What do knowledge workers really want?

Knowledge workers present organisational and cultural challenges, argues Peter Reilly.

The knowledge-based economy is a result of spectacular advances in information and communication technology, the increased speed of scientific and technological progress, heightened global competition and changing consumer behaviour. It is an environment in which the generation and exploitation of knowledge play the predominant role in wealth creation. The shift from the industrial to the knowledge-based economy has been accompanied by the rise of the knowledge worker.

Knowledge workers are not new. Researchers, lawyers and other professional groups have always been around. What is different is their number and impact. In some organisations knowledge workers now constitute the majority of the workforce. They have become the key to organisational success, as traditional sources of competitive advantage, such as quality, technology and economies of scale, are no longer enough.

Vacuum cleaner manufacturer Dyson illustrates this shift. When the company moved manufacturing to Malaysia, 550 production workers lost their jobs at the Malmesbury plant. But more people than before are now employed at the site and the vast majority working in design and development are in higher-skilled, better-paid jobs.

So who are the knowledge workers? Peter Drucker, who coined the term, defined a knowledge worker as someone who "knows more about his or her job than anyone else in the organisation". More specifically these employees are either involved in occupations heavily reliant on knowledge (research and development, advertising, education, accountancy, consultancy and so on), or are in certain sectors, such as high-tech industries. They are the employees most likely to be driven by the satisfaction their own work gives and who demand more independence and less control over what they do. An organisation should be clear in its own thinking, identify its own breed of knowledge worker and make a decision: to stick to an integrated system of employee management, appraisal and rewards and risk, or openly recognise the differences.

Knowledge workers tend to be intolerant of unnecessary rules. So bureaucracy should be kept at minimal - but effective - levels. They need freedom to decide how they do their job, want to be pulled not pushed, and they also have the most respect for the opinion of their peers - whether they are inside the organisation or outside. Therefore, the corporate objectives may have to be balanced with personal and professional goals. Managers need to be equipped to cope with situations where they know less than their subordinates, yet still have to act as a coach and facilitator. Knowledge workers will want to be kept well informed and involved in decision-making.

Establishing relatively autonomous groups to generate knowledge has been common in research and development. These communities or informal networks among peers can be encouraged to offer the freedom to explore new ideas and generate knowledge, and provide a useful incentive to encourage knowledge workers to stay with their employer. Organisations can cultivate such networks by helping to bring the right people together and by establishing a supporting infrastructure, such as space to meet and collaborative technologies.

Loyalty to knowledge groups creates its own problem. A common issue for employers is that with all the emphasis on stimulating the creation of knowledge and skills, valuable knowledge is not passed on within the organisation. Ideas-sharing needs to be visible as a high priority, and the sheer value of what's being exchanged should be openly recognised. Knowledge workers must be allowed to choose to share knowledge, and they are most likely to do so if they feel committed to the organisation, believe its leaders are worth supporting, feel encouraged to participate and learn, and if they value their colleagues. Reaching these kinds of employees through company-wide communications will not work. Don't rely on general systems but encourage direct, one-to-one or small group communication. Mentoring can be the best option for transferring "tacit" knowledge (the intuition, insights and know-how that are rarely captured).

One of the biggest challenges is in devising systems that provide evaluation and feedback. This type of work is difficult to measure objectively and, because it tends to be part of a long process, it is hard to gauge its effectiveness until the work is completed. At the same time, knowledge workers can be sensitive about performance management systems, because of the high levels of personal ownership they feel towards their knowledge and skills. A straightforward solution is to give them a role in the creation of the process, involve peers from within the organisation, and focus the system around knowledge itself. For example, ask: what kinds of knowledge does that person bring to the company, how do they share it with others?

Career progression is vital to knowledge workers, but many do not want to move into managerial roles, so organisations should develop career systems for high-level technical professionals that do not require such a shift, and provide knowledge workers with individual career planning, so they know exactly where they can go and what they need to do to get there.

Do not rely on pay as a carrot. A different set of rewards needs to be available: improving work environment and conditions, recognition for work inside and outside the company, being a partner for their personal professional development, and offering opportunities for greater involvement and contribution to their profession as a whole. Financial rewards for knowledge workers should be a mix of short-term and long-term incentives. Bonuses for achieving a specific goal, for example, will give immediate recognition, whereas share options or pensions will deliver their long-term commitment to the organisation.

An organisational culture that values cooperation and collaboration over command and control, open management over hierarchy and status, cross-functional activities over rigid departmental boundaries, and innovation and creativity over bureaucracy will help knowledge workers thrive. Underpinning the successful management of knowledge workers is trust; such workers need to have control over their knowledge and how they apply it, and management must be ready for the risks involved.

Peter Reilly is the director of HR research and consultancy at the Institute for Employment Studies (www.employment-studies.co.uk).