Hopefully by now you have had a chance to explore this blog & make a few comments. Well done to the students who have embraced this challenge. I notice that some of you have set up personal accounts rather than posting as "anonymous". Well done :)
For this week's assignment you will need to complete the following:
- Consider your agency (workplace) and identify if there are any endorsed policies & procedures relating to Knowledge Management. Discuss your findings
- Review comments from your fellow Cert III students in relation to question 1. Make appropriate comments about other student's postings in order to demonstrate your contribution to this assignment.
I look forward to seeing who does, or doesn't, have P & P relating to KM.
Share the knowledge!
Melisa
Well I guess our Knowledge Management is our intranet. This has all our policies and procedures on it. It informs us of everything that is happening in different areas of our department which is the Department of Health and Ageing. It is fairly easy to find what you want by typing in the search button.
ReplyDeleteRose S
Hi Rose, Yes we have the same sort of thing in DECD we have our intranet that has alot of policies and procedures and it is to search and find what you are looking for.
DeleteMaija R
Hi Rose & Maija.
DeleteDoes the intranet allow anyone to easily add content, or does it have to go through a rigorous moderation process? Depending on the process it may either encourage or discourage people to contribute to it. There might be people/employees out there that have info but not “sharing” it on the intranet because the process it too hard :/
Something to consider . . .
Ciao,
Melisa Z-G
Hi Maija and Melisa,
DeleteI do believe our intranet is not very easy to put things on there, there is a rigorous moderation process, I did not really think about that side of things. If its too hard to put on the intranet a whole of office email should do the trick. (Maybe?)
Rose S
Hi Everyone
DeleteWe were also using our Intranet to get information out to staff. We had certain people who could upoad information onto it so you had to track down one of them if you wanted to add anyting. Information such as Policies and procedures, notices to employees etc were all added to the Intranet.
We have recently changed over to Connect / Sharepoint which went live about a month ago and no longer use the intranet. With Connect every staff member is able to add announcements and documents and each team has their own workspace where individual teams have procedures, discussions etc relevant to their role.
There is a space for uploading Corporate documents such as policies, fees and charges etc - these require a document number to upload so they must be registered in Council's EDRMS system first. There is also a knowledge base all staff can access - particularly useful for Customer Service staff, discussion areas and plenty more. So far most staff have embraced the changeover and more are starting to get involved in the site, it is still a work in progress but there seems to be plenty of benefit for the entire staff to become involved and keep up to date.
Kathy L
Hi Kathy L
DeleteWe utilise the Intranet and we to have a set group of people who have the security rights to upload the information. As with your Intranet we also must have the document captured into our EDRMS.
Interestingly our IT Section has been talking Sharepoint for some months now with a view to moving the organisation onto this platform in place of the EDRMS.
I am lead to believe a project is in the pipeline with our Human Resources forms initially and if successful it will be slowly rolled out.
My concern is the perceived notation that Sharepoint replaces the network and will make it easier for staff to save documents. Currently our network is a black hole and if we don’t put processes in place to manage fixing the black hole, we are just going to replicate the same issues with Sharepoint.
Deni B
Hi Rose S,
DeleteI think your comment I mostly agree with because I think the same. What i think they can use intranet that they can open anywhere in the Agency and good to be able to open their policy proecdure information. I like the idea that people can load up the policy procedure and Sharing information.
Monica H
Hi Rose
DeleteWe have an intranet also within TAFE SA, administration staff are really good at using this tool however educational staff and management struggle.
Ally F
Hi, We also use a Intranet to store all policies and wonderful sorts of information. Doers anyone know what policies are in place for organisations to correctly records management digital information espically when interacting with the public - do they need to keep Facebook/Twitter threads etc.
DeleteBrian H
Hi Deni B
DeleteWe too have issues with our network drives - people tend to use this to store their documents in department files or personal files and not save them into our EDRMS system (We use Synergy Soft. This is uphill battle for our Information Management team have to educate staff members to register their documents. Unfortuneately when staff store items this way others don't know where to start looking. I think the key is educating staff members on usage of the system and yes have procedures in place.
