How to get people to share knowledge
I have always been fascinated by the question "how do we get people to share knowledge?" I once wrote a blog saying that you couldn't force people to share knowledge - following the well touted line from Dave Snowden that knowledge cannot be conscripted. However, this didn't feel very satisfying and didn't really help in terms of solving the problem. And so my adventure began...
I have been lucky, in that I was exposed to a lot of cross-disciplinary discussions during my time at the University of Edinburgh, an exposure that continues to influence my practice today - for example, I met brilliant people doing incredible work in the areas of behavioural science and business psychology. Conversations with these people, around the problem of knowledge sharing, led me to the work of the "Nudge Unit" (The Behavioural Insights Team) at the UK Cabinet Office - my wife laughs at me, as I refer to the lessons I have learnt from them as the "KM Dark Arts.".
For the last three years I have been building and deploying frameworks that employ the "Dark Arts" of behavioural science to speed up knowledge flows ("nudging" positive behaviours in environments where traditional approaches have fallen well short). My secret, I have been using the Behavioural Insight Team's EAST method to "nudge" people toward knowledge sharing. This method really works, you just need to understand how to deploy it.
E = EASY: Create KM processes where the "opt in" is the default; reduce the effort (the hassle factor) to get to the knowledge people need; stick to simple messages when promoting KM activities.
A = ATTRACTIVE: Draw attention to the knowledge need/response (personalise your approach); design reward and sanctions (this is where KM integration with HR, to engage and establish commonly accepted policy/practice, is essential).
S = SOCIAL: Demonstrate that most people perform the desired behaviour; use the power of networks (peer-to-peer spread); encourage people to make a commitment to others (improving trust and self-organisation).
T = TIMELY: Use disruption to norms (e.g. change programs) to prompt new behaviours; consider and communicate the immediate benefits (think about the individual level); design frameworks that help people to plan their response to a need - for example, we deploy personal KM frameworks (new mental models - we call this "scaffolding") to prompt knowledge capture, further nudging the desired response via HR policy and practice.
Through our work we have proven that robust research, practical frameworks and Behavioural Science (the EAST method) can overcome the KM challenge of getting people to share knowledge. I challenge you to give it a go. You just have to be prepared to think different!
