Information as an Organizational Asset

If you arrived at the office one day and discovered that your computers had been stolen, you would call the police. You might also contact your insurance agent, review your security systems and ultimately not only replace the machines, but also make it a priority to "find" the money necessary to protect yourself against a future occurrence.

But what do you do when an employee departs with a chunk of undocumented information stored in his or her head, or leaves behind a tangled web of incomprehensible records?

What message is being sent throughout your organization about information, how you treat and value it, and what impact does that have on how effectively you operate and make decisions?

Information in the For-Profit World

In the for-profit world, information is a prized possession. It is often how a company creates its "competitive advantage" in the marketplace. Knowledge is king, and companies spend millions of dollars not only protecting their "intellectual property," but also developing information systems that allow knowledge to be collected and used effectively throughout the organization.

Ten to fifteen years ago, corporations realized that the numerous, unconnected software programs, spreadsheets, and databases that had been developed over the years by various departments of the company were becoming a liability rather than an asset. Internally, the company couldn't talk to itself. The solution has been an integrated approach to information, sometimes known as "enterprise software" or its slightly more focused cousin, "customer relationship management ( CRM)." Both systems take a company-wide approach to information.

Information in the Nonprofit World

Proprietary cultures and information-based competition are less intense in the nonprofit community. Fundraising aside, the focus is on children, families, literacy, the arts, or the environment. Program-related information is shared more freely among organizations in order to determine best practices, and collaborations are more common.

So, what happens within a nonprofit organization when information is or is not treated as an organizational asset?

When you don't treat information as an organizational asset:	When you do treat information as an organizational asset:
BEHAVIOR:	BEHAVIOR:
Information management is driven in a disorganized way by many individuals. The quality of information maintained by your organization depends on the style and commitment of each staff member, and may vary dramatically by person and department.	Information management is organizationally-driven by staff in different departments who bring their diverse perspectives to the table. Although there will be individual variations, the quality of information maintained by your organization conforms to prescribed standards and is relatively consistent.
RESULTS:	RESULTS:
1. "Information Fiefdoms" develop. Staff thinks/acts like agency information belongs to them, defeating the goal of collaboration. Potential synergies between departments are lost. Politics are exaggerated at the expense of mission.	1. Decision-making is mission-focused, not department-focused. Collaboration is encouraged. Potential synergies between departments are maximized, e.g., development and programs.
2. Contacts become scattered throughout the organization, making it impossible, or extremely expensive and/or time-consuming to build or utilize existing relationships for fundraising, advocacy or any other need you have as a nonprofit.	2. Contacts are centralized, and the many roles that an individual or an organization may play in relation to your organization are available in one place to keep your relationship building on track with constituents and clients.
3. Learning curve for new staff increases. Morale is deflated when a new staff member is lost in a swamp of disorganized files and missing information. Days and weeks can be spent deciphering a home-grown, undocumented and unsupported spreadsheet or database (this task usually involves time from at least one other person as well). Irretrievably messy data has to be re-entered.	3. Learning curve for new staff is minimized. Because existing staff and/or outside technical support personnel can train and explain, the time it takes to understand current systems and locate information is minimized. The new staff member has an information foundation from which he or she can quickly move forward.
4. An information "free for all" results in a helter-skelter slew of word processing documents, spreadsheets, and databases known only to the individual who created them.	4. With everyone using agreed upon naming and storing conventions, time is spent creating, doing and deciding rather than trying to locate information.
5. Staff become frustrated and turn-over increases.	5. Staff feels supported and energized by the quality of information, the technical support that is available and the training they receive - improving staff retention.
6. Organization-wide reporting requirements bring the organization to its knees.	6. Organization-wide reporting becomes a matter of selecting a report and clicking "OK" to print.
7. Decision-making is based on incomplete information - or information that is expensive to assemble.	7. Decision-making is based on complete and reliable information that is readily available.

Taking the Next Step: How to be an "Information Leader"

• Take a leadership stance: The Board and senior staff acknowledge that information is a valuable asset of the organization, and make certain that it is treated with the appropriate resources, policies, priority and security. You can visit the Summit Collaboartive site for more information on technology leadership
• Develop an information management/strategic technology plan: This plan will include information the organization needs to operate effectively and make good decisions, and how that information is being collected, stored and used. It will also incorporate policies, procedures, and training, and reach down to the level of how Word documents, for example, are to be labeled, grouped and stored. You can find more tech planning resources on TechSoup's Tech Planning section.
• Include information management in the budget: Encourage senior staff and program managers to give some thought to information at least once a year. Information management encompasses manual systems along with computer hardware, computer software, staffing and training.
• To the extent possible, develop information systems and information protocols and policies centrally. The proliferation of individually developed spreadsheets and databases impact collaboration, create fragmentation and add expense when there is staff turn-over.
• If you are small or very specialized and must use manual, home-grown or customized solutions, require that they be documented and that at least two people in the organization be familiar with their operation.
• Integrate information management into the staff evaluation process, making certain that policies and procedures are followed and that records be organized and up-to-date - be they manual and/or computerized.
• Make the necessary financial commitment to staff training.

Summary

Information is an organizational asset far more important than the actual hardware that houses it. When this fact is neglected, this asset literally and figuratively walks out the door at considerable expense to the organization. To be an effective nonprofit organization you need to treat information as valuable asset, with the concomitant priority, resources, and procedures.