Read Aloud the Text Content

This audio was created by Woord's Text to Speech service by content creators from all around the world.

Text Content or SSML code:

Now that we’ve covered the background and basic concepts of KRT, let’s go through the steps of a knowledge retention and transfer process. The six steps of the ESA knowledge retention and transfer process are as follows: Identifying the appropriate experts, engaging with each expert and their line manager, creating a knowledge map to scope out the task, creating a knowledge retention and transfer roadmap, implementing the actions from the roadmap, and finally integrating any newly captured knowledge into the agency knowledge base. In this training module, we will focus on the middle two steps, which explain practically how to apply the KRT process for a single expert. In particular we’ll look at how to create both the knowledge map, and how to create a knowledge retention and transfer roadmap. The implementation of the KRT Roadmap, which corresponds to steps 5 and 6, Knowledge Capture and Integration, is covered in the optional modules. Usually the work of putting together the different outputs of the KRT process is supported by the knowledge management point of contact or KM PoC, the person in charge of implementing and coordinating all Knowledge Management activities in a Directorate. Alternatively, the support may come from somebody who has agreed to take on this knowledge retention role, such as the expert’s line manager or successor, a person assisting the KM PoC, or someone else in the directorate who is keen to ensure the expert’s knowledge is not lost. Whether it is the KM PoC or someone else, we will refer to this role as “the facilitator for the KRT process”. This section is designed to give both the facilitator and the expert the knowledge they need to carry out this task. Mapping out the expert’s knowledge If you are working on a knowledge retention and transfer exercise with an expert, your first step is to create a knowledge map. This is a mind map of topics that the expert knows about. It’s not necessarily a summary of their history at ESA, nor the projects they have worked on, but more like a map of their specialist knowledge. The expert will provide most of the input to the map. As a facilitator you can also ask the expert’s manager and colleagues to contribute. The expert’s CV may sometimes be a useful reference document, but a knowledge map is different. It is more personal and targeted to the transferable knowledge rather than specific achievements. Here are some of the questions you might ask the expert, or the expert might ask themselves, as you create the knowledge map. Many knowledge topics have sub topics as well, so be prepared to dig down into the detail if you need to. If you are talking to the expert’s manager or colleagues, you can ask similar questions. “What kinds of knowledge or skills do you now have that the organization will miss most when you leave?” “If you had to leave the organization suddenly and only had one day left to brief your replacement, what would you put on your list of things to tell them?” “What things do you wish you had been taught early on in your job that you eventually learned the hard way?” In what areas do others often seek your expertise? What are you most frequently asked about? Are there some important types of knowledge you hold that will take a long time for someone else to learn? What are they? What pieces of knowledge are you most worried about ‘slipping through the cracks’ when you leave? Here is an example of a knowledge map, with the expert in the centre. Each of the main branches of the map is an area of knowledge or expertise, such as negotiation skills, or knowledge of a key partner organisation. These have sub branches, such as programmatic negotiations with delegations, or knowledge of the European Commission. It’s common for a knowledge map to have between 5 and 15 main branches. The example shown here has 7. There are many software tools you can use to build the knowledge map, and it really doesn’t matter which one you choose. ESA provides VISIO, which includes a mind map template entitled “brainstorming diagram”. You can also simply use PowerPoint. If you are a facilitator talking with an expert to create a knowledge map, here are some tips and hints for you: Take good notes. The expert often enjoys creating a knowledge map, as in some ways it is like drawing up a retrospective of their career. Most of the time though, they don’t just create the map, they start to talk about their knowledge and experience as well, and the notes you take may be useful later when developing the KRT roadmap. If all attendees agree explicitly, it might be worth audio recording the session, or if you are meeting over video conference, recording the meeting. Make sure you validate the final product with the expert. They will often have some adjustments to make to the map, so make sure they fully agree with the final picture. Step 4, Prioritise and Plan - Creating the KRT roadmap Once the knowledge map is complete, the next step is creating the roadmap. The roadmap is a prioritised action plan for knowledge retention and transfer. Its creation involves firstly prioritising the branches of the knowledge map, then identifying a method for capturing the knowledge, and finally adding due dates where possible. Completing the roadmap should take between 2 and 4 hours, depending on the complexity of the knowledge map. The KM team have created a template for the KRT roadmap. Each row on the template represents one knowledge topic, which is usually a branch of the knowledge map. There may be cases, for the most important branches, where the sub branches are listed on separate rows. The next step is to prioritise each of the rows by assigning risk numbers. You fill in three risk numbers for each row. These numbers represent the uniqueness of the knowledge, the level of documentation, and the importance of the knowledge Use the table shown here to assign risk levels for each topic. You can record comments on these risk factors if you wish. The template will then calculate the total risk. The individual risk figures are between one and five, giving a total risk of between 3 and 15 for each row. This matrix explains how the individual risk numbers are assigned. For example, a knowledge topic which is unique to the expert, completely undocumented, and vitally important to the agency, will score the maximum figure of 15. The facilitator works with the expert to agree the three figures for each of the rows on the template. Once the risk numbers have been filled in, the template can be used to sort the rows in descending order of total risk. The topics which represent the greatest risk of knowledge loss are then at the top of the table and can be prioritised for further action. Topics which are of lower risk, for example with a risk score of 10 or less, are given less priority. You should also add the expert’s commentary on the risk factors. The facilitator should take notes during the discussion of risk factors and capture the expert’s comments directly in the template. You are now ready to decide, for each topic, how the knowledge will be captured and transferred. Some knowledge topics will be more difficult to capture than others. Some knowledge can be transferred directly to the expert’s successor by coaching and mentoring, but many topics will have a wider audience and will therefore need to be recorded somehow. Some of the expert’s knowledge will be more deeply buried. There is the explicit knowledge which is fully formed in the expert’s head. This will include the areas they teach and talk about regularly for example, and such knowledge is easy to capture. If already documented, then the task is simply a matter of organising and passing on the documents. If not documented, the expert can pass on the knowledge by holding a master class or lecture. Then there is the knowledge which is more unconscious, where the expert uses their judgment to know what to do in certain circumstances. This implicit knowledge is often procedural in nature, and can be harder to extract. You may need to use techniques like a semi structured interview with a facilitator, or best practice discussions. Then there is the completely unconscious knowledge, the tacit knowledge, where the expert just instinctively seems to know what to do. This is the hardest of all to capture, and may need to be transferred directly to a successor through a mentoring programme. You can use this diagram to choose a suitable transfer action for each knowledge topic on the KRT roadmap. Select the action based on the type of knowledge and the size of the audience. The diagram is an example of a visual, based on an Excel KRT action file. You can find more detailed information on the use of this diagram on the knowledge portal, including a list of transfer actions. You can download the file through the link available in the resource section at the end of the course.. The collection of best practice modules also describes in detail some specific actions such as raising a Lesson, Creating a Wiki, Conducting a semi structured interview, Best Practice discussions & Narrated work, and mentoring. Complete the roadmap by adding the actions, You can now complete the roadmap by adding the actions, assigning due dates, and identifying any documentation that might already exist. The final step is to actually implement the previously identified actions. Some actions may be carried out by the expert, for example organising documentation, while others may involve the facilitator as well, such as conducting a best practice review or a semi structured interview. You can find more guidance on how some of these actions work in the best practice modules.