Knowledge Management Strategy for Eureka Forbes

The ability of an organization to learn, accumulate knowledge from its experiences, and reapply that
knowledge is a skill or competence that—beyond the core competencies directly related to delivering its
product or service*. Experts call this skill as the Knowledge Management and having a sound KM
Strategy in place that correlates with the business strategy can certainly provide a competitive
advantage.

Eureka Forbes, like most of the other organizations, thrives on harnessing the knowledge, experience,
and learnings of their workforce and doing better business. Making sure that this information is well
documented, shared and made accessible in various ways would indicate a successful Knowledge
Management Strategy. Here are a few suggestions for the same:

Documented Videos: With each employee having a unique style of sales and understanding of the
regions which they visit, most the knowledge gained is experiential and Tacit. Although Capturing this
data completely is impossible, but there still can be ways to document this information for everyone to
derive benefit out of it. One of the ways could be shoot videos where certain situations are enacted out
by the employees and can be categorized based on the client Reponses received.

Events and talks: Eureka Forbes employees work best and can pull through results because they have
close ties with their superiors. Talking about their experiences is the best way to interact and capture
the emotion and thought behind behaving in certain way. It also leads to more open discussions and
employees feeling a sense of connect. Interaction amongst employees from various product divisions
will enhance exposure and create a sense of belonging to larger family. The organization can also
arrange Masterclasses with the industry experts both from within and outside to impart knowledge
sharing sessions. Such platforms can also be utilized to showcase new and enhanced products. The
platforms can also be used to acknowledge achievers/ star performers and appreciate their
contributions.

Competitions: Various annual events and competitions can become coveted events where employees
compete and are engaged in presenting ideas and displaying knowledge in their respective areas. This
helps keep the morale high and the employees engaged productively.

Content like Standard operating Procedures can be documented and distributed as check list and guides
to non-sales people for e.g. technicians. It should be easily available and handy. In current scenario, this
can also be done in the form of short videos/infographics on a mobile app. Small audio clips reciting
valuable product features and most asked client questions can be recorded which can be easily played.

Employee Connect Platform: Since sales team is heavily lead with employees on foot most of their work,
it is crucial to give them a platform to voice their concerns uninhibited and address as quickly as
possible. There can be online portals to put in employee grievances and monthly/quarterly meet up to
address and significant issues.

Continuous Interaction and Feedback from the immediate supervisors proves immensely helpful in
progress of employees. Such a system for feedback should be put in place on a fortnightly or monthly
basis, especially for the sales people.

Customer Feedback: The Customer feedback or complaints can prove to be immense source of
knowledge to understand what is going well and what can be improved. The calls/emails can be
recorded for Quality audits and analyzed for types of complaints/feedback being given. Based on the
data, the processes and the product can be improved, and the employees can be trained for better
communication with the customers.

Intranet Portal: An intranet Portal is a given in current scenario which can be a one stop shop for
distributing relevant information amongst employees. There are various aspects to be taken care of
while designing the portal:

Various sections of portal need to be chalked out -

a. Employee profile and details – based on the details, the access can be controlled to
various sections.
b. Product Divisions/Types – comprising of the standard information regarding various
products
c. Regions/ Sectors/ markets – Comprising the information relate to each sector/ market
segment
d. Classified Information – Related to upcoming developments, new launches – accessible
to only a certain set of people
e. Documents/Videos/Images related to Sales tutorials and knowledge enhancement
f. Search Section. If various documents are tagged, with right metadata
attached/generated, the information can be classified and easily searched
g. Query – A quick Response section can be created, and employees/Subject matter
experts should be encouraged to answer queries to employees as soon as possible
h. Frequently asked questions - Some of the questions can be documented as is from
Clients or employees
i. Employee recognition – Pictures of Weekly / monthly achievers can be highlighted the
portals to encourage employees. Various appreciation tokens which can be monetized
over time as vouchers can be done. Achievement of target based sales milestones can
be rewarded with travel vouchers for employees and their families.
j. Policies and processes: All documents related to policies, procedures, compensations,
leaves etc. can be made available. In order to make these documents easy to read and
understand, try avoiding jargons.

Please note that most of the Content Management Tools available today offer high degree of access and
role control over the content. Making each piece of Content tagged helps classify it properly, readily
retrievable and thoroughly controlled in terms of accessibility.

Employee Self Development: Every employee aspires to learn and grow in their respective career paths.
Awareness and self-learning is an essential path of career progression. The portal should contain
knowledge and be accessible to anyone who aspires to learn something new – whether applicable
immediately or in future. An organization’s support in providing such a culture creates foundation for
long term employee engagement and a loyal workforce.

Notes:

*Developing a Knowledge Strategy by Michael H. Zack