Automation and Optimization of EY’s Knowledge Management Processes

Knowledge Management (KM) continues to play an evolving role as organizations look for the best cost-efficient and cost-effective ways to capture and share accumulated knowledge. The emerging market of Knowledge Services is predicted to see new heights of economic attention in the coming years. As the upsurge is inevitable, more and more innovations are rising at the forefront of contemporary KM products and services market. As an organization of member firms across the globe, EY competes in a market where knowledge is the product; its insights, research and thought leadership are the key differentiators. EY is helping more clients, in more places, as they tackle more of their toughest challenges than ever before. The company's clients rely on EY practitioners to understand their problems and know how to fix them, quickly. 

By constantly innovating processes, Arun Jhamb, who serves as the Director, Global Markets – EY Knowledge, has been able to provide clients with relevant data, customized research and analysis, and insights. Deep sector and functional knowledge mean EY's knowledge solutions can help across industries, from financial services to technology, and to the consumer. 

Over the last few years, Arun has worked closely with many key initiatives, including Digital service formats; Automated content aggregation; Intelligent knowledge curation; Automated knowledge collection; Automated classification of content; Automated provisioning and decommissioning of sites; Automated content redaction and publishing; Digital infusion of knowledge at scale; Automated reporting of content usage; Intelligent analytics; and Chatbots.  

Delivering Transformational Leadership 

Arun accepted the role of an innovation leader in 2016. He had already been driving process improvement and new-age innovation through robotic process automation (RPA) and artificial intelligence (AI), but the new role formalized his focus on the "art of the possible". Arun was able to identify and map capabilities internally and externally and to automate and optimize the company's knowledge management processes. To achieve the desired objectives, he conducted a deep diagnosis of more than 150 global processes to identify gaps and propose solutions. Automated solutions are focused on all aspects of the knowledge management value chain, including knowledge harvesting, content redaction, and promotion of "high-value" content in the global knowledge portal for EY, Discover. This resulted in the deployment of eight bots.  

In addition, Arun executed Process Improvement (PI) projects for more than 50 processes, achieving efficiency gains of more than 20%. Since 2016, he continues to identify and execute automation and PI projects for KM processes, pursuing efficiency gains and increased engagement through automation. 

Moreover, in early 2019, EY accelerated its innovation culture by deploying the global innovation process tool, CogniStreamer. Owing to Arun's extensive innovation experience, he was selected to lead this initiative. With CogniStreamer, the company can rapidly capture and cycle through innovative ideas to enhance EY's knowledge offerings. He also developed a recognition framework for top innovation contributors, ensuring that the company rewards all top idea contributors, not just winning ideas. The reward framework has been very well received by his team members and stakeholders. 

Additionally, this year, Arun earned Bronze and Silver EY Badges* in RPA and two Bronze badges for design thinking and transformational leadership. He also presented on RPA and innovation at the World RPA Cognitive and AI Summit 2018 and significantly contributed to thought leadership initiatives by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII). 

Driving Innovation through Intelligent Automation 

Arun believes that automation is transforming the knowledge management industry. The ways in which knowledge is gathered, processed and communicated have undergone a paradigm shift. Despite the constant disruption, EY Knowledge (the global knowledge organization) is staying at the forefront of change. 

He says, after participating in workshops designed to identify service excellence opportunities aligned with EY priorities, he and his team identified and evaluated the feasibility, strategic impact and priority alignment of these opportunities, categorizing them as Automation (AI + RPA), RPA, Process Improvements, and Quick Wins. 

Such automation projects have saved the EY organization US$ 250,000 in just a year. Over three years, the projected savings reached US$ 850,000. Intangible benefits from these projects include: increased transparency in sharing information and updates; enhanced consistency in reviews and audits; improved career value of team members, and boosting the morale of EY professionals. Furthermore, this has enabled EY leaders to measure operational effectiveness and drive improvements in efficiency. Along with the team working on this project, Arun was awarded with the EY Quality Evangelist Award 2019.  

As a determined innovator, he has been involved in the successful execution of some of the most innovative Automation / RPA projects in past years which includes Content redaction bot; Content promotion bot; Automated reporting; and SharePoint Site Lifecycle Management bot.  

Overcoming Business Challenges 

As EY Knowledge is highly integrated and works across different geographies, it has its own set of challenges, which may include regional or country-specific compliance measures, risk assessments, and requirements.  

Within the organization, there are natural cultural differences. Over the years, Arun has been able to overcome these to a large extent by having proper checks/frameworks and recognition mechanisms. 

To help the company's talent adopt a "knowledge-sharing and innovation mindset", new joiners are introduced to the EY proprietary global knowledge platform, Discover, through a digital learning experience, "Knowledge at EY". This interactive learning helps professionals access the best of EY thinking and differentiate themselves through what they know. The new Discover archiving project ensures that EY offers the latest information to its practitioners. 

Adding an extra edge to that, Arun shares knowledge internally through a variety of ways, including lunch-and-learn gatherings, demo bars, workshops, virtual schools, and webcasts. He wants to help people effectively use EY insights and resources and encourage them to discuss and share ideas and build their networks and personal brands. 

According to him, Yammer integration in Discover makes it easy for EY employees to instantly access and share the company's collective intelligence. Yammer groups cover hot topics such as robotics, digital and cybersecurity, making it easy to find latest news, share case studies, or brainstorm ideas. Fast, facilitated YamJam sessions encourage knowledge sharing in private or public communities of practice. 

Being a progressive leader, Arun is often invited to share his thoughts and ideas on KM innovation with clients and external audiences. EY teams use CogniStreamer with clients to foster collaboration within their organizations. It has consistently been recognized by Forrester and Gartner as a leading innovation management platform. When solving innovation challenges, EY teams leverage their collaborations with organizations like UiPath and Automation Anywhere to co-create solutions. 

About the Experience Leader and Innovator 

Arun has worked in knowledge management (KM), managing globally diverse teams and functions for 17 years. In his current role, he leads business transformation initiatives related to RPA and AI. Arun also has extensive experience in setting up and leading shared service centers across multiple locations and managing large, complex global programs. 

At EY as a Knowledge Leader, Arun is keenly aware that new services and products come from fresh insights of EY clients' businesses and the evolving marketplace. Accordingly, he works closely and often with clients, converting what they know into practical advice. Externalizing knowledge and encouraging new ideas and knowledge creation are performance-related requirements for Arun. EY shares these insights with clients and the public through regular conferences, publications, and webcasts.