KM Component 6 – Knowledge Management Training

KM Training includes classroom courses, self-paced courses, and recorded webinars that allow users to learn what is expected of them; the people, processes, and tools available to them; and how to use all of these in order to share, innovate, reuse, collaborate, and learn.

For details on developing a KM training plan, see KM Initiatives Require a Training Strategy.

Here are examples of plans for three specific courses.

Example 1: KM Program Overview 

1. Content: introduction – a high-level overview of the KM initiative and its components
2. Delivery Method: webinar (live, and recorded for playback)
3. Schedule: recurring dates – third Tuesday of every month
4. Duration: 90 minutes
5. Audience: users and managers
6. Developer: in-house KM team
7. Instructor: in-house KM team
8. Compliance: mandatory – must be completed by all employees within one year
9. Context: standalone
10. Publicity and enrollment:

• websites: promoted on KM home page and KM training page
• newsletters: listed in the events section of the weekly newsletter sent to all employees
• email messages: reminders sent to managers each month
• training logistics system: used for enrollment and compliance reporting

Example 2: Knowledge Capture Process 

1. Content: in-depth topic – understanding the knowledge capture policy and how to use the knowledge capture process
2. Delivery Method: classroom course
3. Schedule: held once in each region
4. Duration: one day
5. Audience: users
6. Developer: in-house training
7. Instructor: in-house KM team
8. Compliance: mastery – students must pass a test at the end in order to receive credit
9. Context: part of standard new hire training
10. Publicity and enrollment:

• course catalog: listed as part of new hire training
• website: described on the new hire training page
• email messages: sent to new hires
• training logistics system: used for enrollment

Example 3: How to Create a Team Space

1. Content: in-depth topic – how to create a team space to use for collaboration
2. Delivery Method: self-paced course
3. Schedule: available on demand
4. Duration: expected time – 30 minutes
5. Audience: users
6. Developer: in-house training
7. Instructor: in-house training
8. Compliance: voluntary
9. Context: standalone
10. Publicity and enrollment:

• websites: linked to from the KM training page and from the team space creation page
• blogs and podcasts: mention the availability of the course and provide the link to access it
• training logistics system: used to record completion for use in employee development plans

As you complete the training plan, review the list of 50 KM Components and plan courses for all key elements of your KM program. You can combine components into courses wherever possible. Take advantage of commercially available, self-paced courses as much as possible. This is an example of reuse.

Two KM conferences, APQC and KMWorld, are valuable for the development of KM professionals. They offer workshops prior to the conference in addition to the actual conference sessions. For more options, see KM Training.