Challenges in Building a Professional Virtual Community
- Dr. Moria Levy
- May 31, 2003
- 11 min read
Today, there is no doubt that one of the most significant characteristics of the internet's flourishing is the ability to publish information in a simple, inexpensive, and accessible manner. Relatively simple publishing tools, such as forums and, more recently, blogs (see concept sheet, October 2), enable the average person to publish information and knowledge, and to reach content experts who are not accessible to them in daily life. The growing and thriving forums have become an unparalleled repository of useful and diverse information.
Computer users with fairly basic browsing skills can find answers to almost any problem, from an apple pie recipe, information about a rare disease, or building a robot from an old floppy disk drive.
The tremendous success of virtual communities on the internet has also led organizations to create processes that facilitate knowledge sharing using virtual tools. It appears that the organizational benefits of a virtual community, according to the web model, are clear: a professional virtual community is not limited by organizational boundaries. It therefore enables knowledge flow and the possibility of solution replication, unlike emails or corridor conversations. In the community, knowledge accumulates and becomes accessible, thereby transforming it into an organizational asset. Additionally, the community serves as a complement to the periodic meetings.
Despite the apparent promise, the inevitable comparison between the two models (forums and internet communities versus professional communities within an organization) raises several significant challenges for any organization interested in creating a professional knowledge community.
It should be noted that the comparison here is mainly to the "discussion groups" (forums) component, which is certainly central but not the only one in the virtual community.
The differences, challenges, and what lies between them
Need
On the internet, there is no importance in the prior definition of need; the forum is built naturally, and then, according to the intensity of participation in it, one can identify the participants' needs. Thus, a process of natural selection and evolution takes place; forums will close if they are no longer needed.
In the organization, the process must be reversed; first, the need must be defined, and only then can the community be built. A community can only be built as a response to an existing need!
The challenge is to identify knowledge needs and check whether the community responds to these needs.
Caution - minefield! - Identifying the need by knowledge management consultants and managers is not enough. Without recognition of the need by all potential members, the process will not be effective, and full commitment to it will not be achieved.
Solutions and Tips - To identify topics where the community can provide real added value to the organization and its members, community members should be interviewed or surveyed about the type of information they would use and what information they could contribute to their fellow community members. The process must be carried out with the full participation of community members, while avoiding directing people regarding the type of materials we expect them to contribute. Emphasis should be placed on listening to them and understanding their needs. If there are concerns about bias, one should consider even giving examples from other content areas. It is recommended to rely on a knowledge needs survey conducted among potential members and management to understand the level of need and ability to integrate outputs into work processes. At the end of the process, information received from different sources should be cross-referenced to determine its importance.
Free choice and commitment
On the internet, most people primarily enter their free time and out of choice; even those who enter and participate regularly do so voluntarily.
In the organization, the community was built for the employees’ use; the members are the owners, not the management. This is despite the organizational needs (and the management representing them). At the same time, the activity is carried out at the company's expense, and the organization is entitled to know what happens in the community and how it creates value for the organization. Hence, the participation model in the community is accepted as a non-voluntary model (a voluntary model is more suitable for natural communities, not initiated ones).
The challenge is to create commitment without obligation.
Solutions and tips - This is a process similar to selling or marketing a product; we need to convince employees of the tool's advantages and motivate them to use and contribute from indirect motives, rather than as a direct obligation. This can be done by focusing on two elements:
Highlighting value - an employee will share knowledge only if they know the benefit is mutual - they not only contribute knowledge but also derive value from other employees' contributions. It is essential to highlight to community members the numerous benefits of knowledge sharing, including the personal advantages they will gain from accessing professional information in a focused and high-quality manner within the community framework. It is important that this benefit not be theoretical but practical, and related to ongoing processes (not just long-term). The term "immediate visibility of benefit" is commonly used here, referring to benefit now, tomorrow morning, and not just at the principal level. In parallel, it is essential to perform a "quality review" frequently. A focused effort by the content manager to locate particularly high-quality content (relevant and useful) will raise the community's value in its members' eyes. Finally, knowledge is information in context. The community must be aware of the various shades. One way to achieve this is to utilize web technology to create links between information items.
