Knowledge Management Resource to Support Strategic Workforce Development for Transit Agencies (2017) / Chapter Skim
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Pages 88-113
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From page 88... ...
6-1 Chapter 6: Knowledge Transfer Knowledge transfer is the intentional communication and integration of knowledge between individuals or groups within an organization. Chapter Overview This chapter provides information regarding effective knowledge transfer strategies and tools that are relevant to transit agencies.
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From page 89... ...
6-2 Transit Agency Challenges Associated with Knowledge Transfer There are several challenges that transit agencies may encounter when trying to ensure that knowledge is shared across the transit agency. Some of these challenges are specific to the transit industry, while others are more general and could be encountered by any type of organization attempting to implement KM.
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From page 90... ...
6-3 Knowledge Hoarding and Lack of Commitment to Communication The belief that knowledge is power can negatively impact the KM efforts of an organization. When individuals think that having certain knowledge is personally advantageous or makes them an asset to the organization, they may purposefully choose to refrain from sharing that knowledge.
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From page 91... ...
6-4 Incorporate appropriate tools to facilitate transfer: Make sure that employees have the tools they need to be effective, such as technology or other resources. Be clear when providing guidance for how knowledge will be transferred and why: Helping employees understand the details of how new strategies will work builds comfort and ease in using the strategies.
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6-5 Action Plan L: Implement Cross-Functional Team Building to Promote Knowledge Sharing Summary: Cross-functional team building can provide transit employees with a greater understanding of other departments or functions in their transit agency and help reveal the important interdependencies among jobs and functions such as operations, maintenance, customer service, safety, and training. Examples of such transit interdependencies are the relationships between: The service delivery function and the vehicle maintenance function The vehicle procurement function and the vehicle maintenance function The safety function and the service delivery function The emergency response function and the training function.
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6-6 Action Plan L: Implement Cross-Functional Team Building to Promote Knowledge Sharing responsibility, not just that of the safety staff. Therefore, creating cross-functional team projects involving safety, operations, and maintenance employees is not only a valuable activity, but is essential to effectively carrying out the safety mission of the transit agency.
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6-7 Action Plan L: Implement Cross-Functional Team Building to Promote Knowledge Sharing Knowledge Capture Knowledge Retention KM Planning Knowledge Transfer KM Culture Intro to KM Implementation Plan Action Lead(s) HR lead Leadership from each department Targeted Audience(s)
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From page 95... ...
6-8 Action Plan L: Implement Cross-Functional Team Building to Promote Knowledge Sharing pilot, cross-functional team is identified, share the developed goals with the team to help them understand where they fit in and how their participation is essential, as well as to create a sense of commitment to the team.
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6-9 Action Plan L: Implement Cross-Functional Team Building to Promote Knowledge Sharing training related to accidents and incidents. This training included employees being trained on each other's emergency response skills and responsibilities, thus allowing individuals in these different job functions to learn the emergency roles and responsibilities of all related job functions.
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6-10 Action Plan L: Implement Cross-Functional Team Building to Promote Knowledge Sharing worried that they may no longer be needed if they orient others on the requirements of their job position, they may resist sharing the skills and knowledge needed to successfully perform their job tasks. In these employees' minds, their resistance to cross-functional skill and knowledge sharing may make them feel more in control of their job situation while eliminating potential competition.
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From page 98... ...
6-11 Action Plan M: Implement Knowledge-Sharing Forums and Communities of Practice Summary: A key element of many successful KM programs is a focus on interactions between transit employees and the knowledge transferred as a part of those interactions. To promote and support interpersonal knowledge transfer, a transit agency must have a structure in place to facilitate communication and knowledge sharing.
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6-12 Action Plan M: Implement Knowledge-Sharing Forums and Communities of Practice 1. The community comes together based on common interests, but each member brings distinct expertise; CoPs are most effective when they span units or functions.
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6-13 Action Plan M: Implement Knowledge-Sharing Forums and Communities of Practice and facilitated by a transit staff member not directly involved in either function. This individual would be responsible for establishing a platform to capture the results of meetings and discussions and making the information accessible to affected employees who were not able to directly participate in the activities.
