Knowledge Management at ISACGlobal

Knowledge Management at ISACGlobal is an effort to generate wealth from its intellectual or knowledge based assets. At ISACGlobal we encourage the employees to consider themselves to be knowledge assets. Knowledge Asset refers to anything that is valued without physical dimensions, that is embedded in people or derived from processes, systems and the culture associated within the organization.

As an organization the key drivers of knowledge management initiatives are

• to get the knowledge based assets i.e. the people to acquire knowledge,

• use the knowledge,

• learn and improve (innovate) and finally

• contribute & disseminate knowledge.

If this processes is accomplished with all stakeholders (internal and external) involved with any company, we can create wealth through knowledge.

How does this work at ISACGlobal?

1. Assess the current level of the organization in terms of knowledge management. The management has used a knowledge management self assessment tool which focuses on knowledge management initiatives both internal & external to the organization.

2. Envision and Strategize – A Knowledge Management Strategy is in place in the organization that attempts to make the Knowledge Assets acquire, use, learn, innovate, share, contribute and disseminate knowledge through formal and informal forums.

3. Measure and Incentivize Knowledge Assets – We are currently looking at incentives and rewards as motivating factors for enhancing a knowledge-sharing culture, communicating these measures and implementing these mechanisms. We slowly want to create a paradigmn shift in the minds of the Knowledge Assets so that knowledge sharing becomes a habit.

4. We are trying to achieve this at the individual level, project level & business levels. Creation of subject matter experts in line with the personal development plan at an individual level makes an individual focus on improving self knowledge. At a project level, strategies such as case studies, lessons learnt sessions with internal teams and with external stakeholders & clients are few examples that are being implemented.

5. Taxonomy of Knowledge Sharing & Creation of Knowledge Managers – At the company level, we are trying to create a system of categorization of knowledge so that the same could be easily managed. We are aspiring for the Knowledge Assests in our organization to become Knowledge Managers who learn different methods of knowledge creation and transfer, including skills building, training, modeling and methodology development, analyzing and repackaging information, and learning by doing.

6. We would like to come up with a Web Based Knowledge Management System – an intranet tool that would operate and sustain the process.

7. Finally we would like to measure how wealth is created in the organization through the knowledge management initiatives and re-strategize and re-innovate wherever required.

8. Support functions at ISACGlobal – Support functions like HR & finance are also tuned to this approach. One of the key parameters that is considered in recruiting new people at ISACGlobal, is their learnability & knowledge sharing attitude.

Knowledge Centric Organization

Creation and sustenance of knowledge centric organization is now becoming a proven way of differentiating organizational culture and the organization itself from its competitors. We, at ISACGlobal are traversing this path and would continue on this path and are confident that this would be yield success. When two organizations are transacting, what we have to realize is, it is ultimately the people who are transacting and it is the knowledge that exists in individuals that gets transacted; if this knowledge is constantly enhanced through an internal process within individuals and organizations and not allowed to rust under the dust, these individuals would be more powerful to innovate and create value to clients and stakeholders.

Venkatasubramanian P
Co-Founder, CKO and VP-Functional Specialists
ISACGlobal