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Quidnunc

If the company is of a sufficiently small size, knowledge can be managed in a relatively informal way as employees know what the others are doing and know who to approach for knowledge and expertise in a particular area. However, as companies experience rapid growth, they are confronted by issues that have to be addressed by formal processes, structures, systems and culture to ensure that knowledge is generated, captured and delivered to where it is needed.

About Quidnunc

Quidnunc is a software consultancy whose innovative approach to software design and implementation puts it in a field of its own. Founded in 1987 by Laurence Holt, Quidnunc now employs over 100 people, building more than £10 million worth of software a year. The company's headquarters are in West London, with offices around the world. Quidnunc focuses on three core competencies: running projects effectively, strong software design and ‘growing’ people. By emphasizing these elements, Quidnunc has delivered hundreds of successful projects, and consistently scores well above the average in customer satisfaction surveys.

The humble knowledge heritage

Described as a bespoke software consultancy, an environment of knowledge sharing has been vital to Quidnunc's success. However, they recognized that the rich, informative culture which typifies the best small companies can often be the first casualty of rapid growth. As a company expands, it risks losing the closeness and informality which made it so successful in the first place. Quidnunc was determined to prevent this from happening, and worked to put measures in place to continue to share intellectual capital effectively.

Knowledge management is a personal business

All too often the issue of knowledge management is seen as something which can be tackled and solved by software alone. Conventional wisdom has it that if you throw enough money at the problem and implement some sophisticated technology, all will be well. Unfortunately the truth is more complicated. The processes involved in truly effective knowledge management have to be personalized for each company, and in some cases they reach deep into established business processes. However, companies who have made the investment in knowledge management have reaped the rewards with a workforce who understand the benefits, and are motivated to use the resources at their disposal.

The philosophy behind information technology processes

The process of integrating knowledge management into the fabric of a company begins at the recruitment stage. Traditionally the IT industry has hired solely on the basis of experience, but it makes more sense to look at your prospective employee in a wider sense – does he or she have a good attitude towards sharing knowledge, and how does he or she function in a team? By all means get the prospective employee to prove his or her technical excellence, but also ask how he or she would go about dealing with a client requirement.

Careful recruitment of people who fit their culture has helped Quidnunc to avoid the problem of staff jealously guarding their knowledge. This is coupled with the philosophy that sharing your knowledge is as important as having it in the first place.

As a company grows it often becomes fragmented geographically. In order to keep the information flowing between employees you need to make them feel that their colleague in the New York office is as relevant to their working lives as the team member on the floor above them. For many companies an intranet is the obvious answer because it allows everyone easy access to corporate information and ensures that all employees are kept informed of developments, but it can be used for much more than these bare bones. At Quidnunc the intranet is used to host discussion groups and provide best practice files, self-grading forms and other facilities.

Discussion folders

In this case one of the most important elements of the knowledge management strategy is e-mail discussion folders. These are open to anyone in the company, and employees are encouraged to take part. The folders are divided by subject and if someone needs a fresh perspective on an issue, they post it on the e-mail folder and colleagues with experience in the area can respond. The successful use of this kind of tool depends on a genuine culture of openness and informality. It is essential that there is no hierarchy at work within the e-mail folders – all colleagues must feel that their comments are valid and that they can contribute to the discussion.

Consequently, the quality of the content is self-regulating. Because everyone takes part in the groups, the best advice is given, and any inappropriate advice will be corrected by the practice managers, who play a full part in the discussions. At Quidnunc, this system has proved itself again and again. As a further resource, their quality system programme on the intranet covers a huge range of processes, everything from the fundamentals of software design to how to answer the phone correctly.

Knowledge yellow pages

Knowledge management also means that staff know what information resources are available to them. We have found that this strengthens teams and forges closer alliances between our offices. In addition to the other resources, Quidnunc has what could be referred to as a ‘knowledge yellow pages’ – any employee can look on the intranet to find out who has skills in a certain area. This enables rapid transfer of knowledge between colleagues who may otherwise be ‘reinventing the wheel’.

People commitment

As companies reach that critical point in their lives where they suddenly expand at speed, resources like the ones discussed are invaluable in keeping the corporate identity, and ensuring that the most important resource – the people – is being used effectively. However, without top-level input and commitment to this process, the whole knowledge management environment becomes an empty shell.

Sustaining knowledge management with measurements

In a services organization, time is a precious commodity, and the pressure of client work can force knowledge management activities to the bottom of the pile. To keep knowledge management activities in everybody's minds it is essential that staff objectives include some measure of knowledge sharing and that staff stand to benefit personally from the time they invest in these activities. For example, every employee should have specific knowledge management objectives built into their staff appraisal. At Quidnunc, employees have to qualify in different disciplines and enter their status on the intranet as part of their career progression. In this way they can track their own progress, and make their skills available to others in the company. The process includes senior colleagues as much as junior ones – practice leaders are appraised on how many of their team have gained new skills, how many new seminars have been held and what new areas of technology have been discussed in their e-mail folders. Even partners and directors are measured on their contribution to the knowledge initiatives.

Future challenges

As the service industry becomes increasingly important to the economy, more and more attention will be focused on the advantages of using knowledge management effectively. As soon as organizations become too large to talk to everyone on a regular basis, a formal structure is needed to facilitate the flow of information, thoughts and ideas, as well as providing a repository of information which is easily accessible at all times. Some of the software for knowledge management provides an excellent framework, but in order to become a mission-critical part of the company it needs to have the support of all staff, particularly at senior management levels. It is up to them to drive the initiatives to encourage employees to use and contribute to the resource. Effective dissemination of knowledge will always depend on the advantages it presents to individuals.

Recognizing this and structuring the knowledge management processes around it is essential. Above all, knowledge management is not dependent on expensive software. It is essentially a clever way of using relatively simple technology.