Knowledge Management

People who have just met me often ask where Mary Crane & Associates is based. Those of you who know me well know that while the home office is located in Denver, I mostly work on a United Airlines airplane while I criss-cross the country working with clients.
 
This week, I’ve made stops in Boston, Washington, D.C. and NYC. Important recommendation:  If you visit Boston frequently, stay at XV Beacon, and in fact, request Room 1006, a junior suite in which I could happily live out the remaining days of my life. The room boasts a canopy bed, comfortable sitting area, huge bathroom, and plenty of closet space. Two walls of windows allow any visitor to overlook Boston Commons. But what’s best, especially given the cold and damp that socked Boston last week, is that the room has a gas fireplace. Let’s face it, there is nothing better than sitting in front of a fireplace, sipping on a glass of wine, even with work!
 
While in Boston, I had a telephone conversation with a legal recruiter at Fish & Richardson’s Dallas office. She had attended my presentation on "Keeping the Best" at NALP’s 2005 annual conference and was curious as to whether we could provide guidance on developing an exit interview process, which of course we can.
 
During our conversation, we chatted about the firm, its nine separate offices, and the challenges faced by a recruiting department that is geographically disperse. She told me that the recruiters have adopted the following policy: the first e-mail every recruiter sends each and every day is their personal to-do list, and it is sent to every other member of the department.
 
According to my contact, this policy has ensured that everyone within the department shares a fundamental understanding of each other’s work load every day. She said it allows individual recruiters to be able to say, "Oh, our Austin recruiter is swamped today. I won’t bother her with my questions until tomorrow," or "I see Dallas is going to be developing certain materials for lateral interviews. I’ve already done that. I can share my materials with Dallas and help her finish that project fast."
 
It is one of the most practical solutions to knowledge management on a department level that I’ve encountered in quite a while.

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