HIT’s Knowledge Management (KM) unit leads FHWA’s knowledge-sharing and collaboration efforts for the Discipline Support System (DSS) and other agency-wide initiatives. The KM team leverages numerous tools and techniques to advance the exchange of knowledge. KM’s innovative approaches increase efficiency, enhance synergies, and promote collaboration among FHWA employees.
In 2022, the Knowledge Management team continued to pivot and reframe its workload to provide the agency’s entire workforce with needed tools and processes for both virtual and in-person learning and collaboration. When agency staff returned to the physical workspace, KM met the dual needs of continuing to share virtual collaboration expertise and bringing staff back together–most notably through the discipline seminar program. KM’s small but mighty staff provided expert assistance and leadership to those activities remaining virtual, those transitioning back to fully in-person, and many that were still operating in a hybrid manner. Read on to see the many ways KM delivered innovative services to the people of FHWA.
The keystone of Knowledge Management’s work is its active involvement in all aspects of the Discipline Support System (DSS), and its support to the 22 technical disciplines within the DSS. KM focuses activities both within disciplines and across the whole DSS to support all FHWA discipline members in their training, collaboration, and knowledge sharing. Key KM activities include:
The Knowledge Management team helps lead the Discipline Council through a permanent co-chair seat. In that capacity, KM facilitates the development of corporate processes and resources that benefit all disciplines. In 2022 this involved updating the Discipline Council Action Plan for FY2022-2024 and completing the 2022 Discipline Awards Program.
After operating in a virtual work environment for two years, FHWA staff was excited about the opportunity to relaunch the discipline seminars. Early in 2022, Knowledge Management began working with FHWA leadership, the Discipline Council, and the discipline champions and sponsors to develop a strategy and schedule to hold in-person seminars for all 22 disciplines over the next three years. Once the plan was in place, KM jumped into high gear to plan and hold seven discipline seminars before the end of 2022. While the Geotechnical and Hydraulics disciplines held smaller seminars in conjunction with industry conferences, KM managed five full seminars involving more than 340 attendees.
Each seminar was well-received, and discipline members were thrilled to again meet face-to-face with their colleagues and FHWA leadership. Planning is underway for the 2023 seminars, which will include a joint Safety and Operations discipline seminar, and a combined seminar for the Finance and Program Management & Analysis (PMA) disciplines.
“This was one of the best seminars I’ve attended. I appreciated the fact that the topics discussed were actually relevant to what we do on the job. … It’s always good to be updated and kept abreast of the changes that are happening within the agency.” – Administrative & Support Services Discipline member
More than 160 attendees took part in the second round of the Navigator discipline-based onboarding program for mid-career hires. Participants in this year’s program had joined the agency in the two years since the original Navigator pilot was launched. Designed and led by Knowledge Management, Navigator is a virtual onboarding program that helps participants get immersed in their discipline, establish connections across the agency, and gain foundational FHWA knowledge.
Unlike the 2020 pilot program, which focused on mid-career hires from only three disciplines, Navigator 2022 included participants from all disciplines. This year’s six-month program included an expanded agenda with virtual sessions on political savvy, finding the FHWA information you need, discipline deep dives, abridged versions of two NHI courses (Federal-aid 101 and Highway Program Funding), career conversations, a virtual lab tour of the Turner Fairbank Highway Research Center, and more. The live sessions were recorded so participants with schedule conflicts would not miss out.
Enthusiastic feedback from Navigator 2022 attendees indicates the program was well received and highly beneficial to participants. A predominant theme voiced by participants was that they welcomed the opportunity to learn about other disciplines and to meet and network with FHWA and discipline leadership. The KM team is exploring new ways to provide ongoing virtual networking opportunities for Navigator participants, and plans are already underway for Navigator 2023.
“I’m constantly letting people know that FHWA is an incredible place to work and the Navigator Program is proof that FHWA cares about empowering those who work here to learn, network, and support each other. Thank you for providing this opportunity!” – 2022 Navigator participant
In a joint effort with the Resource Center, KM produced two Peerapalooza events in 2022. The virtual, interactive programs were designed to provide opportunities for all FHWA employees to learn about cross-discipline topics of importance to the work of the agency. The February Peerapalooza event focused on the Arlington Memorial Bridge Project, with presentations by Federal Lands staff. April’s Peerapalooza on Connectivity and Automated Driving Systems was presented by the Operations discipline. KM built the interactive virtual platform, created exciting agendas and provided live technical support for both events.
In the five years since the Knowledge Management unit was established, the KM team has expanded its range of activities to support not just the disciplines but the entire FHWA workforce. From hosting the monthly KM Collective learning series to supporting various agency and office activities, KM continually works to make its mission a reality–connecting people and leveraging the technologies and processes that help make those connections. Read on to learn about just a few ways KM supported that mission in 2022.
Having completed its second full year, KM Collective is a popular monthly virtual learning series that shares practical tips on specific aspects of collaboration tools and practices. In the spirit of peer-to-peer learning, practitioners from across the agency join KM staff to present their own success stories and lessons learned from using a particular tool or process. Each interactive session focuses on one specific theme and often provides real-time demos and a takeaway reference guide. KM Collective recordings and resource guides can be found on the KnowledgePort site.
