Defining knowledge management skills and capabilities required by organisations in South Africa

The absence of an adequate framework that defines Knowledge Management (KM) skills and capabilities makes it extremely difficult to determine the roles and responsibilities of knowledge practitioners in South Africa. Defining these skills and capabilities is essential because KM focuses on the gathering and storing of organisational information to ensure the effective and efficient use of knowledge for decision making purposes. The development of a skills and capabilities framework requires organisations to fully understand what skills and capabilities KM practitioners need to have. This research had as an aim to identify the skills and capabilities KM practitioners in South African organisations are required to have. The research question was: “What skills and capabilities do organisations look for when employing KM practitioners?” To answer this question, data collection was done using semi-structured interviews conducted in organisations that practice KM. Participants were selected using purposive sampling. Additionally, the process of secondary data collection and analysis was conducted. The data was analysed using Atlas t.i. software as well as narratively. The objective of the study was to determine what skills and capabilities KM practitioners in South Africa need to develop and have. Based on the study's findings, the most prominent skills required for practitioners are research skills, marketing skills, strong technical skills, and interpersonal skills. Management, problem solving, the capability to collect and analyse data were the prominent capabilities identified, other capabilities included strategic thinking, leadership and communication. Furthermore, it was determined that the organisations used as case studied do not have a set framework of KM skills and capabilities. However, following discussion during the interviews, participants realised the importance of having such a framework. This speaks to the importance of this study as it will help in the creation of a KM skills and capabilities framework, using the Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA) framework as a benchmark, by identifying the required KM skills and capabilities.