BSBIMN501A QUEENSLAND INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS ACADEMY

1.4 Promote and support use of the system throughout the organisation

 Implementing a new information or knowledge management system is a costly exercise in terms of both financial and human resources.  It also takes up a lot of valuable time-it requires detailed analysis and planning, it takes workers away from their usual duties, and even if everything runs without glitches, it is always disruptive to workflow.

 Learning about a new system adds to daily stress, with having to take in what can seem like endless new information.  As the person in charge of promoting and supporting its use, it's up to you to encourage others to do the same so that they don't resent the disruption and added stress that its implementation will undoubtedly bring

 Just as an organisation must put time, effort and resources into promoting its services, goods and image to the outside world, it must also promote these same features internally.  There is more to internal promotion than just advocating an organisation's outputs-an organisation must also promote and harness workers' support for its decisions, ethics, procedures and processes.

 Promotion is essentially about disseminating information about something-in this case an information or knowledge management system.  When we promote the use of the system, we want to create a sense of excitement about the possibilities it will bring to the success of the organisation and to the improvement in processes and workflow, once it is all up and running.

 We also want to inspire interest in learning about it and highlight the consequent expansion in knowledge that it will bring to workers.  Disseminating the right information, in the right way, to the right people, is what we want to aim for when promoting the use of the new system.

 We must always begin the promotional process by looking at our target audience.  Our target audience will comprise different kinds of workers-managers, supervisors, team leaders, coordinators, data processors, sales personnel, information technology personnel, human resources personnel, finance personnel and team members

 Although there are many types of people working in an organisation, they may not necessarily need to be broken up in as many groups.

 When you are grouping your audience(s), consider the following:  their level of knowledge - how much do they already know about information or knowledge management systems - firstly, in general, and secondly, specifically regarding the one being implemented?

 their expectations - do they expect to hear about the system's capabilities, are they interested in your opinions about its impact on the organisation?  their existing views on the subject - have they had any previous experience with different systems?

 their level of acceptance - is there likely to be resistance or opposition to your message or do you expect it to be readily accepted?  their native language - is English their native language? If not, you may have to simplify your wording to help your audience to understand

 their demographics - gender, age, education level, and occupation, may all affect your reception.

 There are many options available to choose from when it comes to deciding how to communicate your message.  You may choose different strategies for different audience groups, or use more than one strategy for each group.

 Briefing/information sessions, workshops, and presentations are all useful forums in which to promote a new information or knowledge management system.  The information presented should focus on the benefits the system will bring to the workers, and the detriments of not changing.

 To encourage workers to support the change, these sessions should provide answers to the following questions:  Why do we need to change?  What is wrong with the way we do it now?  Why does it have to happen now?  What would happen if we didn't change?

 Group sessions can also be used to:.  build a collective understanding of change issues  encourage team involvement and motivation  break down barriers between workers  support priorities and objectives.

 You may also decide that you need to foster the support of particular individuals through the unsettling changeover process by acting as a mentor or coach.  When undergoing the new system changeover, mentors or coaches can keep workers from becoming dissatisfied or fearful about issues surrounding the new system.

 Coaches and mentors can assist by:  listening to grievances about the system  acknowledging progress and achievements  encouraging persistence and determination  inspiring the attainment of objectives  reinforcing the value of the change.

 An intranet is a computer network that can only be accessed by people within the organisation.  It is often designed so that only certain areas can be accessed by particular workers.  Any amount and type of information can be kept on an intranet site.

 The characteristics and versatility of an intranet system can be put to good use to promote a new information or knowledge management system and harness support for it.  Provisions could be made for discussions via an intra net blog, giving workers the opportunity to speak candidly about their thoughts on the new system.

 Notices on notice boards promoting the new system can be an effective way of communicating your message.  They should not be relied on alone to do the job. Rather, they can be used to reinforce the message

 One way to make the most of your noticeboard and create excitement, anticipation and support for the new system is to have a countdown of days before the organisation goes live with it.  The noticeboard can also have information about training, so co-workers can see where their colleagues are going to be on certain days

 Internal memos and announcements are another way of reaching large groups of workers in an organisation.  Generally, the tone for this type of correspondence is informal as in a face-to-face conversation  These types of correspondence should be kept short, with a meaningful subject line so that the content of the memo or is clear and it encourages the recipient to read it and the first paragraph summarising the rest of the information.