Four KIM roles
Writing as someone from outside the KIM community, I see an urgent need for KIM professionals to forge a new profile and for KIM to take a new stance in the corporate landscape.
In this piece I hope to offer specific advice as to how to bring about the transformational shifts that will help you build credibility with the business and change the way KIM is perceived in the organisation. I see KIM falling into one of four broad archetypal roles.
Role 1 - Information curation
This is a passive role (and I do not use that term in a pejorative way) focused on the orderly management and storage of information. This needs to be done (although the smart trick would be to get somebody else to do it) - as a function its corporate profile is low.
Role 2 - Custodian of information and knowledge
Another passive role, I see this as the next rung up the ladder of maturity for a KIM function. As custodian, there is tacit recognition that you are a 'go to' point and have some formal corporate profile associated with information and knowledge management. This is where most KIM functions I have observed over the last ten years have been positioned.
Role 3 - Creator of information and knowledge
This role is positioned on the threshold between passive and active KIM and the value delivered by KIM is visible. The creation of knowledge in this role tends to be around generating insight from primary sources - for example from market analysis, customer service analysis and internal knowledge networking. Most of the KIM functions in this area were the products of KIM professionals who had fought hard to establish a function and then delivered on their promises.
Commissioner of information and knowledge - an aspirational role
This type of KIM is used for horizon scanning, competitor assessment, building external capability and bringing clarity to 'messy' situations. The individuals I have encountered in this role are characterised by their ability to weave vague managerial KIM aspirations into a cogent thread of deliverables. An example might be a situation where facilitated discussion with potential customers and prior research is married up. It is probably the biggest credibility builder that I have ever seen and a superb example of what active KIM can do demonstrating clearly the link between money invested in KIM and money coming in to the organisation.