^The APQC Blog

We’ve made it through 2021, and 2022 is already 8 percent complete. Crazy? That is, I think we may all be a bit crazy after the insane year we just finished.

Knowledge management teams can be captivated by the beauty of their own methodologies, but KM is pointless unless it provides concrete value to the business. What “value to the business” means varies widely, however.

Due to some conflicts and a general desire to keep things simple, my husband and I decided to spend New Year’s Eve at home this year. As could be expected, we started the evening by taking stock of 2021 and what we wanted to prioritize or do differently in the new year.

While designing and implementing KM solutions can be tricky, the hardest part is getting people to actually use them. People are busy, and most are not thrilled by change. And unlike transitioning to a new ERP system, for example, KM adoption is often voluntary.

I want a car that parks itself, drives itself, and has laser guided cruise control. I want a 4K TV, with a curved screen, and…and…and…

Everyone wants the new sexy whatever, but the question is…do they really need that? 

Coming out of 2020, organizations continued to face a wide array of challenges—ongoing supply chain disruptions, the Great Resignation, conscious consumption, and flailing legacy systems.

New and emerging technologies are changing the way supply chains operate. The impact of technology is compounded by all the recent disruptions affecting supply chains, like the pandemic, supply shortages, and security threats.

What does it mean to be important in 2021?  According to Merriam Webster, it is “having serious meaning or worth.”  For all the human resources professionals out there, being important has never meant more or come with bigger expectations.

Many organizations believe that AI drives value through its impact on the number of employees needed for the supply chain. Of the organizations surveyed by APQC, 46 percent consider a reduction in headcount to be a top driver for deploying AI.

Process work is ultimately people work. Whether it’s redesigning a process, adopting a new system, or even automating or outsourcing a process—process work changes what they do and how people interact with their processes. Not only is change difficult, it’s often emotional.