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The KM Team 405

Box 12.1
(continued)

Role responsibilities:
• Develop, implement, and achieve a knowledge management plan for the organization
• Establish a Health Information Centre for the knowledge and information resources/
products of the organization
• Develop and maintain a health Internet and intranet site
• Train and develop staff in information literacy and knowledge awareness, that is, in
systematically identifying, collecting, reviewing, sharing, and retaining high-value
knowledge
• Ensure compliance with relevant legislation, for example, copyright and intellectual
property
• Oversee development and achievement of business and project plans for the unit
• Monitor and report on relevant activity levels in operational and business plans
• Establish and maintain links with relevant internal and external stakeholders

established a chief human capital offi cers council to advise and coordinate the activi-
ties of members ’ agencies on such matters as the modernization of human resources
systems, improved quality of human resources information, legislation affecting
1
human resources operations, and organizations.
CHCOs are responsible for the strategic alignment of the workforce (present and
future) to the organization ’ s mission. CHCOs are therefore the KM executives who
most effectively manage all human capital policies and programs such as retention
strategies, knowledge transfer tools and methods, and workforce planning to avoid
knowledge gaps and operational breakages.
The KM executive must decide how information is evaluated, created, processed,
inventoried, retrieved, and archived, so that KM activities are aligned with the business
goals of the organization. There are huge ramifi cations when an organization creates
records, installs a new online catalog or a fi rewall, designs a web site, creates virtual
workplaces, copyrights information, and creates policies and procedures on how one
department communicates information to another (or too many times, there is no
communication between departments). The head of KM must be present in all these
events. This executive KM role often also incorporates change management.
Thurow (2003 , 2004 ) maintains that in our increasingly knowledge-based economy,
every company will eventually have a senior manager responsible for KM. Those that
get there fi rst will have a competitive edge. Just what this person will do is still being