5 ways to drive knowledge management success

5 ways to drive knowledge management success

Published on: October 09, 2013
Author: Eptica

Effective knowledge management is a key element of delivering customer service and that’s why we’ve been focusing on this important area in recent weeks.

In our first post we discussed how to get started - outlining the different stages of knowledge management within customer service operations. Following this we covered building a business case, outlining the benefits your organisation will receive from implementing a knowledge management project.

This week we’re sharing five top tips for successfully deploying and reaping the benefits of knowledge management in your organisation. These are part of a longer list contained in our newly published Top Tips to Drive Knowledge Management Success guide.

1. Identify your knowledge sources

Important and useful knowledge could exist anywhere - from paper-based files and private notes on individual agent’s PCs, to the important pieces of information stored away in the brains of experienced employees.  So, when starting to plan the information you will require for your knowledgebase, it’s important to identify all the places where knowledge resides in your organisation. And gain staff buy-in to help provide information to populate it.

2. Remember - knowledge doesn’t stand still

Ensure your knowledgebase is always up to date, by building in processes and technologies to automatically update it with new knowledge as the organisation, its offerings and customer requirements evolve. For example, when customers ask new questions you need be able to capture them and have the policies and workflow in place to quickly create and approve new answers, so they can be added to the knowledgebase.

3. Make it intuitive to use, whatever the channel

Build a range of interfaces into your knowledgebase that make it easy for customers and staff to easily access answers from multiple channels and devices. The system should be flexible enough to handle different types of information – text, graphics and even video – so as to deliver the correct answer in the best format on the right channel.

4. Use smart search to drive discovery

Don’t make it hard for users to find the answers they are looking for. Deploy smart  search that understands the context of the question and the different terms people might use in order to deliver smart, relevant and rapid answers.

5. Create a structured design to meet different user requirements

Make it easy to extend your knowledgebase onto different channels and to allow it to be accessed by internal staff, customers, partners and other parts of the business through an open, flexible structure.

To help you consistently deliver high levels of customer service it’s essential to harness and maximise the experience and knowledge within your organisation. A successful knowledge management deployment is one of the keys to making this possible.

You can download a full list of tips on deploying knowledge management in our new guide here.  And stay tuned for the final post in our series which will show how organisations are benefiting from knowledge management in their customer service operations.

Tags: contact centre, Customer experience, Customer Service, Eptica, Knowledge, Knowledge base, knowledge management, knowledgebase, Paul Barnes
Categories: Contact Center, Customer Experience, Customer Service, Agent Knowledge Base, Multichannel Customer Service

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