tfpl blog

Knowledge transfer – what is it and why is it important?

Author: Claire Valentine, Training Manager
TFPL Intelligent Resources

We are seeing an increasing need for knowledge transfer within organisations, through the popularity of our public access course and the increased requests for tailored training sessions on how to facilitate it.  Knowledge transfer is not just about the transfer of information but about passing on experience, best practice and learning too.  This combination, known as tacit knowledge is well recognised as something very difficult to articulate and record but it is invaluable in adding depth and context to information to give a richer understanding.

So why is it important?  As noted by our trainers Ian Wooler and Sandra Ward in their course on knowledge transfer “Developing the right 'knowledge system' enables organisations to improve work practices, take better decisions; and avoid the criticism that comes from failing to learn from previous experience. “ With the events of previous years and economic recovery being seen in the private sector, clearly it is important to learn from past mistakes and avoid such experiences in the future.   To aid the development of an efficient and effective knowledge system, knowledge transfer has to take place across an organisation.

A key tool in the knowledge transfer process is the training and facilitation session that enable individuals to come together to pass on sharing and best practice.  It is the job of the leader of these sessions, to aid the articulation of tacit knowledge.  You can learn more about how to design and deliver such sessions at our Designing, planning and facilitating workshops session run by Ian Wooler.  Ian has also written a post on best practice for co-facilitation/training sessions which you may find interesting http://ianwooler.wordpress.com/2011/05/20/how-to-co-facilitate-workshops-and-training-events/

Report on the CLSIG NetIKX conference on “Making the Most of Sharepoint”

Author: Matt Woods, Contracts Recruiter, TFPL

This Wednesday, CLSIG/NetIKX hosted an interesting gathering, where about 45 people listened to a presentation by Mark Field on the implementation of Sharepoint and cloud platforms at the Department for Education, followed by case studies and group discussions led by Hugh O’Neill (Knowledge Manager, EMEA for Jones Lang LaSalle) and James Andrews (KIM Officer at the British Red Cross)

Funding restraint, while being a driver of innovation in many cases, could end up being a result of improved efficiencies brought about by a move toward shared workspaces.  Mark spoke about the improvement in document control and compliance at the DfE since the introduction of the Sharepoint-based system.  Perhaps the main theme of Mark’s case study was the importance of achieving staff participation and acceptance of any new platform and to get beyond a perception that it is merely a case of “the intranet’s changed”.  Mark did this at DfE by identifying key people to become advocates or “champions” of the new system, being sure that these people were senior and with a reputation for being resistant.

Hugh also had experiences of promoting Sharepoint as a Knowledge Management tool at Jones Lang LaSalle, where he helped to implement a platform that enabled previously technophobic executives to collate and share information about contacts, intangible market and competitor intelligence and business information.  He stressed the importance of approaching the setup from a KM standpoint rather than as an IT project, a point which seemed to echo the thoughts of Mark Field, who found that avoiding Sharepoint and Microsoft language helped to improve engagement with the project.  Hugh also found that making the platform visually appealing made it much easier for people to engage with.

During questions and answers, user-engagement came up time and time again, as well as references to open government regulations and with that, the future prospects for using Sharepoint platforms to provide linked data to people within and outside of public sector organisations.  With this in mind, Hugh O’Neill stressed the importance of having common versions of the programme to make sure that different sets of data are compatible and able to migrate from one platform to another.  I asked Mark Field whether, as the roll out of this type of platform continues across departments, the use and choice of different programmes or even versions will hinder the linked data aspect of open government.  This will most likely depend on the attitudes of different departments and Permanent Secretaries and how they are able/forced to collaborate.  It was particularly interesting to compare these observations to those made by the information Commissioner and Paul Davidson (Local e-Government Standards Body) at the recent ISKO Public Access to Information conference (see blog post  14 April) and may be an indicator of further business opportunities in exploiting Open government, linked data and FoI requirements within local and national government.

In all, even though approaching the seminar form a non-technical viewpoint, it was clear that there is a groundswell in favour of using Sharepoint and Cloud systems, with upgrades to later versions inevitable.  The key points appeared to centre on the importance of making the platforms easier to use, which in turn will improve user participation and acceptance, as well as the increased likelihood that organisations in all sectors will be looking to implement and improve their use of Sharepoint.

