Concept. Information Overload. Introduction. A Plethora of Acronyms. Immersed in Information

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1 Concept Introduction Information is everywhere and the benefits are obvious a search of the internet can provide an answer for almost any question, although the breadth of prospective answers may require some filtering. Unfortunately, the volume of information being pushed at people is also increasing to the point where it has a significant impact of productivity. How can organisations leverage a flood of information for benefit? How can the stream of information directed at personnel be more targeted? Should the responsibility for information management be handed over to the IT consultant who comes in to implement the document management system? A Plethora of Acronyms Content Management (CM), Document Management (DM), Records Management (RM), Knowledge Management (KM), Digital Asset Management (DAM), Information Management (IM), Learning Management Systems (LM), Learning Content Management Systems (LCM), and many many more acronyms have been spawned and lobbed into the business world. Many have been promulgated by the technology industry seizing on real- world concepts or issues and building systems to address them. Unfortunately this has wound up addressing a complex issue with complexity, and has promoted buying an information technology system as the panacea for information challenges. Technology has enabled information to be spread in higher volume to more places in an organisation than ever before. Immersed in Information s, tweets, memos, blogs, reports, meetings, news feeds, video conferences, teleconferences and others all feed the information pipeline. Available information, whether served to individuals or available to be accessed, seems to be growing exponentially. Confronting aspects of information overload include: the increasing volume of information pushed to individuals ( s, reports, meetings, etc) is challenging users in merely processing it let alone assimilating it for use or actually using it; that the speed of business is increasing leading to more real time interaction with customers and putting pressure on accuracy, compliance and responsiveness; a lack of certainty in many organisations as to the integrity of information and how usable information may be accessed; a lack of knowledge regarding what information exists organisations not knowing what they don t know; Prominence Pty Ltd ABN PO Box 66 Taigum QLD 4018 T (07) enquiries@prominenceconsulting.com.au Commercial- in- Confidence 2013 Prominence Pty Ltd All rights reserved

2 a lack of understanding as to what information should be important to the organisation and more specifically the roles, processes and systems within it; and limited clarity with respect to what information is held within the organisation that can be disseminated outside or otherwise leveraged for benefit (and likewise, what is outside that can be of benefit within the organisation). Devoid of Knowledge Organisations can be flooded with information but starved of knowledge meaning that the information is not being leveraged into value. Many organisations confronted with the masses of information their people, systems and outside stakeholders generate take steps such as: storing everything based on the lowest common media denominator (often paper based) and hope for the best; adopting an electronic medium for information (document) storage converting any paper resources to digital through scanning the objective being efficient storage more than anything else; and introducing information management technology systems of one sort or another capturing documents in searchable retrievable formats with associated data dictionaries, records management thesauruses and other tools developed with visions of rapid flowing information and more efficient processes. Information gathered without structure can consume huge resources without ever yielding value. The three levels listed above involve increasing levels of technology expense and risk if poor decisions are made in the design of information management. Planning and preparation are required before taking the leap to large scalable information technology systems; they can be very expensive and typically require significant process and other organisational change resulting in disruption and resistance to acceptance. A lack of clear vision as to how information will be used can make information management design very difficult including issues such as: designing communication channels to get information to the right places at the right time for use; knowing what organisational benefits can be derived from information in areas such as strategy, planning, management decision making, business processes and performance measurement; and 2 of 7

3 understanding the requirements for information content: quality can the information be trusted; detail how much detail and specificity is required in the information to derive benefits; and structure how the information must be broken down and the consistency needed for the required information to be located and retrieved. The most expensive, information rich system doesn t offer value if, for whatever reason, people won t use it. The best quality information can rapidly degrade if people don t own it and maintain it over time. The Enablers and the Managers When it comes to information, decision makers in organisations often mistake enablers for managers. Just because an IT system has an Information Management System label on the front of the box doesn t make it a manager in the business sense. IT systems are enablers for strategies and plans designed by managers who know the organisation and its requirements. Other enablers must also be in place. For example, communication strategies, plans and channels must exist to enable dissemination of information to where it is needed and to provide required feedback loops for both information and management decision- making. Enablers may be technology, process or people based, and in fact enablers must exist in all of these areas for information to be managed effectively. All personnel must know their role in information management. Their responsibility in: understanding the importance of information to the organisation and how it is used; capturing usable accurate information; acting on inaccurate or unusable information they are exposed to; undertaking routine tasks to maintain information integrity; identifying improvements to systems, tools and information; and understanding the roles and responsibilities of others in the organisation. Organisations must support personnel with the resources, tools and skills to fulfil their roles and responsibilities. Know Thyself Know What is Needed It is critical to have a shared understanding within the organisation of the value of information and its management. One approach that is often taken is to place the priority for information management at an appropriate level in the decision- making hierarchy. This doesn t mean every organisation needs a CIO, CKO or equivalent it means applying the appropriate level of management mindshare. In fact, appointing a CIO can be counter productive if it gives other managers an excuse to flick the entire issue to the IT guy. 3 of 7

