The Importance of 'Knowledge Management'

In the Not for profit sector we have not developed a good history of looking after our fundraising professionals, figures from around the world indicate that the average stay in fundraising is less than two years.  The fundraising profession in many countries has for many years tried to develop educational programs that will help to keep people in the profession but it does not seem to have transferred to the wider sector with salaries less than average for the comparative work required if we compare it with the ‘outside world’.

Even within the profession people move around so quickly that at each annual conference you have to read peoples name badges to know what organisation they are with this year.  I see the conference bio of a 15 year fundraising professional and it highlights the fact that it has been in 13 organisations.  It is, in some circles, seen as a sign of mediocrity if people aren’t moving on and up on a regular basis, finally achieving the top fundraising position or title.

There are many downsides to this regular movement of fundraisers, either to other organisations or out of the profession altogether, lack of confidence by donors, lack of continuity of program, and many more but by far the biggest negative is the loss of knowledge.  Unfortunately we have failed to recognise this phenomenon for too long and now we have to catch up really quickly.  It has often been said the knowledge is power and it was Andrew Carnegie who once said;

…..“The only irreplaceable capital an organization possesses is the knowledge and ability of its people. The productivity of that capital depends on how effectively people share their competence with those who can use it.”

Now it is easy to advertise for the best fundraiser and then try and entice them to a more senior position but how are we going to capitalise on their knowledge when they are enticed somewhere else?  How are we going to use their capabilities for the benefit of the organisation for the years after they have left for ‘greener pastures’? 

It has been estimated that when someone leaves an organisation, particularly in a creative leadership role that a huge percentage of the knowledge capital that they have developed in their tenure walks out the door with them.  This can be disastrous for the organisation and the always hoped for year on year increase in financial support. 

I was with an organisation that was in the habit of rotating its staff every two-three years.  Long term statistics indicated that most incumbents were able to make an increase in income each consecutive year that they were in that particular position; however when a new person took over the role there was a significant drop in income in their first year.  Their second year was better but you always knew that when that person was moved on there would be a significant drop in income.

This of course hampered the continued growth of the organisation and needed to be addressed.

Knowledge Management has been recognized as an essential component of a proactively managed organization. The key concepts include converting data, organizational insight, experience and expertise into reusable and useful knowledge that is distributed and shared with the people who need it.

Today most thinking organisations will recognise the importance of the management of the knowledge that is held by all the staff in the organisation and will take significant steps to guard, and preserve it for the future health of the organisation.  To gain the competitive edge in today’s world it no longer is good enough to employ the best people and have the biggest financial turnover in this financial year but it is all about ‘long term sustainability’.  By its very definition this means gathering and protecting all the information that will be required for the future health of the organisation; whether it is in the ‘Not for Profit world’ or the for ‘Profit world’.  A number of years ago it was predicted that by the year 2010, one-third of the workforce in the United States will be comprised of knowledge professionals. It is incumbent upon all organizations to embrace this need for managing knowledge.

So what does this mean?  I guess that for many organisations it means getting into the 20^th century or for some being dragged kicking and screaming into the 20^th Century.  No longer is it the lowly role of a data entry operator, who is looked at as a starter in the organisation with a suitable lowly title of Administration Assistant, they need to be recognised for the significant role that they play and a title such as ‘Guardian of the Organisations Treasure’ because that is what that is what the Knowledge Managers role really is; without doubt.  There is now no excuse for employees to be ignorant of the importance of guarding the organisations jewels in regard to the future sustainability of the organisation.

I said a long time ago that I believe the Fundraiser of the future will not be known for the amount of money that they have raised – but for how far that they can see into the future’.  I still stand by that but maybe I could be permitted to re write the quote, seeing as I made it in the first place.  It will be along the lines more about how they can preserve the current knowledge to benefit all future dreams, plans and actions of the organisation.

There will come a time when an organisation will not simply be known for its logo or for who works there, but for how well they preserve their knowledge to benefit future growth and development of the organisation; where all the staff have confidence that all the current knowledge is recorded, accessible and usable in future years.  Not just by the ‘Data Base Entry Person’.

Knowledge professionals will become the dominant force behind the new economy, not unlike the farmer who changed the face of farming by developing a plough.  Everything changed forever.

 It is incumbent upon all organizations to embrace this need for managing knowledge. Just take a look at those organizations that seem to create value against the competition. You will invariably find a strong emphasis on ‘knowledge management’.

At last it seems like the humble data base has come of age, but will organisations and their staff keep up with it because it does not require nimble fingers to manipulate a keyboard but a nimble brain to see the possibilities for all that we are involved with.

Nimble fingers are easy; but ..........