Information Impact: Adding Value to Your Organisation

Author: Lesley Robinson,  Lesley Robinson Consultancy Services Ltd, United Kingdom

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Abstract

The role of the information professional is continually changing, alongside developments in technology and company boardrooms. The role is moving from being one of a straightforward service provider to being a multi-skilled facilitator. This implies continuous learning and a continuous re-invention of the role. We can no longer just depend on the assumption that a Library or Information Centre is a good thing. People who hold the purse strings are asking more difficult questions about budgets and investment returns and there is now an even greater need to give tangible evidence of value. Also, our customers, in a sense, have become our competitors. People have more options for gathering information - from the Internet, desktop tools and internal resources. Information professionals have to remain high in people’s minds and relevant to the business needs.

This talk will outline strategies for information professionals to help them understand the business they work in and how they fit within that business, evaluate the services they offer, define and measure what they do and identify the critical success factors for their development and survival.

About the author

Lesley Robinson runs her own company, specialising in advising companies on information and knowledge strategies, the development and coaching of information professionals and general information management issues. She is a qualified information professional and also has an MBA from Cranfield Business School in the UK. Her previous career has been in consultancy and recruitment within the information industry, as well as general management consultancy and she has worked for companies such as Bain and Company, KPMG, TFPL and the Financial Times.

Lesley has clients in a range of sectors including law, financial services, government, property and construction, trade associations, advertising and advisory firms. As well as client work, Lesley also speaks at conferences, runs training courses and writes articles about information and knowledge issues. She is also writing a book about measuring the value of information in an organisation.