4 Often managers examine existing information and try to apply it to the organisation s benefit. An alternative view is to understand the organisation and then use information to leverage better performance. Two key areas to understand the organisation are: business processes the engines that drive an organisation. Knowing what information is required where and when can be determined by understanding processes; and roles and responsibilities a governance mechanism for business processes. Knowing who needs to know what and when and with what priority can be determined if roles and responsibilities are clearly defined. Other tools within most substantial organisations can also be used creatively as information guides if they have been properly defined. For example, the process of developing Professional Development Plans and/or Training Needs Analyses can reveal not only training requirements but requirements for information and knowledge. Similarly succession planning will identify personnel whose information requirements should be increased to support future roles. Interestingly, activities such as process mapping, training needs analyses and succession planning are often undertaken in a cursory or one- dimensional way in response to an immediate or specific need. Unfortunately this leads to outcomes that are of limited use to other purposes such as information management. This highlights the importance for all managers to be information aware and undertaking planning initiatives and reviews with a view to broader information requirements. Communication frameworks can be developed to define communication channels (technology and non- technology based) and enable specification of which categories of information are best suited to each channel or combination of channels. Channels can include those that proactively push information to stakeholders and those that are accessed on demand as required. Understanding the organisation and taking every opportunity to leverage planning and other activities into better understanding the requirements for information content delivery and timing can provide the tools to help manage information overload. In a successful information- enabled organisation, the maintenance and use of information must be driven by the fundamental way the organisation and its culture works. The Strategy Managing information is a lot like managing anything else. Decide what the organisation is trying to achieve (and not just in the information sense), understand what has to be managed, design how it is going to be managed, implement, and then manage and improve it. The strategy planning process should include: developing a clear vision for how the organisation wants to use information; building a shared understanding amongst management of what value information has to the organisation; designing management activities to ensure information has a management mindshare proportionate to its value; determining how to best communicate a shared understanding of the value to be placed on information with the rest of the organisation; 4 of 7

5 determining key aspects (processes, roles, plans, reviews, etc) of the organisation that, if understood, will identify what information will provide the most value and where it needs to go when; deciding management responsibilities (ensuring that even if a single manager is ultimately responsible, that elements remain the responsibility of every manager); considering compliance requirements to regulations, legislation, standards and existing policies; determining and assessing risks surrounding the management of information (or lack thereof) and their mitigation; how management requirements will be framed principles, policies, procedures, measures and performance, quality controls, etc; desirable organisational culture elements including behaviours surrounding the attitude to information and its management; and required enablers systems, expertise, management skills, leadership, etc. Critical Issues Information management is the subject of countless theories and endless software packages but in the end it comes down to deciding to get control and manage it in the business using leadership, management skills and the expertise and dedication of personnel supported by enablers such as IT systems. Critical issues are: each organisation needs a clear vision of how they want information to help the business; IT systems on their own will increase volume, speed and reach without discrimination (including more junk to more places faster); systems have increased the speed of doing business increasing real time interactions with customers and put pressure on the organisation s capacity for accuracy, compliance and responsiveness; the value of information to the organisation must be clearly articulated in a way that can be understood throughout the organisation; like any important aspect of the business successful information management must be guided by a strategy and given appropriate management mindshare; information management is the responsibility of every manager even if ultimate responsibility is assigned to an individual; for information to be managed and used effectively the organisational culture must support it shepherded by management and directed by leadership; many organisations have a lot of information but are uncertain about it s content and/or capacity for it to leverage value for the business; the best way to determine how information can be leveraged to improve performance is to more fully understand the organisation; 5 of 7

6 an important enabler for leveraging information is a communication framework that defines types of information and how it is best communicated to various stakeholders this can include which information must be actively pushed to stakeholders and which can be made available to assess as required; the earlier design decisions are made with respect to information gathered and its required structure the better. This aspect should be undertaken in consultation with IT expertise; if business processes mapping and role descriptions are undertaken with information management in mind they can provide a guide to targeted and timed information flow; similarly organisational reviews, succession plans, professional development plans, training needs analyses and various other activities can be used to inform and direct information flow be creative; inversely, the effort taken in understanding the organisation and how it works should be utilised as much as possible. Organisational knowledge and sound information management can be used to support all aspects of operations and management including performance management, continuous improvement, contestability and outsourcing; and there is no single easy answer to information overload an organisation must develop the capability to recognise it s own value proposition for information, devise a strategy for leveraging that value, and enact the strategy supported by a well led and enabled information culture. Prominence has delivered consultancy services to the public and private sectors since 2003 and has a diverse and highly experienced team of consultants. These consultants can assist in the activities discussed in this Concept including information management strategies, communication framework development, organisational culture development, leadership and management development, and reviews in areas such as business process improvement, training needs analysis and succession planning. Key consultancy services include governance, planning and performance, organisational development, facilitation and consultation, marketing and communications, and people and change. Advisory services, coaching and skilled resource supplementation can also be provided. The Prominence website ( provides more detailed information about Prominence s complete range of consulting services. Prominence s methodology has elements that are carefully designed to provide numerous engagement points with the organisation during a project. This allows for productive participation by the organisation s personnel to build project ownership, allow stakeholders to understand the process and create the optimal state for acceptance of project outcomes. Other Prominence Documents Further information regarding Prominence can be obtained using the contact details below. The following Profiles are available upon request. Prominence consulting services profile. Prominence document production investigation profile. Panel Arrangement Profiles for Federal, State and Local Government and Government Owned Corporations. 6 of 7

7 The following Concepts are also available: Change management Targeted surveys and information gathering Document production environment design The paperless office? Business processes: reengineer or improve? Knowledge management Managing processes Client focus Processes, standards, benchmarks and best practices Organisational measurement Flexible processes Usability Determining the scope of a review Knowledge, performance, innovation and risk Simplicity Challenging times Business process management Considering change Organisational health checks The role of the project sponsor Organisational structure design Building project ownership Building capability through skills transfer Usable business plans The benefits of austerity Communication Leadership, management and culture Employee engagement* Middle management challenges* The useable organisation* Issue and crisis management* How to choose a consultant* Desirable Corporate Culture* Improvement, Contestability and Outsourcing* Professional Development Programs, Succession Planning and Careers* *available for download from the prominence web site ( Contact Prominence for copies of other Concept titles. Contact Us p a PO Box 66 Taigum Q 4018 w e enquiries@prominenceconsulting.com.au 7 of 7