Reward - reward can serve as a motivational factor for community activity. There are two types of reward: "soft" reward and "hard" reward. Our recommendation - emphasize soft reward. Such a reward matches the characteristics of any community by its very existence. Examples of soft reward: giving legitimacy to "corridor conversations" and "time wasting," "good word" from superiors, creating personal reputation, personal satisfaction from helping colleagues, giving appreciation and recognition - for example, noting the name of an information item contributor and the number of times others read the item, instituting "friendly competition" for knowledge contributions, etc.
The aspiration is that, by the end of the process, using the community itself will be the reward.
Technology use
On the internet, natural filtering occurs; surfers arrive because they feel comfortable with the medium, are familiar with it, and know how to operate within it.
In the organization, since all employees are expected to participate in the community as part of their work, a situation is created where even those unfamiliar with the medium need to learn to operate within it and understand how to utilize it for their needs.
The challenge is instilling usage habits in technological media and written media.
Solutions and Tips - It is essential to select a computing platform that is as user-friendly as possible, enabling users to make adjustments tailored to their personal needs.
Good training can be key to increasing tool usage! It is essential to conduct an initial training process and implement tool use among all members. After a period, additional differential training can be conducted, during which training is provided to members who use the tool infrequently or those who appear to have had difficulty adapting to it within the initial training framework.
Additionally, a detailed and user-friendly guide for community members can be written and published.
Anonymity
On the internet - surfing and participation through the internet allow maintaining anonymity, so people have no reason to be embarrassed by their questions, opinions, and the quality of knowledge contributed by them. Internet forums are an excellent place to ask "naive questions" or seek answers to "naive questions" asked by others.
In the organization, the concept of anonymity does not exist. Members know each other, and each community member contributes knowledge or uses it with their name attached. This fact can cause employees to think twice before entering one piece of information or another, or before asking a question that would expose their ignorance.
The challenge - turning the disadvantage into an advantage - creating participation on an acquaintance basis.
Solutions and tips - lack of anonymity can also be an advantage if community participation is rewarded, as we noted, reward does not have to be material; it can also be indirect reward - lack of anonymity allows giving differential appreciation, recognition, and respect (only to those who participated in the community). Sometimes, creating constructive competition can catalyze the sharing of knowledge within the community. To encourage both young and veteran employees in the organization to utilize the tool, it is essential to convey the message that in the community, everyone is equal and has something valuable to contribute. Additionally, it is important to create an environment of listening and dialogue in the organization and encourage a culture of trial and error and taking organizational risks that are a condition for real learning; beyond this, developing discussions in joint meetings, where the fear is less (since what is said is not documented forever in writing) can increase the confidence of those who are afraid and give them a platform to prove themselves before asking questions in the virtual forum.
Fun or enjoyment from participation
On the internet, participants can allocate a significant amount of space to "fun," personal correspondence, and games that exist on the network; they can simultaneously browse sites that offer pleasure and interest. Network participants have freedom from commitment and sometimes even from rules of etiquette.
In the organization, the community is naturally goal-oriented, so giving too much emphasis to "fun" can harm productivity and may also lead to cynical use, which, in extreme cases, could damage proper work relationships.
The challenge is maintaining interest while maintaining goal orientation and organizational objectives for which the community was established.
Solutions and Tips - It is essential that the initial content definition be carried out against a "requirements" specification and knowledge needs that were formulated during the characterization stage. It is essential that proper content organization be implemented; it is recommended that the division be uniform, based on content topics rather than format (articles, conferences).
Along with core content, accompanying content—also known as audience attractors—can be integrated. Adding attractive applications for the user will create a more engaging and appealing environment that will pique users' interest in using the solution we've built. Here are several applications that can be added in organizational implementation: news flash window, search engine such as Google or Netex toolbar for smart and Hebrew browsing, connection to map applications like Emap for Israel or MapQuest, ability to send SMS, etc. (additional detail on this topic can be found in the tip in the February 2003 issue)
A kind of "ten commandments" for "good" publications can be published. Within the "do" commandments, it is advisable to also include the use of humor or the publication of amusing anecdotes from the work environment.
It is advisable to conduct a renewed assessment at each stage regarding the appropriateness of content and adjust the focus accordingly to meet members' knowledge needs.
