Hill & Knowlton Looks for a
New Knowledge
Management System
Keith Zimmerman
Case Summary

H&K is a global public relations firm
Headquartered in New York City
 1,900 employees
 68 offices
 34 countries



Old intranet system not helping the company
Established new portal-type extranet

Very effective today
The Old Intranet System

Employees did not use it because…
Completely unorganized and hard to use
 Data was outdated, inaccurate, and irrelevant
 Staff biographies were outdated



Very important
Employees wanted one-stop shopping for all knowledge
instead of having to visit several places
The New Extranet System

Turned to Intraspect Software to organize and
consolidate past project knowledge
Minimized impact when employees were replaced
 Made it easier to bring new employees up to date
 Organized and easily accessible for clients and employees


Captures three essential buckets of knowledge
Internal knowledge of H&K’s products and services
 External knowledge such as industry news and forecasts
 Client knowledge such as account activity and budgets


Uses incentives to increase system utilization

Bonuses, reputations, vacations, merchandise
Conclusion

New system has boosted revenue




Annual sales up from $302.8 mil in 2000 to $350 in 2004
Number of clients has grown exponentially
More organized and easy to use
Problem: Using incentives to increase use

May cause jealousy and unrest among employees


Some benefits not as attractive as others
This could be fatal to H&K
Any Questions?
www.hillandknowlton.com