Page 27 - Service Delivery Review_Volume 14_Number 3_2022

KM CoP Case Studies

■ There is a need to always prove the value of KM in from the introductory remarks by Maharaj was the critical
your organization. role that change agents play in sustainably implementing
a change management strategy. In addition to a passion
Change management and KM for KM as the subject of change management, organisa-
tional change agents have to be prepared and supported
Colleagues from the Department of Transport and Pub- in their proposed tasks through concerted training and
lic Works of the Western Cape Province government, Rico coaching, said Maharaj. His colleague, Plaatjies, handled
Plaatjies and Ramesh Maharaj, made a presentation on the “how-to” aspect of the presentation and provided ex-
“How change management strategy can be used to drive amples of how the Department of Transport and Public
organisational culture for effective KM”. A takeaway point Work employs change management and KM.

Breakaway session insights

Using the Miro Board online collaborating tool after a live
demonstration by Dr Ronel Davel, a member of the KM
Technical Team from the South African Revenue Service
(SARS), the CoP session was split into three groups for fur-
ther distilling the relationship between leadership, govern-
ance and effective KM. Each of the breakaway sessions
had to respond to a set of questions that revolved around
how the Public Service could foster a culture of knowledge
sharing under the ‘new normal’ conditions that the Cov-
id-19 pandemic continues to impose.

One breakaway report, for example, noted that while work-
ing under Covid-19 realities had impelled greater use of
technology, Microsoft Teams in particular, there seems to
have been some discomfort with the fact that most of the
online discussion gets recorded, which in turn might un-
wittingly affect open and honest engagements. The more
social and behavioural suggestions that came from yet
another breakaway report was the need to incentivise the
adoption and practice of KM sharing efforts through sim-
ple but effective acts like recognition emails, prizes and
even job rotation or other exposure opportunities.

Taking the Public Service CoP forward

The first CoP session of November 2021 was restricted to
those participating departments that had submitted their
KM Maturity Assessments. This placed them well to act as
the foundation for the establishment of the Public Service
CoP. The participants were also informed that incubation
of the Public Service CoP will be coordinated and sup-
ported by the DPSA until they can run their affairs inde-
pendently. Finally, it was further proposed that three CoP
sessions be hosted during the 2022/3 financial year. ■

Volume 14 No.3 of 2022 | SERVICE DELIVERY REVIEW 27