Kathy L
Hi Kathy L
DeleteAt Council we have these same issues where many staff use the G Drive for storing their information. There has been a push from the top (CEO) to start using Synergy. I have been running group training sessions over the last few months and all staff have been advised that attendance at these sessions is mandatory. The training is split into 3 levels, as to do the whole lot in one day would be too much to take on board. A little every month seems to work better. Gives staff the confidence to start using Synergy on a regular basis with the records staff available for assistance. It means more work for us initially but fingers crossed it will pay dividends down the track. We can already see more staff are capturing their documents into Synergy, while others need a bit more encouragement.
I have been advising the different departments with regard to the updating of Council Forms. Those staff that are modifying the forms seek advice on relevant file numbers, room for date stamps etc.
In my interactions with staff from other departments I have raised their awareness that Records aren’t there to be everyone’s PA, that we do more than shuffle papers. It’s a slow process to educate them. Mind you there are still some staff that think that it is our job to do part of their responsibilities but with support from the CEO and Senior Managers the tide seems to be turning, albeit very slowly.
We don’t have a policy which includes Knowledge Management at the moment but will have to get around to writing one when I get a chance. We don’t have an Intranet but there are whispers that we are investigating the possibility, once the new website has been updated.
As with many Agencies the Tacit Knowledge stored by our longer serving staff is invaluable. Many of these staff feel threatened at times when asked to share this knowledge. They feel like that knowledge is their ‘Power’, I guess many years ago that was the ‘norm’ but nowadays we have realised the importance of sharing this knowledge – no-one is irreplaceable, even though we’d like to think that we are not.
Cheers, Debbie N
Hi Debbie N
DeleteSeems like you are on a similar track to us. It's interesting to hear how other organisations try to remedy these types of issues. We had quite a few group training sessions which were attended by many staff - a lot came out of these sessions wanting to do the right thing but do fall back on old habits (one reason given by many staff is time constraints to register items) so we focused on ways of improving efficiency and incorporating the capture of records into their workflow such as having profiles in place, templates etc with these staff. We encourage staff to come to us when they have issues or don't know how to register something and we are finding more people are approaching us - it's baby steps but heading in the right direction.
We have also had problems with forms and have also requested file numbers and room for registration stamps on them. We have a styleguide which shows what font should be used for correspondence, uniform letter heads etc. and we have put our suggestions forward to be included in this.
Unfortunately many staff don't comprehend the work we do in Information Management and the importance of what we do. Our division had been without a General Manager for quite sometime until recently and getting the support to make headway with educating staff has been difficult.
Kathy L
On the DECD intranet we have quite a lot of policies and procedures, especially pertaining to Knowledge and Information Management. We have a Directorate called Technology & Knowledge Management Services and one of the policies I searched on is DECS Information Management Policy – Privacy and Confidentiality.
ReplyDeleteHere is the link have a look for your selves
http://www.decd.sa.gov.au/hrstaff/pages/induction/Policies/
Maija R
Wow Maija!
DeleteThe DECD intranet is so modern, informative, which makes the layout of information very clear, plus more welcoming to encourage staff to find the information for themselves’. Very well done DECD staff! You can view the SLSA intranet if you dare… http://intranet.slsa.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?area_id=17&nav_id=1512
Wow Maija,
DeleteLooks great! I wish I had of thought of putting the link up like you did. I cant now as I wont be at work until Monday week. I have to fly to Perth for a funeral.
Hi Maija
DeleteThis will sound like such a silly question, but what did you type in initially to get to there? Been surfing through the SA Health website, and either I'm hopeless since coming back from maternity leave, or the site isn't that easy to navigate!
Thanks!
Hayley R
Maija, thanks for posting the link it's good to see how other organisations do it differently. I think the Port Adelaide Enfield Council's intranet page is similar in a way in regards to the formatting and layout with specific headings it makes it easier.
DeleteNicole K
Hi Everyone!
ReplyDeleteSLSA (State Library of South Australia) Intranet and the SLSA Socialtext are the Knowledge Management locations available. Where all staff are able to access the current Policies and Procedures for SLSA or be directed to DPC (Department of the Premier and Cabinet) Socialtext for whole departmental information and policies.
Email notification are sent to SLSA staff; when item information has been updated, when handy ‘how to’ tips have been created plus any information about ‘what is going on at SLSA’.
The best way to use the SLSA Intranet is by reviewing the various information categories or team areas to locate the information; which will direct you to a helpful link or document.
