Knowledge auditing from a risk perspective

Many clients ask us to help undertake knowledge audits (with a focus on critical analysis of the organisation's knowledge portfolio) or knowledge management audits, with a focus on analysing knowledge management processes). In any case, I have learned that a risk-based approach helps to better appreciate an organisation's dependencies on its knowledge assets (either human or artefacts). Asking questions such as: 'what will happen to us if we leave things as is in this particular knowledge area?', 'what are the costs if our experts in this knowledge area leave our organisation?'

You might think that such a risk-based approach results in overly 'protective' knowledge management strategies and implementations, focusing on more capture and securing of knowledge assets.

However, processes of knowledge generation and renewal to create new business opportunities could be seen as equally important from a risk perspective: not paying attention to opportunities is a risk as well!

Therefore, auditing activities should preferably analyse risks and opportunities relating to current levels of knowledge quality, knowledge capture and knowledge sharing in key knowledge areas.

Risks may vary as much as opportunities may differ: on the negative side you may find that your main experts become overburdened, that the speed of acquiring new competences is too slow, that lessons learned are not captured so that costly mistakes are repeated. On the positive side, you may discover that you hold some important IP that could be exploited in a new context and you may conclude that if you would link up some teams in your organisation, time-to-delivery could improve substantially.

Once you get a handle on risks and opportunities such as these, your knowledge management action plan has found its foundation and you can start to set goals for each of your key knowledge areas.