Why organisational memory is critical

Dam.
I did not personally like the way he used to ask for tips at the end of the day. In addition to our tips he would also ask for any damaged rubbers or unwanted rubbers so that he could fish later.
To me he was a bother and his public relations also left a lot to be desired. He was not presentable and at times appeared drunk during the time he was executing his duties.
Surprisingly, he held that post for more than 20 years. His name is Matirabu, which was literally translated from Trouble.
I believe the middle-aged man was fired unceremoniously. I was naturally delighted by the new development.
Recently there has been a new kid on the block who is energetic, pleasant and very sociable.
Now my kind of person is at the dam. No more worries about “thank you” vouchers at the end of the day. His name is Might.
We did not realise the importance of Matirabu and his family until he had left. During his absence his son would stand in for him.
The son had similar behavioural patterns but he was not as aggressive as his father when it came to tips.
However, he would also innocently ask you to leave your torn rubbers particularly the ones you used that day.
He had sufficient knowledge about the dam just like his father. Matirabu would give adequate advice to the clients with regard to perceived good spots and good rubbers during any period.
His son (though not as good as his father) gave clients advice as well. I am reliably told that during the absence of both Matirabu and his son, his wife would stand in for them.
Though I did not have the opportunity to be served by Matirabu’s wife I am told her performance was similar to her son’s.
Might, on the other hand, is extremely good in getting clients personal details within a very short space of time.
Once you tell him your name and totem, he would not forget it. He addresses you by your correct name.
During Might’s absence someone else from the nearby farm would stand in for him.
It appears the stand-in person has been told to be very courteous to clients and this is exactly what he does.
Our success rate during Matirabu’s era is far higher than Might’s era. The difference is so huge to be ignored. Matirabu left Susigi with his family and the technical knowledge of the dam.
With all due respect Might is a pleasant person and very good at assisting clients to launch the boat.
He greets us with our totems and cares to know about our families in Harare. He is our friend and is an excellent public relations practitioner but nevertheless we just don’t get the results from his presence at the dam.
Over the years we did not realise that we were relying on Matirabu’s expertise to succeed.
Matirabu knew every inch of the dam. We rarely struggled to catch because he would give us a sample of the rubbers, which were used the previous day.
Though bass is known for changing tastes in colours (etc) the changes are not known to be so dramatic overnight.
Though we did not use the rubbers/rapplers (he advised us) throughout the day, he gave us the push start for the day, which always proved to be worthwhile.
This is sadly unavailable during Might’s dispensation. How often do we use incorrect performance appraisal techniques to arrive at people’s performance?
The greatest asset which Susigi International is lacking today is organisational memory, not the fish.
Matirabu was the custodian of Susigi’s organisational memory. There are no reports of major poaching at the dam but the success rate at the dam has dwindled.
To me it is now an expense to drive to Susigi, before it was an experience, which was worth sacrificing for.
Critical Success Factors
What are the key success factors at Susigi International Dam?
Four issues emanate from this experience, i.e. organisational memory, succession policy, organisational culture and key organisational skill sets.
The issues identified above define the key success factors for many organisations.
The arrival of Might heralded a new era at Susigi International Dam. There was a transformational cultural shift.
The culture which emphasised technical information gathering was replaced with a culture which personal intimacy.
I admit good public relations is important in business but at this particular setting it is not the critical success factor.
Rapid cultural shifts are normally experienced during times of leadership changes.
Though Might used to work at the same farm, when he took over he sought to change most of the “things” which Matirabu was doing without understanding the impact.
He did not take time to understand what made the dam so popular. I have seen that after most boardroom coups new management would issue statements to the effect that all the cultures of the past management are dead and buried.
We are starting afresh. In most cases all top management and people thought to be loyal to the previous regime will be muscled out.
Yes, out they go with the critical knowledge of the organisation, i.e. organisational memory.
In other words, the way things are done is never documented anyway but would have been passed from generation to generation.
I am not in any way defending some counterproductive cultures, but I am just suggesting gradual implementation of changes, which allows organisations to evolve and grow without distorting the organisation’s original intent.
Many takeovers have failed due to the fact that most incumbent CEOs put loyalty in front of organisational culture and skill sets.
What is organisational memory?
Organisational memory is the data which has been accumulated and stored by the organisation over a long period of time.
Matirabu was a custodian of that data at Susigi. Organisational memory stores the data which defines the how, what, who of the organisation.
Organisational memory therefore is an archive which new management can resort to if they need to understand the way things are executed at the organisation.
In most instances it is not well documented. This requires new management to spend a lot of time to enable them to understand it.
Organisational memory has support structure in the form of people and the cultural aspects of the organisation.
Culture is an embodiment of the organisation. It defines the way people execute their functions. Culture establishes the way organisational memory is kept and preserved.
Culture defines who is the custodian of the value system of the organisation. Is it the management or the workers or everybody?
Organisational memory is a combination of people and systems. People can change or die but the institution, philosophy and systems do not change.
Organisational memory assists in preservation of brands. Traditional organisations have succeeded in giving identity to their organisations by tinkering a little bit with their products.
Daimler is known for good quality cars. Its value proposition is on a well-engineered product with minor modifications to meet customer needs.
l The writer is a managing consultant at CLC Training International. E-mail [email protected].