knowledge management WhatsNew5
Frans van
Bijsterveld:
Information
This is all part of the internalization process?
Hung Tran: Exactly, that is what
internalization is all about.
is this science fiction in the sense that it is
somewhere in the unforeseeable future
Frans van Bijsterveld: Not at all. 1
understand your question - yes, we
have had some problems with euro and
Y2K issues - but so has everyone else
in the industry. And the fact that these
issues took priority also means that
we're not perhaps as far as we would
like to be at this point in time.
Hung Tran: On the one hand, there are
some backlogs because of this. But on
the other hand, you should remember
that internet technology is advancing all
the time, and very quickly. There are
increasingly ready-made, off the shelf
kinds of software application that can
easily be put to work for us. And these
things are getting cheaper and cheaper
all the time. Quite honestly, I don't really
see the external aspect as particularly
urgent at present. We still have a lot of
homework to do if we're going to get
our knowledge management right. More
pressing now, perhaps, is who manages
the systems. After all, we don't want to
give away the crown jewels for free. We
have to manage who has access to what
and that starts at home.
Bernard Walschots: 1'd agree that there is
a real need to manage these processes.
And while it is all very well being
concerned about everyone participating
and having access, what 1 would advo
cate is the use of a common language, a
shared methodology. Let's be sure we're
all talking about the same thing.
This is all still a little theoretic. How do you
actually induce people to share the
knowledge they have so that it can be
managed?
Frans van Bijsterveld: Two things. One is
you create an environment which
shows people, relationship managers,
product specialists, anyone involved in
the business of the bank, that it is very
good for them. That it brings benefits
and advantages to them. So they will
want to use it. We show them a system
which gives them command of all the
resources of the bank, quickly and
efficiently. This gives the relationship
manager a real edge. 1 think this part
will be fairly easy to overcome. A
bigger problem, in my view, is
computer literacy.
has always Bernard Walschots
had value. But
I don't propose to give everyone
bonuses or whatever to motivate people
to share what they know. Incentives
have been suggested. Positive incentives,
like money or promotion. And we will
certainly need something. Yet, I'm
convinced - and that's human nature,
too - that people will see the
advantages, also on their bottom line.
Think of someone who has always
done pretty nice, but
pretty run-of-the-mill deals. Just
imagine what it would mean to have
the knowledge which enables you to do
much more complex and interesting
and bigger deals.
And you believe this will happen all by itself?
Hung Tran: Of course not. But 1
agree with Frans that this is a very
important aspect.
Bernard Walschots: You've got to
remember the niarket place has chang-
ed. The financial services industry has
changed, the environment in which
we operate has changed. The reality
is that a single isolated piece of
information is no use to anyone. It
has no value.
organizations which will both survive
and prosper. That requires teamwork
because no single person in a single
discipline can provide all the know
ledge required these days for most
customer needs.
Frans van Bijsterveld: That's right. You
have to bring in people from different
disciplines, different geographical
locations, different product specialists.
You need people from research, from
sales, M&A - you name it, we need it
these days to service customers.
Hung Tran: You need those different
people, those different skill sets
working together as teams to generate
tailored solutions for specific customers.
Banks that can do that will be
successful. Banks that cannot do that
will fail. It is very simple. If we do not
raise the level of knowledge and its
management and by extension the
quality of our products, we will never
huild the kind of internalized
relationship with our customers that we
talked about early. So getting the
knowledge-driven side of our business
right means getting it all right.
Hung Tran: I think you're right. A lot of
people are not used to using the
computer, the e-mail or internet. But
that is a question of training. The other
part of the process that Frans was
referring to, the mindset aspect, is on
the information supply side. People
could fear that they will lose some of
their value if they make available all
they know to other people. They could
think that having this knowledge
enhanced individual performance, so
don't spread it around. We have to
convince people that by sharing you
can actually perform even better.
That's because
the combi-
nation of all
that know-
ledge will
enable you to
improve your
own skills and
expertise and
thus give your
customer
better service.
Hung Tran: And it is usually plentifully
available, very cheaply to anyone who
wants it. The fact you put that into
your head and keep it there no longer
gives you power. After a very short
period of time, it will lose any
economie validity it may have once
had. The only way to use that
information effectively is to combine it
with something else so you get value
added. What is needed today in the
financial markets on a global basis is
solutions. People, organizations which
can come up with solutions, can solve
problems for customers - they are the
