Strategy Services

Iknow conducted a current-state assessment that involved the entire 200-person marketing organization and developed an overall strategy for improving data and knowledge management.

The current-state assessment was conducted using a framework involving five core dimensions: strategy, content, processes, people and organization, and technology. Detailed interview guides were developed for two groups of internal stakeholders: customers of the marketing organization, and the marketing staff involved with the acquisition, analysis, and dissemination of marketing information. Twenty-seven interviews with key stakeholders were conducted and their input was used to develop a current state snapshot. Flowcharts of the current business processes were also prepared.

A comparison of current state with leading practices drawn from strategic marketing functions at other companies revealed significant improvement opportunities along all five dimensions. Iknow synthesized the interview findings, developed an overall strategy, and defined 12 projects as part of an overall roadmap that would improve the capabilities of the marketing organization.

Iknow identified and documented the current training activities across the Division and developed a set of recommendations to guide the transformation from classroom-based training to eLearning.

The consulting assignment consisted of three parts: (1) understand and document the current state, (2) review best practices reported in recently published articles and case studies, and (3) develop recommendations for establishing an eLearning environment.

The current-state assessment involved interviews with the division’s training staff and covered a broad set of training topics, including the breadth and scope of the training programs, sources for course content, and methods of delivery. Improvement ideas were also captured during the interviews.

Recommendations were developed based on a gap analysis between the Division’s current state and the leading practices identified from the secondary research. Recommendations included developing a two-year eLearning vision with aggressive goals and timetable; developing processes for selecting and migrating current classroom-based training to web-based training; developing a rigorous vendor identification, evaluation, and selection process; aligning the eLearning initiative with the corporate learning management system; designing knowledge repositories and portals that would contain content not available through online courses; developing competency models for both technical and nontechnical ladders; and designing and implementing organizational enablers that would reinforce and support continuous learning.

Iknow conducted a growth strategy assignment for the company. The project involved identifying and evaluating the most promising growth opportunities. Internally, Iknow conducted a series of interviews and workshops with the company’s executive team to understand their business needs, collect their ideas on new offerings, understand their acceptable range of potential options, and gauge their risk profiles. The internal assessment also identified the company’s core skills and competencies to help support the identification of related diversification options. In parallel, Iknow developed evaluation criteria for comparing and prioritizing the options. Externally, Iknow studied industry trends, interviewed a variety of thought leaders, and researched the company’s competitors to identify new opportunities.

Thirty-one potential new offerings were identified during the assignment. The opportunities included delivering synthesized industry content in both text and video formats, creating and selling a knowledge management portal and software tool suite within the industry, developing on-line education centers that could be integrated into their customers’ websites, providing data mining and market research services, and developing a platform for distance learning courses.

During a series of workshops with the executive team, the options were prioritized and the top three opportunities were selected for implementation. Iknow further refined the options and prepared detailed cost estimates to support the business cases.

As the first step in creating the knowledge-stewardship strategy and implementation plan, the Iknow project team conducted a current-state assessment to understand the consulting firm’s current capabilities, future plans, and cultural environment for managing intellectual capital. The team interviewed several dozen client staff across all organizational levels and thoroughly examined the knowledge-management processes and software applications that had been deployed across the firm.

Next, the team created an overall program roadmap and identified potential projects for an initial implementation phase. The project team conducted a day-long workshop with the committee to refine, prioritize, and select projects for this initial phase. The first wave of projects chosen by the committee included Intellectual Capital Strategy Alignment, Knowledge Audit, Governance Design, Enterprise Content Architecture Design, and Engagement Team Portal. Detailed project descriptions and activity plans were prepared for each project.