 

 

Use of evidence and research information within Social Care

TFPL Health SIG meeting 17 May 2011.

TFPL is currently working on a jointly funded project for SCIE and NHS Evidence to better understand the use of, and need for, evidence based and best practice information by people working in social care for local authorities, the NHS, voluntary and private organisations. Jenny Collieson (SCIE) and Alexia Tonnel (NHS Evidence) described  the coverage of Social Care Information in their respective sources. Lively discussions, chaired ably by Veronica Fraser (DH), addressed some of the key issues around better understanding the requirements of people working in the sector, using SCIE or NHS Evidence as well as Local Authorities and the NHS working closer together in areas of social care and how the library and information professionals could help and sharing lessons learned and good practice between using health and social care information.

A full report will be published shortly. The evening wound up with wine and networking.

TFPL Training Update

Author: Claire Valentine, Training Manager
TFPL Intelligent Resources

2011 has seen the return of a number of popular courses to our public access programme .  In particular Sylvia James’s course, The City: Understanding the financial institutions of The City of London has been revamped to include the effects of the credit crisis and is due to run in October this year.  

Research as a topic is continuing to grow in importance, especially for our clients in finance, pharmaceutical and health care.  Company research in particular, global, Asian and US company research have seen an increasing amount of training requests.

The in-house programme of tailored one-to-one coaching and group onsite courses continues to grow from strength to strength, as travel budgets are still restricted and training needs to be as tailored and effective as possible to those that are taking it. 

The in-house programme gives you the option to tailor or even customise a particular course to your requirements, and our trainers are able to incorporate specific examples relevant to your company into the session.   In addition to having an expert onsite for the day, travel costs are reduced and potentially more people are able to take advantage of the training session as it is held at their normal place of work.

Feedback from our in-house programme sessions have been extremely positive and we have been told that attendees from one session were able to start implementing what they had covered as soon as they returned to their desk. 

From other sessions we have heard the following comments:

"After attending the Information Architecture for SharePoint 2010 course, we sat as a team and evaluated and discussed outcomes and next steps. The guys really took to the course and specific mention was made in regards to the material which received excellent feedback and will be used heavily on future projects." DWP Intranet Live services Team

Adding Value: Understanding the Business Background and Presenting Business Information

"It was a really interesting course, I really learned a lot about business reports and searching companies."

Our public access programme has received similar praise

Influencing Stakeholders

"I feel as though I have some practical tools to take away and apply in my work situation"

Contract negotiation

"The course was nicely rounded, covering all aspects."

Introduction to Records Management

"Good discussion, knowledgeable course leader, good overview"

For a full list of our training courses for 2011, please view the TFPL Training Calendar.

Sharing SharePoint Best Practices

Author: Claire Valentine, Training Manager
TFPL Intelligent Resources

Getting the most from SharePoint is an important consideration for all businesses that are investing in it.  Since the SharePoint Summit we ran a few months ago we have been working with other businesses to share best practices for information, records and knowledge management within SharePoint.  Demand for in house customised training particularly has increased.

The Department for Education, one of our case studies from the Summit is also keen to pass on their learning and share best practices and learn from the experience of others using this type of technology.  They are running a number of free events throughout the year on their work within SharePoint and we are going to be working with them for their event on 24th May.

The Department for Education (DfE) has created the Information Workplace Platform (IWP) which provides integrated information, collaboration and business services to 2500 employees.  The Microsoft SharePoint-based platform has been well received by staff, and is now being rolled out to organisations across the education sector. IWP offers a range of services in four key business segments: the day-to-day ‘business as usual’  services; the ‘supporting’ services that ensure security and compliance;  ‘cross-government’ services which support activities across various agencies; and finally,’ project specific’ services that are designed to meet the needs of specific teams.

The IWP is currently the only example in Government of a large scale implementation of a SharePoint platform to support collaborative working, and has been recognised with an award for ‘e-Government Excellence’.  Further details on how to attend the event are available through on website and through the SharePoint special interest groups on LinkedIn.

If you have best practices to share we would be keen to hear from you.