Knowledge management in VET

Editor's Notes

• #2: My name’s Shashi and I’m the Director of RTO KnowHow and also RTO Advice Group.Thanks for coming everyone.Today’s session is on knowledge management in vet.I’ve been working in the VET sector for about 12 years now, coming from a background of RTO management, administration, compliance and more recently consulting and auditing.The VET sector, in general, is based on knowledge.Knowledge that trainers, managers, compliance and administration staff hold personally.But what is often missing from a lot of organisations is a way of connecting this knowledge, learning from it and using it to benefit the organisation as a whole.With my knowledge that I’d built up over the years through my work in and with RTOs, I began to devise systems that would help managers and RTO staff draw on the knowledge, experience and learning of their team and use them to improve their practices and business outcomes, while also maintaining compliance. Began with a system of policies, procedures, processes and tools that RTOs could use, however I saw there was a gap. A gap in making sure everyone knew the policy, everyone knew the processes to be followed, knew how to contribute to business outcomes without making the process over-arduous.So from there I went on to building an online system for RTOs and other training organisations that helps teams communicate, document their knowledge more efficiently and on a consistent and regular basis. I want to use today to talk through knowledge management, how knowledge is or could be managed in your organisation and how you might make improvements to KM to benefit your organisation.
• #3: So today I will present the key concepts behind knowledge management and some techniques that we can use to go about implementing a knowledge management strategy.I really want this session to draw on the knowledge of everyone here today so we’ll break into groups during the session to brainstorm together.Knowledge management is a large area and some people focus entirely on it at university, so today will skim over key themes and topics.
• #4: Knowledge is what we know.It is a body of understanding and skills that is constructed by people and increased through interaction with other people and information. Knowledge can be thought of as a map that we build inside our brains. It also includes our beliefs, expectations and practical know-how.It is on this map that we base our decisions. There are threesources that we use to build this knowledge – information, experiences and data.There are three different kinds of knowledge: explicit, implicit and tacit which I will come back to shortly.
• #5: Data is facts. Data is true whether or not it is written down.For example, your height, your address, your job title, this all data, and they are true whether or not it is written down.Data is used to form our knowledge.
• #6: Information contains dataput into context and meaning.We can capture data in information, then move it about so that other people can access it at different times. If I take a picture of you, the photograph is information. But what you look like is data.
• #7: So the parts that make up our knowledge that can be summarised in this diagram
• #8: So we know whatknowledge is.What is knowledge management.It is the activities an organisation takes to:manage information and data systematically.manage the knowledge it gains from its own experiences.transform individual knowledge from its people into organisational knowledge.An integrated approach to identifying, capturing, managing and sharing an organisation’s knowledge to achieve business objectives.
• #9: Knowledge management
• #10: An interesting fact.How much knowledge do we have??According to Forbes:A typical person in the course of a year receives the data equivalent to every person in the world reading 174 newspapers every single day”That’s a LOT!So you can really see why if we don’t manage our knowledge effectively, we are missing out on gaining from the knowledge of our people.
• #11: Research shows that managing knowledge allows us toLearn from the expertise and know-how of most experienced individuals (more contact between junior and senior staff, collaboration, mentoring, support, exchange – build expertise and then make this expertise serve even more of your team)Knowledge is retained even if staff leave(invested time, money and energy in training, professional development and continual improvement is not lost – more important in todays environment, people movejobs more and more often)Higher efficiency (No re-inventing the wheel, avoid going over the same thing again and again)Lessons learned can be shared (Processes and approaches that worked. Those that didn’t work. What not-to-do next time. As relevant to VET this might be learning from complaints and appeals, internal and external audits, moderation and validation and so on.)We gain better insights for improving products and servicesFacilitates decision-making capabilities (Relevant information is available when its needed, we can gain a better understanding of how we make decisions and what informs our decisions)
• #12: Builds learning organisations by making learning routine (When knowledge management is part of an organisation’s culture, learning and improvement is part of the job and staff are continually learning from others.)Increases staff satisfactionSharing of best practices that can be implemented across the board (Best practice approaches can be shared from one branch or office to the other, one department to the other, again, saves re-inventing the wheel and quality practices across the organisation. And… Facilitates continuous improvement! As I think I’ve demonstrated above. All of these benefits have an outcome of quality and improvement. Using our knowledge that is captured and stored, can contribute to true improvement that really is continuous, ongoing and part of every day practice. 
• #13: So now we know about the benefits, how do we do it?In order to manage knowledge we first need to know about the different types of knowledge that we need to manage.Explicit knowledgeImplicit knowledgeTacit knowledge
• #14: Explicit knowledge is that which has been articulated and stored and can be readily transmitted to others. Can easily be portrayed in documents.Examples of explicit knowledge include: Directories (how-to-contact someone), manuals, writtenprocedures and how to videos With explicit knowledge, once the information is read and the instructions are followed, they are known.