The 2022 KM Collective series covered the following topics:
KM’s other monthly learning event, Coffee & KM, continued to generate energetic discussions on all things related to collaboration tools and knowledge management. Open to all FHWA employees, the informal “office hours” format allows staff to ask questions and share their own technology tips that benefit all.
In 2022 KM helped numerous offices and programs enhance their meetings and/or retreats through tailored trainings, interactive activities, and teambuilding activities. These efforts served to increase KM’s repertoire of services that can benefit other organizations across the agency.
Political Savvy Panel – Developed for an Iowa Division retreat, Knowledge Management envisioned, created, and moderated a successful panel discussion on how to develop and practice political savvy skills. Moderated by Carin Michel, the panel included three members of FHWA’s leadership–Amy Lucero, Associate Administrator for Innovation and Workforce Solutions (HIT); Arlan Finfrock, Associate Administrator for Administration (HAD); and Derrell Turner, Director of Field Services, South.
The panelists shared their lessons learned and suggestions for becoming politically savvy, including the importance of building relationships, understanding different communication styles, and how to navigate difficult situations. Based on the success of the initial panel presentation for the Iowa Division, KM incorporated the Political Savvy session into the Navigator program and offered it as an optional corporate session for the discipline seminars.
Virtual Speed Networking – For the joint Financial Management Academy and Financial Management Boot Camp capstone event in April, KM developed and facilitated a virtual speed networking session for the combined graduating classes. The KM team provided suggested conversation-starter questions in advance and utilized the breakout feature in Zoom to conduct multiple 15-minute one-on-one sessions between participants. Each attendee had the opportunity to meet with three different colleagues during the networking session. Based on the positive feedback received, participants enjoyed sharing both work and personal experiences.
“Just communicating and getting to know others across the agency who perform the same or different job duties helped me get some ideas of what they do. It was interesting and fun as well.” — 2022 FMA speed networking participant
Time Management – Knowledge Management partnered with Human Resources’ Talent Development Division (TDD) to present tips and tools for time management as part of the Missouri Division’s skills development program. Following TDD’s discussion of the pitfalls of multitasking and introduction to Getting Things Done (GTD) training, KM’s presentation focused on various technology tools that help save time and improve collaboration, for example knowing when to use a cloud-based collaborative environment such as Teams or SharePoint instead of Outlook.
Teambuilding Exercises – In 2022 Knowledge Management staff added teambuilding and collaboration expertise to the Building Foundations for Visionary Leadership (BFVL) program. KM created a one-hour escape room challenge for the in-person portion of the BFVL program. Participants were divided into five teams and asked to complete 10 consecutive challenges to be the first team to finalize a fictitious road design. The escape room challenge was a successful component of both BFVL classes in 2022.
Knowledge Management’s reach extended beyond discipline support and knowledge-sharing events. KM also contributed to several important agency-wide initiatives in 2022.
Remote Work Assessment – Following nearly two years in a maximum telework posture, FHWA’s Strategic Workforce Council (SWC) convened a workgroup to review and update the FHWA Remote Work program guidance implemented in 2017. KM played an integral role with the workgroup by developing a plan to engage agency leadership at all levels. KM structured and led listening sessions, compiled results, and held a facilitated discussion with the FHWA Leadership Team. The product of their efforts was revised guidance that was made effective in May 2022.
FLEx Mission Support – In 2022 KM continued to provide support to FLEx (Fully Leveraging Expertise) by assisting the FLEx Mission Support Work Group with data collection and analysis. KM analyzed the agency-wide survey and focus group data from last year’s effort and assisted in preparing the Work Group’s recommendations report to the Strategic Workforce Council.
KM staff continued developing their expertise in virtual collaboration and knowledge sharing tools for the benefit of all FHWA employees. Building on the important work KM did with Teams during the past two years, the team kept pace with recent technology advancements and has continued to be the go-to resource for expertise in virtual collaboration and training tips on myriad online tools.
Interactive virtual event platforms – KM used the lessons learned in the Peerapalooza series to design and build an interactive virtual event platform for the 2022 Highway Information Seminar. KM staff supported the Office of Highway Policy Information with technical assistance throughout the planning and execution of the five-day virtual seminar, which had more than 650 attendees.
Discipline SharePoint site design – With deep expertise in SharePoint design, KM provided services to various offices and programs, helping them create user-friendly, dynamic SharePoint sites for their customers. For the discipline seminars, the KM team worked with each discipline to incorporate seminar information into their existing discipline SharePoint site, so members could easily access the seminar agenda, presentation files, and photos. For HIT’s Finance and Business Operations unit, KM designed a user-friendly PR Request site for purchase card transactions.
Hands-on technology assistance – As needed throughout the year, KM staff provided formal and informal training and guidance to help agency staff understand ways to use various collaboration and productivity tools that help them in their jobs. A growing number of Division office and program staff reached out to KM for help with a variety of technical solutions, both big and small. Examples of KM’s “on call” assistance included demonstrating and providing training on polling applications and surveys, helping with Microsoft Lists and SharePoint features, testing Zoom and Teams meeting breakouts, and much more.
