Induction


The induction process is often the first opportunity for individuals to get a formal introduction into the organisational culture. Thus it is important that the induction process is designed to give new employees a sense of what managing knowledge means in the context of your specific organisation, including the behaviours that are most valued. Some good stories at this point will help reinforce this message. This will help new recruits develop a common understanding of how knowledge management practices are incorporated into day-to-day practice within the organisation. Without this individuals may work on assumptions drawn from their experience in other organisations.

As networking is so important for knowledge acquisition and sharing, the induction period should be used to enable new recruits to get as much exposure to as many different people as possible, e.g. key personnel, their own team, other functional areas and departments, suppliers, strategic partners. In this way they can start to build their network base, getting a sense of who is who, who knows who and also who knows what. Given the increasing shift towards more flexible ways of working, particularly mobile working, providing new employees with the opportunity to start to build these working relationships is crucial. People are more inclined to share what they know with people whom they have met in person and have had a chance to identify areas of mutual interest. Once this mutual area of interest has been established individuals are more likely to work as part of a virtual community, at some future point.

Some organisations believe that the induction process should also include exposure to customers, particularly for those individuals whose work would not normally involve having direct contact with customers. Novo Nordisk, a major healthcare and pharmaceutical company with one of the broadest diabetes product portfolios in the industry, ensures that every new employee gets the opportunity to meet at least one customer faceto-face, as a way of helping them build an understanding of what the organisation is really about.

The induction process is also crucial from the point of gaining further insights into the knowledge base of new employees – what their interest are (both in and out of work) what they know, as well as who they know – and also to start the discussion process about development needs.

As a way of reinforcing the importance of keeping one’s CV upto-date, new employees should be encouraged to input further details about themselves onto the central skills database and/or Yellow Pages, in their first week of joining. In this way they can quickly become a known entity to those whom they have not yet been able to meet in person.




Managing the Knowledge - HR's Strategic Role
Managing for Knowledge: HRs Strategic Role
ISBN: 0750655666
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 175

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