Managing Knowledge Workers: New Skills and Attitudes to Unlock the Intellectual Capital in Your Organization [Hardcover]

Horibe advises managers on how to create a supportive environment for employees whose knowledge, skills, and experiences form a company's intellectual capital. He provides practical strategies for managing, motivating, and retaining such workers and includes case studies and sample dialogs of difficult management situations and their successful resolution.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

"With an insightfully crafted guide to the implementation of intellectual capital concepts, Frances Horibe has made a tremendous contribution to leveraging people and their knowledge in the context of the new economy."
— Hubert Saint-Onge, Senior Vice President, Strategic Capabilities, The Mutual Group

"Managing Knowledge Workers is an excellent reference guide, addressing the challenges all business leaders face in maximizing the creation of shareholder wealth by harnessing the human capital of a capable and committed workforce."
— Gordon J. Feeney, Vice Chairman, Royal Bank Financial Group

"Provides a roadmap to optimizing our knowledge workers and maximizing our technology investment. Should be read by managers at all levels of the organization."
— Ken Henry, Vice President, Business Excellence, Manulife Financial

"We've finally figured out that the proxy for business success is customer loyalty. Managing Knowledge Workers is essential reading for those wanting to understand how to ensure the loyalty of those people essential to achieving customer loyalty— our employees!"
— David Carlson, Assistant VP, Customer Care, Newbridge Networks

An indispensable guide to the new techniques for managing knowledge workers

They are the idea people, whose brain power and experience have become more valuable to their companies than physical assets or products (think Microsoft). Today's knowledge workers are so in demand, especially in the high-tech sector, that many command large salaries and will job-hop at the drop of a hat. This hands-on guide gives managers practical, doable strategies for motivating and keeping knowledge workers without breaking the bank or sacrificing productivity and quality. It goes beyond the quick-fix of throwing money at the problem and offers realistic solutions for effectively managing the human side of intellectual capital.

• Features case studies, anecdotes, and examples of companies using the new managing techniques, including IBM, Deloitte & Touche, and Transport Canada

The age of the knowledge worker has arrived. Today, many businesses have more of their resources and value tied up in the knowledge and experience of their workers than they do in physical assets or products. The epitome is the high-tech world of young, hot-shot computer programmers who will job-hop for more money at the drop of a hat. But knowledge workers are not just employees in high-tech companies. People in advertising agencies, consulting companies, financial institutions—anyone who uses their head more than their hands to create wealth—are all knowledge workers. Knowledge workers are in high demand. Like high-paid athletes, they drive up salaries and signing bonuses but often, throwing financial incentives at the problem is no solution—if you’re a small, fast-growing firm, you probably don’t have the cash to toss around; and even if you can, one day they’ll just leave you for someone else who will pay them more. Simply throwing more money at the problem, or at the people, only raises the costs of doing business in the new economy without improving productivity or quality. Success comes to organizations that can manage this intellectual capital most effectively. But knowledge workers are immune to traditional management approaches. So how does a company attract and retain these free agents of knowledge? Managing Knowledge Workers provides practical strategies for managing, motivating, and retaining knowledge workers, without breaking the bank. Managing Knowledge Workers focuses not just on understanding the value of knowledge in your organization, but on managing the human side of intellectual capital.

• Shows how to use other more powerful levers than money to attract and retain the knowledge workers critical to your organization’s success.
• Provides hands-on advice on creating the right culture and environment through communication, involvement, consultation, and teamwork. Flexibility and growth opportunities for your employees can often make the difference that no amount of money can.
• Provides practical advice on how to handle new management challenges: how to manage knowledge you don’t understand, how to invite and encourage new knowledge to come forward, how to reward employees formally and informally, and much more.
• Features sample dialogues that offer concrete approaches to dealing with difficult situations.
• Includes case studies and examples of effective and ineffective organizational responses to the challenges of managing intellectual capital.

"With an insightful crafted guide to the implementation of intellectual capital concepts, Frances Horibe has made a tremendous contribution to leveraging people and their knowledge in the context of the new economy."

Hubert Saint-Onge Senior Vice President, Strategic Capabilities "Managing Knowledge Workers is an excellent reference guide, addressing the challenges all business leaders face in maximizing the creation of shareholder wealth by harnessing the human capital of a capable and committed workforce." Gordon J. Feeney Vice Chairman Royal Bank Financial Group "Provides a roadmap to optimizing our knowledge workers and maximizing our technology investment. Should be read by managers at all levels of the organization."

Ken Henry Vice President, Business Excellence Manulife Financial "We've finally figured out that the proxy for business success is customer loyalty. Managing Knowledge Workers is essential reading for those wanting to understand how to ensure the loyalty of those people essential to achieving customer loyalty - our employees!"

David Carlson Assistant VP, Customer Care Newbridge Networks

About the Author Frances Horibe is President of VisionArts, Inc., a firm that specializes in assisting organizations with the human and organizational sides of investing in Intellectual Capital, and in managing the radical change that results. She speaks to and consults with a wide variety of clients, in both the public and private sectors. Other positions include Director-General, Strategic Planning #38; International Marketing for Transport Canada where she was tasked with restructuring, downsizing, and revitalizing an organization with large headquarters and regional staffs. She was also responsible for change management, internal communications, human resource planning, and directing the international marketing division. Previously, she was Vice-President of Quality and Customer Care for Achieve International, a management consulting firm specializing in Total Quality Management (TQM). Ms. Horibe was an examiner in both the private and public sector competitions for the Canada Awards for Excellence and has spoken at numerous conferences across the country. Ms. Horibe has a B.A. in Psychology from McGill University and an M.A. in Psychology from the University of Western Ontario. Her website is http://www.magma.ca/~fhoribe/