where they’re coming from, are quite likely to be walking blind into the future - often attempting to reinvent perspectives and answers that already exist.

Fortunately, technology in the form of an intranet allows companies to organise and share this information within their company easily, and in real time.

Unfortunately, most companies do not have an intranet. And even those who have taken the leap, aren’t using an intranet to its full potential.

Here’s my list of things companies do with intranets, and some things they should do:

Level 1 – The Basics

• Online Knowledge Bank - with industry/category reports, best practices, tools & techniques. Updated of course, on a regular basis.
• Case studies – from within your industry, drawn from various sources – used as a reference library for what worked, what did not
• Organisation Information – History, Vision, Mission, Goals
• Bulletin Board – The intranet can be used to update everyone in the company with news, changes in policy, successes, losses, etc on a regular basis in a most cost efficient and effective manner

Level 2 – Admin Stuff

• Tools Library – Storage and sharing of common tools across the organisation
• Stationery – Standardised templates for electronic files of MS Word and Powerpoint (or whatever) can be stored online for use across the board, maintaining corporate identity at all times. This includes documents like templates for Reports, Briefs, Updates, and anything that is used repeatedly.

Level 3 – HR Related

• Employee Records – You can store updated information of employees with regard to Attendance, Leave Records, Bills Claimed/Pending, etc on an intranet.
• Feel Good Factor – HR departments can use the intranet for ‘feelgood’ efforts like announcing birthdays and other important employee celebrations. It can be used to profile talent and achievements of people, even beyond their scope of work and the company.
• Forums – Intranets can be used as an open forum for discussion among employees. It can be used as a brainstorming place to constantly seek out new ideas related to the business of the organisation. It can also be used for interactivity between various levels in the organisation – for example, an “Ask the Boss” section!

(For example IBM has an amazing online JAM program, that is not only doing wonders for employee morale, it is also throwing up great ideas for the company, and believe it or not, has grown into an awesome value added service for a lot of its clients!)

Level 4 – Basic Accounting

• Vouchers – One of the most painful activities for most people is filling in vouchers, submitting them and then waiting for their approval. All this can be automated to run from each individual’s desktop, and get approved likewise. I used an SAP driven system when I worked at Samsung, and found it took all the pain out of submitting vouchers, as well as approving tonnes of them submitted to me every week! And there’s nothing like receiving an email that says – “Travel Expense approved, amount credited to your account”!

Level 5 – Client/Partner Interface

• The intranet can also be used as a great tool for client and 3rd party interface. This of course requires much more advanced technology than your conventional intranet. However it is a fabulous way of keeping all stakeholders up to date on various jobs/issues, that too in real time.

Now all this is still the basic stuff. You can go on to doing billing, order taking, delivery tracking, and process audits of whatever it is your business involves, using various dimensions of an intranet… the list is endless.

But first you’ve got to make a start, in whatever small way you can. Just keep in mind this simple truth – “The challenges of implementation and growth are not related to technology, but clearly related mindsets”