Content core
On the internet, people arriving at a site for the first time know that the heavy traffic that passed before them left a broad knowledge.
In the organization, there is a paradox; when the community is new, there is no reason to enter it; as long as people don't enter, attractive information will not be collected.
The challenge is building an attractive content core even before the community goes live.
Solutions and tips - it is important to collect initial content in each of the content areas defined, for example, to upload at least 5 discussion topics, 10 different links to internet sites, prepare a preliminary document repository, publish events in the community calendar that will take place close to the launch stage, etc. Content can also be accumulated and uploaded gradually in the weeks following the launch. Initiated publications by the content manager, along with the introduction of questions from other channels, can contribute to creating a cohesive and attractive content core.
Exclusivity
On the internet, forums serve as the primary means of communication for participants, representing a diverse group of individuals from various occupations, ages, and geographical locations.
Within the organization, the virtual community serves as an additional and complementary communication channel to existing channels; community members can always opt for alternative channels, such as email, phone, and in-person meetings.
The challenge is introducing a new communication channel to the organization, and again, turning the disadvantage into an advantage.
Solutions and Tips - An ancient saying states that every revolution begins within the existing stream. To create a new communication channel, it is recommended to use existing channels and increase the interface between them. For this purpose, for example, at the beginning of the process, questions received in other channels, such as email or phone, can be posted in the community (after obtaining the sender's approval, of course). Additionally, the community can be used as a supporting tool for real meetings and vice versa - using meetings as a supporting tool for the community, for example: publishing meeting times and dates on the community site will serve as an incentive to enter and stay updated; referring to a publication contributed in the community within a department meeting can work wonders for community members' motivation to contribute answers. Additionally, it is essential to strike the right balance between frontal and virtual meetings, as the community within the organization does not replace existing meetings but rather serves as a complementary tool to them. Ultimately, this is an evolutionary process, and the hope is that over time, as the community proves itself, more and more discussions and conversations will move to this channel.
Knowledge sharing
On the internet, surfers contribute for many reasons, but they are not obligated to do so and do not seek direct reward for their contributions. As a result, there is a huge mass of people who only receive, and those who only contribute. Whatever their motives, only those who enjoy answering and sharing their knowledge with others answer.
In the organization, we aim to receive contributions from a specific group of individuals; however, we have no certainty that these individuals are also those who enjoy sharing their accumulated knowledge with others. The contribution is indeed part of the participants' job commitment, but it should not be assumed that employees will share knowledge solely for this reason.
The challenge is increasing sharing and encouraging maximum, not random, contributions.
Solutions and tips - in a place where there is no desire and awareness of the need for sharing, and employees believe that if they share their knowledge with others, they will lose power, and if they request knowledge from others, they will expose their weakness - no effort to advance knowledge management will succeed. The assumption is that the individual owns knowledge, and only they will decide whether to share it with others or not. Creating infrastructure and willingness to share knowledge is, first and foremost, a cultural process. Here are some techniques for implementing such change:
It is recommended as a preliminary step in building the community to conduct cultural characterization. This process will enable learning the cultural characteristics and their degree of suitability for response, as well as examining the group's maturity for community participation. Within the characterization framework, references will be made to topics such as identifying similar role groups within the group, characterizing social relationships and communication patterns, locating influencers, mapping the political structure, and identifying both formal and informal leadership. Such characterization will help locate existing cultural barriers in knowledge sharing.
A workshop can be conducted in the community's early days that focuses on several key topics: creating a sense of belonging and community identity, increasing the sense of partnership within the community, reducing existing resistance, and highlighting the connection between knowledge sharing and personal and organizational excellence.
If there is a content confidentiality problem, at the beginning of the community's life, neutral content that does not arouse resistance and has no confidentiality concerns can be addressed (it is important to ensure this remains only an initial stage because usually this content is the least interesting and least required).
Throughout the process, it is essential to emphasize the community's value and reward those who share knowledge, rather than those who possess it.
Social bonding activities can be carried out periodically, including all community members (e.g., a good meal, a trip), as well as extending break time in face-to-face meetings.
Finally, it is essential to monitor knowledge-sharing patterns over time, as changing cultural patterns is a complex process that evolves gradually.
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