Socialtext is most effective if you just use the search engine to enter the keyword for the item you are trying to locate, which will then display a list of possible results which may be helpful. But if you are unable find the information, you can always ask your question on the Wall, which you can select for everyone or select groups to view, and then other staff members can answer or comment on your statement; like people can here or on Facebook. :)
Kelly, I think that the posting of questions is a really good idea and that it can be viewed by certain departments. I find that staff sometimes aren't sure on locating the information and therefore just don't acknowledge or bother looking and sometimes are embarrassed to ask for help because it's "silly". I always ask questions and always encourage staff to do the same. No question is a silly question.
DeleteThanks
Nicole K
Sorry for the delay in responding to this question. This late last week and, so far, all this week I have been trying to locate some papers required for legal proceedings. To do this we have recalled boxes of files and files, searched for electronic records and possible hard-copy records from staff and other organisations. Thus the delay....
ReplyDeleteTo achieve this we used some tacit knowledge, some information and knowledge through the assistance of the Records Officer who worked here in 2008. I can honestly say that I have been engaged in the process of managing knowledge in records for our agency this week!
Yes, we do have policies and procedures, but it is on occasions like this that you really find out just how useless a policy or procedure is when staff are not trained properly in Records Management or if staff are just not dedicated enough to follow written procedures. Thankfully, the most important piece of paper has been located and we now want to locate the briefing that supports our argument in the signed letter by the Minister...so the search continues.
I feel that there is so much more that the Records Team could do to encourage staff to take an interest in Records Management. I felt that the idea of having an afternoon tea and inviting people to get a ‘feel’ for records was a really good idea. I will canvass this idea with our Records Manager. I thought it would be a good idea to get staff engaged in the importance of providing good information, much like we did in class leaving someone to find something without any information. I would then move on to real experiences such as outlined above, to bring home to staff the importance of records.
I think our Records Management policy is reasonable, but I would like to make some changes to our procedures to ensure that Corporate Records has more control when new staff are ‘let loose’ on the system. I believe this is needed to ensure that records are created using the department’s thesaurus correctly. It would also help so much when sentencing a file!
I notice that many of the comments to date have revolved around the management of web pages, and the intranet, another essential tool for managing information. In my agency we also have electronic records, web pages, libraries (reports from outside of DWLBC), maps and photographs. However, these are managed by others and I am unable to comment on the process for managing these in this agency.
Glenys Pylypenko
Hi Glenys
DeleteI understand your heartache with trying to find information. I am an FOI officer and have had numerous experiences of being a detective in trying to work out were files and records have been left, files, lost or stolen.
The amalgamation process we under went over 10 years ago has left me with the understanding that the main objective was to establish leadership positions and the perceived savings to the community at the cost of managing the corporate knowledge.
The loss of tacit knowledge was huge and the management of the previous agencies files was managed poorly. Something we are still suffering from today.
Deni B
Hi Glenys. I just wanted to comment on your comment " I feel that there is so much more that the Records Team could do to encourage staff to take an interest in Records Management." It may be different in your department but as a full time Records Officer at Mitcham we have tried so so hard to interest people in Records Management (inductions, newsletters, competitions, prizes, training/information sessions, morning tea) and staff just dont care. We are Records Officers so its our job to deal with records and not theirs. This attitude has become such a culture that Senior Management have finally decided to put aside money and resources to tackle this culture change from the top down. Its going to be a large long term project that will hopefully make all staff see that records management is something everyone must participate in. Records Officers would love to do more to interest staff in records management but generally our workload is too great so we do not have the time or the energy to devote to this, especially when staff are just not interested. Cheers Maryann C.
DeleteHi Maryanne C,
DeleteIt’s funny how some staff aren’t interested in Records Management – until they need to find something !!
I have found that by having the support of Senior Management, having a clause in every Job Description plus updating the Records Management Policy the ammunition is there to persuade staff that Records Management is everyone’s responsibility. Conversations with other departments when their ‘Arch Lever’ folders are full are also a great opportunity to educate them as well. Finance came to me on one of these occasions and I provided them with a page from the GDS so they could sort out the documents before delivering them to Records, with instructions to not write on the box but write down the contents on an A4 piece of paper and place it inside the box.