• #15: Implicit knowledgeInformation or knowledge that is not set out in tangible form but could be made explicit. So, the things in our minds that we haven’t yet written down but we could.
• #16: Tacit knowledgeThe kind of knowledge that is difficult to transfer to another person by means of writing it down or verbalising. Usually relates to expertise and knowledge within people/ learnt over a period of time. Highly experiential.Example: Learning to speak a language – we can write it down but it doesn’t mean that someone can know it easily.Another good example – we can tell someone the approaches to effective RTO management, but that does not mean that they know how to do it easily.
• #17: So now I’d like to get everybody involved - break into group work and conduct some brainstorming together.What I’d like you to do in your groups is discuss the different kinds of knowledge you have in your organisation – considering explicit, implicit and tacit knowledge.You will have been given a coloured card from Danielle as you walked in. This indicates the group you are in. We’ve created the groups to mix everyone up and promote sharing between different organisations or departments. So 5 minutes to brainstorm. Then we’ll come back and share with the group.Handout to be passed around. One sheet per group.
• #21: So now we know the kinds of knowledge we have in an organisation, how do we effectively manage our knowledge?For effective knowledge managementExplicit knowledge needs to beEasily accessible when and by whom it is requiredEasy to follow and understandImplicit knowledge needs to be transferred to explicit knowledge as much as possibleProvide opportunities for tacit knowledge (from our people) to be shared. Making people with knowledge and expertise accessible when required. So, organisations need to find a way to share existing knowledge better andPromote innovation making the transition from ideas to implementation more effective.
• #22: In order to do this, we need effective tools and techniques to manage our knowledge.Our tools and techniques need to help us:collect, store and re-use knowledgeImprove organisational learningEncourage collaboration and sharing Some examples of tools and techniques that may be used includedocument management systems, communities of practices or networking groups, strategies for collecting information from staff when they leave an organisation and so on.
• #23: Implementing knowledge management involves looking at the organisation through the knowledge lens.A senior manager of a large firm has just resigned. This event can be viewed from a number of lenses:Technology lens – Confirm finish date, ensure all passwords and system accesses have been restricted.Finance lens – prepare final pay and leave balancesHR lens – Consider exit interview, prepare recruiting processKnowledge lens – a potential knowledge loss and/or acquisition of new knowledge with the replacement. An opportunity to learn from the departing staff member.
• #24: Thinking about the knowledge that you have in your organisation, what tools and techniques do you think could be used to help manage the knowledge
• #28: Successful knowledge management strategies usually include:A range of tools and techniques including knowledge sharing mechanisms and technologyManagement support – we need our top people to believe in the value of KM, talk about it and make it part of the business objectivesA knowledge leader or champion It needs to become part of our culture – through training, expectations that we set and so on
• #29: So now that we know about the different types of knowledge and what makes effective knowledge management, we need to know how to go about developing a knowledge management strategy.
• #30: Looking at where you currently areSetting priorities for knowledge managementKnowing what knowledge needs to be managedWho knows what?What is the knowledge flow?Consider:People – how individuals and teams work togetherProcess – are processes documented, how does continuous improvement occur, do we learn from our mistakes?Technology – how is technology used, are there collaborative tools, CRM systems, portals, intranets, shared email accounts.Content – what knowledge is valuable to the organisation, what content do we have, how is it stored, how is information shared and is it easy to access.
• #31: 2. BuildTaking action on the priorities identified in mapping phaseDeveloping a plan for knowledge managementKnowledge champions or leaders - Someone who is passionate about the cause and the outcomes and benefits of KMSenior management supportDeveloping products, processes and servicesDeveloping a knowledge management teamEnsuring you can create a culture that supports innovation, feedback, learning and knowledge sharingExperimenting with ideas Training staff
• #32: Operationalising is about making KM routinePutting the tools and techniques into actionMaking it part of every day workAcceptance of knowledge management processes by the whole team
• #33: RTO KnowHow is an online system, kind of set up like an intranet, but it is on the internet.Its an online hub that staff can interact with every day to:Access messagesView company newsEngage in discussion through the discussion boardMake suggestions for improvement that are automatically and instantaneously sent to the right person to act on.View or add to validation and moderation or industry consultation recordsUpdate their own profile and professional development activitiesGive feedback through surveys or invite a student to complete a surveyView student records and classesView documents they need
• #34: Snapshot of the discussion board that we have.
• #35: Staff profile – where staff can update their own profile for use by management, including their qualifications, certificates, experience, Biography.
• #36: Update their skills matrix as required
• #38: Access documents that they are given access to
• #41: That’s the end of todays workshop. I want to thank everyone for coming today and participating. I hope you’re able to take something away from today’s workshop to implement in your organisation.I wanted to leave you with these quotes.