4 types of KM training your organisation will need

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Introducing a knowledge management framework means introducing a set of roles and accountabilities, new processes, new technologies, and new governance frameworks.

You can’t just introduce the framework and expect people to “pick it up as they go along”; you need to give them some support, you need to give them some awareness, and in certain cases you need to give them some skills.

Here are the four basic Knowledge Management training courses that most organizations will need (we exclude all specific training for the knowledge management implementation team - that is a separate matter).

Firstly, you need basic awareness training for all relevant staff.  This will cover

• Knowledge management, what is it and how it will help you
• The new expectations under the knowledge management framework
• The new processes, and how they work
• The new technologies, where to find them and how to use them
• What knowledge is available, and how to find it
•  The new roles which will be in place
• The new governance system that will be in place
• Where to find reference material and more detail

Secondly, you need a quick awareness overview for the management level. This will cover

• Knowledge management, what it is and how it will help you and the business
• The new expectations, what they are, and management’s role in communicating these
• The KM framework, and how to put it in place within your own department
• How you should manage performance against the framework expectations.

Thirdly, you need knowledge capture and documentation skills training for all those people who will play this role.  This includes the facilitators of after action reviews and retrospect, and the practice owners who may need to create Wikis and other documentation.  This skills training will cover

• Knowledge management practices as part of the main framework
• The skills of questioning, interviewing, and analysis
• The skills of group facilitation
• The skills of codifying and recording knowledge in various forms (text, multimedia, video)
• The supporting technologies that will be used, and how to use them.

Finally, you need skills training for the community of practice leaders and facilitators. This skills training will cover

• The theory and practice of CoPs
• Community leadership
• Building, growing and sustaining a community of practice
• Facilitating discussion, both face to face, by telephone conference and by online discussion
• Delivering value through communities of practice
• The supporting technologies, and how best to use them.