I have actually placed several projects on hold to prepare and conduct group training sessions over the last 6 months. A lot of staff are aware that they need to capture their records but have never had much training provided to them. They were scared that they might make mistakes – wrong file etc, but they are now starting to make progress. It definitely won’t happen overnight, baby steps, but I’m encouraged by the responses we have received especially from the least likely staff.
We provide the staff with printed procedures and the Synergy file number where the procedures are stored. Many staff also consult us prior to releasing a Tender or Public Consultation.
We, as Records Officers, are specialists in this field, it pays to remember that other staff have their particular expertise as well and they look at Records as just another thing they have to squeeze into their day. Once they realise that by saving their records, and others do the same, they are helping the Agency as a whole. Provided they use correct titling they can find records quicker as well. As there are huge backlogs of emails that haven’t been captured we have been advising the worst offenders to spend half an hour a day making sure their current emails are saved and gradually attacking the backlog.
Hope this gives you a bit of hope!!
Cheers, Debbie N
Hi
DeleteDebbie you are SO right!!! It is the same here. There has never been any real Records Management done in our organisation. Until now we have had one designated room, where stuff has been piled and piled. It just hasn't been considered important...
... until someone wants something. Then they needed it yesterday, regardless of the fact you need to have a safety rope tied to you in case you get lost in the archive room.
I find it frustrating that people have no understanding of Records Management and don't particulary want to have an understanding. A few years ago, we did training with the other Admin staff to familiarise them with the GDS and not just throwing stuff in boxes. We also would put articles in the staff newsletter that went to all employees. Unfortunately, not much changed and with little resource and no real spare time to allocate, it just all landed on my lap with a 'get to it when you can' attitude.
The mentality seems to be 'its just filing, how is that hard'. Which has now left me with over 20 years worth of 'its just filing' to try and organise.
Sigh...
Hayley
Good morning to everyone and sorry for the tardy post.
ReplyDeleteAn endorsed policy at Onkaparinga, I struggle to commit to a firm yes.
We do utilise the Intranet for the majority of our communications tools, but with regard to this been documented as our Knowledge Management Framework, I would say not.
One major issue we face is not everyone has access to the Intranet and so large pockets of the organisation may feel isolated and disconnected.
We are currently undertaking a survey regarding the method and types of communication delivered across the organisation.
This is a great step forward, but with the survey being made available via the Intranet, we are still missing some targets.
Our Intranet does make available the latest version of all policies and procedures, sectional news and our CEO blog.
Deni B
Hi Deni, I think the survey is a great idea. For staff that don't use the intranet or have access maybe hard copies could be sent for them to contribute or some could be kept in a common lunch room. We are in the process of developing a survey on opinions for a social media site to staff :)
DeleteThanks.
Nicole K
Hi all. I apologise also for my tardy post. Unfortunately I have been ill for over a week now so have not had the chance to investigate if Mitcham Council has an endorsed policy regarding Knowledgement Management. Off the top of my head I would say no but I look forward to getting back to work and finding out if we do have a policy or not. Cheers Maryann C.
DeleteHi,
DeleteSAPOL has available for the public on its website Twitter, Facebook, Youtube & RSS feed as ways of interaction and communication with the public. Do these constitute “Knowledge Management”?
Brian H
Hi there it's Monica here :)
ReplyDeleteI consider there is that would be in Policy, Procedure Handbook, In workplace they have Online in Computer website, and Going to Meeting. Mostly useful is on the computer only when you go to like Libraries right building eg. State Record of South Australia.
Different policy for every agency.
In relation to approval processes for publishing information on the DECD intranet - if you are an approved publisher you can publish information on the intranet. You should be getting permission from your Manager to publish such content. There isnt a rigourous approval process.
ReplyDeleteTa Maija R
At Port Adelaide Enfield Council all our knowledge and information is registered into our EDRMS in the first instance, although certain information is accessible on our intranet that either has a direct link that takes you to our EDRMS to view or is placed on the intranet page. Some of those documents relate to policies and procedures, information of upcoming jobs, Work Health and Safety and also direct departmental links which you can access calendars or information specific to that department. Some information isn’t linked to the EDRMS which makes it difficult for the people updating the information as they will have to do it in two different places to ensure the up to date versions are accessible. Only certain staff are able to upload information and must seek approval before anything is displayed. Depending on the users background and familiarisation with the system for most staff it is easier to view on the intranet page, especially people who don’t generally use our EDRMS for example field staff. I find our intranet page is quite easy to look up information you require, we have a search function if that is easier or the headings are really clear if you have an idea what you are looking for.
