Recently by Cindy Hubert

Last summer, Carla wrote a blog post in which she expressed amazement that she is still repeatedly asked, "Can you measure the impact of knowledge management? And, if so, how?" APQC's response (as well as Carla's) is always the same: "Of course you can!" In that post, Carla went on to cite some of the tactics that APQC has found most successful in measuring KM impact.

Now, I admit that measuring things is not a glamorous or rewarding process.  There is no shortcut for defining, developing, collecting, analyzing, monitoring, and reporting measures that track performance. (Process flow that!)  Furthermore, just following the steps will not always yield the results you want or expect. 

Despite this, I constantly tell APQC's KM measurement customers to just trust the process--because I know it works.  After all, a process is like a recipe, in that it gives you the basic steps. Anyone can follow a recipe, but expert chefs know how to select the best ingredients and equipment, fine-tune the instructions, and trouble-shoot when things don't go as planned. The same goes for measurement: The process provides the framework, but high-quality inputs, effective tools, and process knowledge are needed to ensure you get the best result every time.

Let me share three pieces of advice that, when combined, go a long way to ensuring the success of a KM measurement effort.

1. Use tools that provide a framework for thinking and promote dialog.
2. When designing measures, engage people who are involved in the workflow itself.
3. Prepare for the long haul, and take steps to align measures with change management initiatives.

Returning from the funeral of a beloved--and elderly--great aunt has caused me to pause and reflect on how time flies. I started out my life as part of the fifth "living generation" of my family. All of a sudden, I'm second in line in a group of living generations. As I've gone through each passing of a generation, I've taken time to reflect on what I know about my family history. However, a lot of my realizations have related to what I don't know.

Looking back, my biggest regret is that I didn't ask the questions I should have--and now it's too late. I've come to realize that I didn't ask those questions primarily because of timing. (I'm reminded of the Leonard Martin quote, "Timing in life is everything.") Either I didn't know how to ask them, or what I want to know now wasn't as important to me earlier in my life when I could have asked, or I thought someone else in my family would know.

Measuring return on investment for KM has always been a challenge. Recently, I received an e-mail from one of our members--Kevin Gannon of U.S. Navy Carrier Team One--asking about this topic.

One of our process masters ... found [an] article on KM ROI--very interesting.  There are a couple of "estimates" such as "average cost of turnover is 1.5 times the annual salary of the job," "it takes 13.5 months for a new employees to maximize their efficiency," "ROI for a brain-drain orientation project is 10:1," etc.  My question is: As we start trying to nail down ROI calculations, do you think it is fair to quote numbers like this?  That question might be too subjective--a better one might be: Do these numbers seem to match your experience in this area?

What I told him was this: Over the years, APQC has had the opportunity to do deep research as well as hands-on work with organizations that have succeeded in measuring the impact of their KM efforts.  These efforts were measured via targeted projects where knowledge flow and KM approaches (e.g., communities of practice, best practice replication) were embedded into the business workflow.  The results have ranged from a 50 percent return on investment within the first nine months up to a 5:1 return on continuous efforts. 

APQC is always looking for more effective ways to calculate ROI. If your organization has experienced an ROI from KM, we'd love to hear about the focus of your efforts and how you performed your calculations.