Importance of set up<\/h2>\n
The set up is important. In an environment where conformity and learning by rote the norm everything must be done to ma For an interview such as this to really succeed the interviewee needs reflection time. Always send a briefing note, a technique I learned many years ago with Sparknow LLP while conducting an Oral History assignment with Islamic Development Bank.<\/p>\n The purpose of this note is to give an interviewee time to reflect on their career (highs and lows) ahead of their departure, feeling they have said what they want to, been heard and passed on enough that someone following can build on their legacy. Here’s the note:<\/p>\n We would like you in advance to be thinking about your time at … from the day you joined to the day of your departure and specifically:<\/p>\n On the day of the interview you will be asked to reflect on your career from the day you arrived to now. With your permission we will record the interview so that we capture the real highlights and will make any transcript available to you thereafter for your own personal use.<\/p>\n Why should you participate? Often when people leave an organization having made a significant impact there are gaps in the knowledge of those who are left behind, what we describe as \u2018organizational memory\u2019 is not as strong as it could be. It is important to recognize your contribution and to try and capture that in a small way.<\/p>\n Thank you for agreeing to participate. Arriving:<\/p>\n Working:<\/p>\n Leaving:<\/p>\n Each had an anecdote to illustrate it and prompt a meaningful discussion.<\/p>\n In an ideal world the sudden departure of employees with key knowledge should not be a cause for concern. Organisations that have adopted a 9 step process throughout an employee’s life cycle and fed learnings back into the processes of the business will take situations like this in their stride.\u00a0 I remember a quote from Barney Smith<\/a> the former Head of KM & Information Services at Natural England who’d overseen the establishment of a knowledge retention (transfer) programme without realising he would be one of the main contributors. This is from an interview with him conducted by Sandra Higgison<\/a> (ex Editor KM Magazine) as part of research into the ‘evolving role of the knowledge manager’ I worked on while at Sparknow:<\/p>\n …I love Natural England in so many ways, and partly because as soon as the general election was announced, the chief executive said, we\u2019re going to have to make a third of our staff redundant.<\/p>\n So I\u2019m part of the redundancies group \u2013 I put my name forward. And the first thing, I get this letter, and it goes to me, copied to my line manager in Natural England. Says you\u2019ve applied for redundancy, you\u2019ve filled out the forms, you\u2019ve made your own calculation, we\u2019ve considered it, we\u2019re happy to proceed on that basis. And the next stage is two-fold: Firstly, we will be approaching the pension provider for a formal evaluation of your redundancy assuming you depart on such and such date. Secondly here\u2019s the knowledge transfer toolkit.<\/p>\n I did a full knowledge transfer pack using this toolkit about a year ago.\u00a0 And had workshops for about 5-6 people, unpacking what it is I know about how to use it. And it actually came out as a package.\u00a0 I\u2019m grateful for doing it. Didn\u2019t quite get it back correctly, because I like mind maps. I\u2019ve used a software package called Mind Manager.<\/a>..and one of my management team sat with me for a whole afternoon trying to get stuff out of my brain.\u00a0 And I had a knowledge management expert come in and then spent two months on the phone, do you have any questions? Do you have any documents? Do you have this all unpacked. And they\u2019re now rolling this out again.<\/p>\n This time, it was absolutely brilliant that publicly and within the organization it was like, we\u2019ve already got the plan and the tools ready, as soon as someone leaves, here\u2019s the knowledge transfer toolkit.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Sudden departures are inevitable in all organisations, those that have processes in place to mitigate such departures will undoubtedly be better off that those who have to react in a hurry.\u00a0 Here’s a few do’s and don’ts:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n If this has been of interest and you’d like to know more I am going to be running a Masterclass on effective Knowledge Capture and Retention<\/a> in a week’s time and with Martin White <\/a>of Intranet Focus hosting a Breakfast Breakout at the RSA on the Future of Legal KIM<\/a> (this topic is a big issue for them) on December 9th.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It’s August in the Middle East where the temperature rarely dips below 30c at night and reaches 50c+ during the day.\u00a0 Contrast that with winter where snow is on mountains that trap carbon emissions severely impacting air quality. I’ve been … Continue reading ![\"Knowledge](\"http:\/\/www.knowledgeetal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Knowledge-Capture-to-dos.jpg\")
<\/a>ke the participants feel at ease and willing to share. So the room had to be quiet yet not too formal and the desks set up in a way that encourages conversation not question and answer. This is what I say to people who attend my masterclasses.<\/p>\nBriefing paper sent to the participants a few days before the interview<\/h2>\n
Going but not forgotten<\/h3>\n
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\n<\/strong><\/p>\nNotes for interviewer (based on a 90 minute window of time)<\/h2>\n
Questions to be posed during the interviews<\/h3>\n
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a few of the nuggets that surfaced<\/h2>\n
\u00a0what would You tell someone…<\/h3>\n
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an example from closer to home<\/h2>\n
a few do’s and don’ts<\/h2>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\nand finally<\/h2>\n