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6-14 Action Plan M: Implement Knowledge-Sharing Forums and Communities of Practice Action Lead(s) Transit agency leadership, HR associates or managers, supervisors, or frontline employees across all job functions Employees at all levels can lead this initiative, but HR associates or transit agency leadership may be needed to encourage buy-in Targeted Audience(s)
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6-15 Action Plan M: Implement Knowledge-Sharing Forums and Communities of Practice Useful Internal and External Resources Resources for Strategy Implementation Dedicated transit agency staff members responsible for implementing, sustaining, and evaluating the forums and CoPs. Resources for Sustaining Strategy Dedicated transit agency staff members responsible for subjects to be addressed in forums and CoPs.
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6-16 Impact and Cautionary Considerations Positive Outcomes of the Strategy Breaking Down of Silos: Knowledge-sharing forums and CoPs help to break down silos and create opportunities for discussion and information sharing within a transit agency. Working together in collaboration with one another, transit employees are able to generate new knowledge or skills based on specific problems, issues, or challenges.
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6-17 Action Plan M: Implement Knowledge-Sharing Forums and Communities of Practice Difficulty Quantifying ROI of Knowledge-Sharing Forums and CoPs: While the forums or CoPs may provide participants with new knowledge and a place to have their questions addressed, the effectiveness or ROI of the activities can be difficult to quantify because other factors occurring simultaneously in the transit work environment may contribute to knowledge and skills gained. These concurrent factors might include skill training; results of safety meetings; staff meetings within individual functions; new directives emanating from federal, state, or local oversight entities; or simply a change in and improvement of functional leadership.
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6-18 Action Plan N: Coordinate Mentoring Opportunities to Support KM Summary: Knowledge transfer is a key goal of mentoring programs. Mentoring allows experienced and/or knowledgeable transit employees to provide guidance and information to less experienced or knowledgeable employees through regularly scheduled formal or informal meetings and on-the-job observation periods.
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From page 106... ...
6-19 Action Plan N: Coordinate Mentoring Opportunities to Support KM mentoring program on overall transit agency operations or vehicle maintenance performance can be significant in terms of reducing employee frustration, increasing employee knowledge and skills, and boosting quality of service and transit agency safety. Rationale for Implementing Strategy: Transit agencies could benefit from establishing mentoring programs because mentorship increases employee engagement across multiple levels of employees within the transit agency.
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From page 107... ...
6-20 Action Plan N: Coordinate Mentoring Opportunities to Support KM Implementation Plan Action Lead(s) HR, Employee Development, or Training Manager, or another designated mentoring program coordinator Mentoring program steering committee/working group consisting of transit agency managers, supervisors, senior or experienced frontline employees, and junior frontline employees Targeted Audience(s)
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6-21 Action Plan N: Coordinate Mentoring Opportunities to Support KM committee may be difficult. In that case, the role of the committee could be played by the CEO and an individual designated to manage the mentoring program.
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6-22 Action Plan N: Coordinate Mentoring Opportunities to Support KM 5. Develop a Recruitment Strategy: Identifying participants for mentoring programs can be difficult, so it is important to have a plan for effective recruitment.
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6-23 Action Plan N: Coordinate Mentoring Opportunities to Support KM Additionally, transit agencies can use a pilot to understand what aspects of the program should be tweaked to align with their organization's mission.
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6-24 Examples of Effective Programs A midsize bus transit agency developed a six-month mentoring program. Participants were given an effective leadership self-study guide.
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6-25 Action Plan N: Coordinate Mentoring Opportunities to Support KM Impact and Cautionary Considerations Positive Outcomes of the Strategy Supports Career Goal Achievement: Mentoring can help newly hired or junior transit employees set and reach career development goals, which is likely to positively affect retention. Additionally, experienced employees are exposed to new perspectives; so there can be a two-way knowledge transfer.
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From page 113... ...
6-26 Communication Plan Process for Obtaining Buy-In Valuable Communication Resources Action Plan N: Coordinate Mentoring Opportunities to Support KM Engage senior leaders in articulating the positive value of the mentoring program to transit agency employees. To gain buy-in from senior transit leadership, provide details on the benefits that the mentoring program will bring to individual employees and the transit agency as a whole.
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