ReplyDeleteThanks.
Nicole K
Hi all
ReplyDeleteWithin TAFE SA we have an intranet that has all of our policies and procedures on it. Under the Tab of Records Management we have all policies, procedures, forms and contact details of staff. Also under this tab we have all of the disposal schedules relating to our agency and also quick sentencing guides. As TAFE SA is such a large department we have records officers at each campus to assist staff to use the intranet and to interpret policies and procedures. I am lucky enough to be this officer for the following campuses: Mt Barker, Urrbrae, Kingscote and Victor Harbor. I tend to find that staff do not use the intranet to gain information on Records Management, they just give me a call to find out how long to retain records for. Perhaps we need to look at training staff in the use of the intranet more.
Ally F
ICT Services being part of Shared Services SA, we use the SSSA Intranet and the Teams intranet. They are run on Sharepoint. The Teams intranet is our internal knowledge sharing intranet. Each team can share news, provide infotorials on how to do tasks to the all important things like where the chocolate drawer is located and items for sale in it. A Document Library is also part of the Teams sharepoint site and this is where we can upload policies and procedures. The "Apps" page allows teams to upload ICT forms which staff use to request services. I don't see this as "knowledge" sharing as such but is an important part of our business. All of the units within SSSA have an "apps" page.
ReplyDeleteMy understanding is that there are no endorsed policies and procedures relating to Knowledge Management as the scope of Knowledge Management is pretty much left to the Problem and Knowledge Management team. The procedures reltaing to Knowledge Management are purely operational. One KPI at the service desk level is to ensure that at phone level service desk resolve as many jobs as they can at the first point of contact. To achive this all knowledge repositories are up to date.
Ellen R
We don’t have a KMS at Council. We have a Records Management Policy. At some point I will have to include or write a new Policy to incorporate this. With the ‘push’ on at the moment regarding capturing records into Synergy .introducing a KMS would go down like a lead balloon. With all of the other Projects to do and the Training sessions being conducted realistically this new Policy would be looked at in the New Year.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
DebbieN
Our intranet would be one KMS. I know we do have some policies somewhere, but locating anything on our Intranet is not always easy. I am slowly getting familiar with it, but personally think they could have made in a little simpler and user friendly. And I think I'm fairly computer literate!
ReplyDeleteI know that a few years ago, Health had a Records Management position for our area, which is how my interest started. However, the position ended and it was never continued with. I think there needs to be more effort put into Records Management within the organisation, and not just on a city level. It needs to be recognised that Rural areas also have the need for it, and that help may be required. There has never been any real form of records management here, just years and years worth of stuff shoved in boxes. Some labelled, some not. Being remote, we wear alot of different hats, and adequate archiving, storage, etc is pushed to the background.
Hayley
At the City of Tea Tree Gully, we do have an endorsed Records Management Policy. We introduced a new EDRMS, TRIM in April of last year and through this implementation, new policies and training for all staff were rolled out. We nominated TRIM Champions within each department to continue to promote and encourage their fellow team members to use TRIM actively. Still, it is a continued struggle with staff to get them engaged with any form of records management however as it has already been stated in previous posts, they quickly learn the consequences when they need to retrieve information. Our Executive Team have been very supportive of the TRIM rollout and the continued push to actively manage records. We also implemented an email cap earlier this year and this forced some staff, who like to hoard emails, into registering them into TRIM so they did not exceed the cap. Shortly, we will be introducing caps on local directories too. We try to provide as much support as we can to staff so they feel empowered and capable of registering their own emails.
ReplyDeleteWe also use the Intranet as a quick reference point for finding information. The information on the Intranet must be captured in the EDRMS first, otherwise it cannot upload to the Intranet.
After reading through the above posts, I recognise that the frustrations we face at the City of Tea Tree Gully are shared by most organisations. It's an ongoing struggle to retain tactic knowledge and share knowledge to the benefit of the team and the organisation.