As I See It — Opinion

Organizational Memory — Anchor or Asset?

I recently reviewed Utility Safety Partners year-end summary and was surprised at how much we had accomplished in 2021. After six straight years of continuous transformation, it seemed somehow quieter on the old homestead this year. I suppose my perception is partially formed by another year of working from home and being only virtually connected to the hustle and bustle of daily office activity, but the pace of this past year left me with the impression that we had been standing almost still.

In following along that thought process, I realized that businesses are subject to energy ebbs and flows, just like people. As a 20-year veteran at USP, I can look back along a linear path that included times of great change, and times where it felt like we were stagnating — and I understand how one leads into the other. I wondered if seeing that historical big picture made me an asset or a liability. Was I going to be too complacent with the way we do things and just accept that there is a natural progression to things? Was I about to become “that guy” in the office that is satisfied with what has been changed and doesn’t see a point to making any more changes going forward?

In any corporate environment, there is organizational memory (sometimes referred to as institutional memory), which is usually defined as a combination of organizational archives (data and records of what happened when, process changes, etc.) and the memories of individual people (the experiences of people like me). In theory, the value of organizational memory is the ability to access and analyze the past to prevent re-inventing the wheel, or to find solutions that can be re-used, or as a road map for avoiding past mistakes. While I grant the importance of keeping records and data from the history of the organization, I don’t think they are of much value without someone to give them colour and context.

Corporations benefit from having engaged, young employees whose enthusiasm for all things shiny and new can drive innovation. The corporation also needs experience to temper and guide that enthusiasm for change so that innovation is applied in the right areas, for the right reasons. I think both the inexperienced and the old guard need to work together. It is possible to point to the archives and see in black and white that something similar was tried and failed in the past. It is all too easy for the long-time manager to say “Been there, tried that,” so there must be a driver for change that improves processes or services. When the new and experienced employees work together, they can take a proposed change and identify what might be different than the last time the company tried to go down that path. What was the culture and context when that solution was proposed in the past? What is different now that might make it successful? What new technologies might make this the right time to make the change?

As I get closer to the end of my career than to the beginning, I like to think that I’ll stay committed to continuous improvement and never say, “That’s the way we have always done it”. I also like to think I’ll enjoy times where we aren’t in the middle of a huge disruptive change, recognizing them as a pause, and not an ending. Rather than being that bright young thing with all the new ideas, I am learning to see myself as the one who will recognize and harness the potential in the bright young things to drive us in right direction for success. If they need me, I’ll be the one on my front porch rocker yelling at those darn kids to get off my lawn.

Sher Kirk – USP Operations Director