KM is a systematic approach to enable knowledge and information to grow, flow and create value. KM teams are then responsible for the approaches to help knowledge, both explicit (information that has been documented) and tacit (information that lives inside people’s heads), flow to the right people at the right time so individuals within an organization can be more efficient and effective.

KM team responsibilities

Typically, KM teams are responsible for managing a portfolio of common tools and approaches such as communities of practice or networks, search and discovery, virtual collaboration, expertise location, knowledge transfer, lessons learned and knowledge mapping. How they achieve this can vary depending on where and how KM teams are aligned in the business and the roles, both formal and informal, that are in place.

Common KM team responsibilities often include:

• Codifying, curating, and providing access to critical knowledge
• Enabling business-relevant collaboration, learning, and innovation
• Integrating people, process, and technology approaches
• Empowering people by providing more complete and equitable access to information

Common roles in a KM core team

According to APQC research, “KM Specialist” and “KM Leader” are the most common KM full-time or partial roles in place within organizations. 

In addition, we learned from industry leaders which KM core team roles are most vital to the success of a KM program. Four positions were identified: 

• KM leader: functions as the guide, supervisor, and champion of the KM team. They will ensure that all KM initiatives support and align with the mission and goals of the organization. And oversee the KM team’s relationship with business leaders and other stakeholders involved in KM activities, regardless of any functional or geographic boundaries that may exist.
• KM specialist: will promote knowledge capture, sharing, curation, and reuse throughout the organization’s operational business processes and systems. They accomplish this by strengthening links between knowledge sharing capabilities and IT platforms and facilitating the seamless exchange of knowledge both between people and across those platforms. KM specialists may wear many “hats” (e.g., community designer, lessons learned facilitator, content lifecycle developer) based on the KM needs of the internal stakeholders they support.
• KM IT/business analyst: will support the KM program as the liaison between the core KM team, business units, user communities, and IT/digital groups. Through collaboration with all KM program stakeholders, the IT/business analyst will ensure that the needs of the organization are met, that users are provided with the appropriate level of technology support, that existing and new IT capabilities are used effectively.
• KM change/communications director: responsible for developing, managing, and publicizing change and communications strategies for a range of stakeholders regarding the KM program. They will work with other members of the core KM team and users of KM tools and approaches to create and sustain awareness of knowledge assets and sharing opportunities; seek out and publish success stories; and provide communications to and for leadership to support harmonized, comprehensive KM program messaging.

Common business roles supporting KM teams

The small size of most KM core teams means that there is a limit to what they can do. Even if you have a very robust KM core team, these team members don’t always have the skills and know-how to support every aspect of the KM program. Therefore, it is important to tap into people in the business to help with certain KM activities.

First, consider establishing a KM steering or advisory committee, a cross-functional team that typically includes senior managers and respected thought leaders representing different parts of the organization. This team is responsible for setting the direction of the KM program, identifying and prioritizing critical knowledge within the organization, and validating KM-related activities. 

APQC’s research also identified six KM business roles that are correlated with a higher degree of KM program success when they are formalized rather than existing as informal or volunteer roles:

1. Sponsors – help align to business priorities, communicate change and ensure KM teams perform.
2. Scouts – responsible for surfacing knowledge needs and opportunities.
3. Community of practice leaders – set direction and goals for the community, deliver benefits to members and the organization.
4. Subject matter experts – identify and map critical knowledge and review knowledge contributions.
5. Champions and advocates – explain and promote KM to peers within their own functions.
6. Trainers and coaches – help align KM approaches to peers and apply relevant approaches to training within their own functions.

The future of KM teams 

In mid-2024, APQC will kick off new research for KM Program Benchmarks and Metrics and the People in Knowledge Management to gather information and trends on key responsibilities and roles in KM, including organizational alignment and integration with other areas of the business for greater value. While current APQC research shows that centralization has significant benefits in terms of KM adoption, performance, and perception by leadership over both decentralized and hybrid structures, we will further delve into organizational alignment and integration with other areas of the business.

What we know now is that the spotlight has been on KM in many organizations due to the shift to remote and hybrid work environments and those impacts on virtual collaboration, as well as the acceleration of advanced technologies like generative AI and the impact to KM capabilities and approaches. Our goal is to provide updated best practices and trends to help you learn and grow your KM capabilities and ensure long-lasting value to your organizations. 

For more information on KM program roles, structures and partnerships, consider Positioning KM as a Strategic Business Partner, KM Partnerships FAQ, Why KM Should Establish Formal Support Roles in the Business, and Core Competencies for Knowledge Management Teams.