12 ways to develop trust in your KM Framework

We all know that trust is a key factor in the success of Knowledge Management, but trust in what, and how do we build that trust?

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Trusting a Knowledge Management Framework is like trusting a vending machine – you put money in, you get chocolate out every time, and it’s good chocolate, so you trust it to deliver next time.

The trust is in the system itself, rather than in the individuals involved. In a large organisation, knowledge can come from so many people that it is impossible to trust them all individually (see my blog post on why people trust crowds). Instead you trust the KM Framework itself. If you engage with the Framework and it works – you gain value – and it does this reliably and repeatedly, then you trust it as if it were a Knowledge vending machine.

I think we can look at the issue of trust from two points of view – the trust held by the knowledge seeker and the trust held by the knowledge supplier. The elements of trust described below are independent of the system used to share, store and/or find knowledge, and independent of the relative balance between Connecting and Collecting. They are generic.

Trust and the Knowledge Seeker

The knowledge seeker needs to be able to trust that seeking for knowledge will not be a waste of time, nor will it bring negative consequences. For example

They need to to be able to trust that use of a search engine will bring useful results without too much effort
They need to to be able to trust that any knowledge they find on knowledge bases is trustworthy and reliable and current
They need to to be able to trust that asking a question of a community of practice will bring valuable knowledge
They need to to be able to trust that they will not be ridiculed for asking, nor drawn into unproductive discussions
They need to to be able to trust that attending a Knowledge management process such as a Peer Assist will deliver more value than the time and effort it will cost
They need to to be able to trust that spending time searching Knowledge Management systems will not have negative consequences such as management disapproval

Trust and the Knowledge Supplier

The knowledge supplier or sharer needs to be able to trust that supplying or sharing knowledge will not be a waste of time, nor will it bring negative consequences. For example

They need to to be able to trust that any knowledge they supply to knowledge bases will be reviewed and used
They need to to be able to trust that answering a question in a community of practice will make a difference to someone
They need to to be able to trust that the knowledge they offer will not be ridiculed, nor will they drawn into unproductive discussions
They need to to be able to trust that attending a Knowledge management process such as a Retrospect is a valuable use of time
They need to to be able to trust that Knowledge offered during a KM process such as a Retrospect will not be ridiculed, and they will not be made to look bad by offering it (especially when learning from mistakes, or from failed projects)
They need to to be able to trust that spending time providing or sharing Knowledge will not have negative consequences such as management disapproval

Developing the trust

People develop trust for themselves, by trial and error. If they try a community of practice, for example, and find that they get no answer to their question, and that their time had been wasted, they lose trust and don’t return (see my blog post on “losing trust in a community”).

So we have to make the Framework trustworthy.

For each of the trust issues above, this is how you deal with them

Make sure you have good search, and well owned and curated knowledge bases
Make sure the knowledge bases are owned, updated and validated
Make sure that CoPs are well led and facilitated
Make sure that CoPs have a good Charter, which is enforced
Use experienced trained facilitators for KM processes. Ensure that KM processes are applied only to important business issues
Make sure that managers understand their role in supporting an appropriate level of KM activity
Make sure there is a demand for knowledge, and that knowledge seeking gets as much attention as knowledge sharing
Make sure that CoP discussions are focused on problem solving, and addressing business issues
Make sure that CoPs have a good Charter, which is enforced
Ensure that the lessons system is complete and managed, so that lessons are carried through to action
Use experienced trained facilitators for KM processes, especially when learning from failure. Use a no-blame process.
Make sure that managers understand their role in supporting an appropriate level of KM activity

That’s how you build trust in the KM Framework as a trusted and reliable vending machine for Knowledge

View Original Source (nickmilton.com) Here.

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