Peer to Peer Magazine

32 PEER TO PEER: THE QUARTERLY MAGAZINE OF ILTA | FALL 2016 CASE STUDIES Repurposing for a Purpose Sometimes we can enjoy success in knowledge management by revisiting successful past accomplishments. RBC general counsel group focuses on three main and sometimes overlapping channels for our knowledge management: » Building Knowledge » Connecting People » Searching and Streamlining Each channel has provided us opportunities to add a dash of new technology to familiar and proven successes, revitalizing everything from significant legal content to the most basic of office procedures. Building Knowledge Ten years ago, our legal team supporting the Canadian banking business developed about 250 legal answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) emanating from our bank branch system across Canada. We posted the FAQs on the RBC intranet, which was accessible to the entire organization and presented in both English and French. The FAQs were an immediate hit and developed loyal followers who saved links to key answers in their email Favorites. FAQ links were also added to the intranet sites of key banking contacts throughout the organization, and the legal team added the links to their email signatures to help promote the resources. The FAQ content gradually expanded to include other substantive content such as intellectual property and, more recently, a new focus on other geographic regions. Why mess with a good thing? Because it is 2016. We have newer technology and can promote knowledge in new ways: we can create a beer search function, reach a new audience, inspire the exchange of new knowledge and deliver a beer service to customers of RBC. The new technology came in an enterprise social technology platform powered by Jive technology and branded internally as "RBC Connect." By adapting the FAQs to this new technology, two of our law librarians were able to breathe new life into the content and user experience. We kept the familiar scrollable list, and we introduced categories for browsing and a search tool bar able to find key words using the powerful native search engine. The main audience for our banking FAQs is largely unchanged but is now more easily tapped. We used RBC Connect to deliver blog posts announcing the faceli and discovered we were reaching new employees previously unaware of the FAQs. We also found employees were helping us spread the word by using the technology's sharing features to distribute our legal materials to bank branches well beyond our normal reach. In "Working Knowledge," an influential book in the field of knowledge management, authors Davenport and Prusak urge firms to "use existing management approaches and tactics as levers to...jump-start knowledge management." by Robert Bell Repurposing for a Purpose ROBERT BELL Robert Bell is Assistant General Counsel & Legal Knowledge Officer of RBC General Counsel Group. Contact him at robert.w.bell@rbc.com.

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