Measuring knowledge management performance involves quantifiable measures such as participation in knowledge sharing databases, staff surveys, and balanced scorecards. External sources and customer feedback can also be measured, and results can be monitored over time and adapted to changes in business strategy.
Knowledge management performance within an organization must be measured against the knowledge management strategy in place. Measurable elements within such a strategy, such as participation in knowledge sharing databases, can be included in a balanced scorecard to arrive at a measure of knowledge management performance. Some aspects of the strategy, such as attitudes towards knowledge sharing, may not be easily quantifiable because they are based on subjective judgement, but these can be measured through staff surveys or questionnaires. The result calculated using a balanced scorecard can provide an indication of the successful implementation of a knowledge management strategy, and progress can be indicated by an increase in the score over time. As knowledge management objectives evolve over time, the measurement of knowledge management performance must be adapted to changes in business strategy.
Quantifiable measures of knowledge management performance may include the number of knowledge sharing communities that arise, the number of topics discussed on collaborative sites, the number of staff ideas deemed useful, or the level of awareness of knowledge management strategies among the organization’s staff. Knowledge management from external sources could be measured by the number of reports or entries in the knowledge database by staff attending seminars and conferences, the amount of knowledge sharing links with external organisations, or the amount of knowledge sharing resulting from the examination of specialized magazines or specialized websites. Knowledge management performance measurement could be more results oriented by quantifying the number of best practices identified, the number of suggestions leading to process improvements or the contributions that led to secure new activities.
A knowledge management strategy that emphasizes gathering and processing customer feedback and open innovation strategies to design future products adjust its performance measurement accordingly. The number of reports collected from customers or feedback from customer-facing personnel might be an appropriate measure, along with the number of customer feedback reports leading to the implementation of innovative product changes. These quantities could be monitored over time to measure improvements in each aspect of knowledge sharing. They could also be incorporated into a balanced scorecard whereby results are expressed as a percentage of targeted results and weighted by the amount of time spent on them by the knowledge management team. The categories and weightings used in measuring knowledge management performance may change as business objectives change and knowledge management strategy evolves, producing an ongoing assessment of the success of the strategy.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
