Digital White Papers

I L T A W H I T E P A P E R | K N O W L E D G E M A N A G E M E N T & M A R K E T I N G T E C H N O L O G Y 26 over how they share it and accountability for how they apply it to their work. Teams create knowledge, teams share knowledge and teams use knowledge, and knowledge itself is related to activity and experience. So, the way we carry out tasks, the way we act with others and the way we portray ourselves as an employee of the firm are all key to knowledge creation, knowledge sharing and Knowledge Management. Yet, all these activities are often managed by the Human Resources department, not the knowledge function. If knowledge is human, then the Human Resources department is essential to KM success. HR departments create teams and pave the way for the future of every employee within the business. The role of HR within law firms can be pivotal in the adoption of KM strategies and the success of knowledge sharing. But, boundaries that prohibit collaboration have to be taken down for HR and KM to work in partnership. As HR critic Armstrong outlined in his 'Handbook of Human Resource Management and Practice', "HR can make an important contribution to Knowledge Management simply because knowledge is shared between people." Whilst KM teams worldwide have worked to connect individuals and build conversations, many firms have yet to connect – and integrate - HR with KM. But, when we truly utilise the unseen knowledge workers within an organisation, the benefits are powerful. When HR works in partnership with knowledge teams, HR workers can set an expectation for knowledge sharing that is communicated even before an employee joins the firm. With knowledge sharing included as part of the job description, KM is instantly understood as what it is – essential to the business. With knowledge sharing encouraged through incentives, and supported through rewards, it becomes a fundamental part of personal development and career growth. With experts in human connection supporting your strategy, you can create better relationships within your business and with external parties. HR departments can create the right culture for knowledge to thrive, and trust to form. HR departments can curate communities and motivate them to work together. But, in order to do this, we have to break down our own boundaries, and see HR as a partner for our cause and a pool of colleagues who, like us, are Knowledge Managers. And, more than this, they can help us to create Knowledge Managers firmwide. KM U N CO N F I N E D Our backgrounds, our specialisms and our outlooks change the way we perceive information, and the knowledge we generate from it. With this, every department creates its own unique knowledge in line with its focuses, its operations and its personnel. "HR departments can create the right culture for knowledge to thrive, and trust to form."

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