2 Quick Ways to Jumpstart Your Knowledgebase

Your customers want to help themselves. Research not only shows this is true, but that the trend is growing. This is why it is so important to invest in a quality knowledge base program. However masterful your support team is, it’s always rewarding if a customer can figure it out on their own — so you should make that an option. With new standards, products and techniques, Knowledge Management has gained a reputation as a large scale project, that is difficult to succeed. This is simply not true. In this session, you will learn 2 key principles you can implement tomorrow to make a successful knowledge program. You will also learn how to measure success and promote the KB both internal to your organization and externally to your customers. Distilled from the Knowledge Centered Support (KCS) model of Knowledge Management, we’ll cut through the clutter and get you off and running faster by embedding KB content into your process and engaging with your team to post the right content, in the right format, at the right time. Customers want to learn on their own, and be successful, so why not help them thrive today!

Transcript

1. 2 QUICK WAYS TO JUMPSTART YOUR KNOWLEDGEBASE CRAIG STOSS @STOSSINSUPPORT CSTOSS@GMAIL.COM
2. AGENDA • Common Problems • KCS (Knowledge Centered Support) in Brief • 2 Principals You Can Use Tomorrow • Keys To Success • Use It
3. COMMON PROBLEMS • Knowledgebase is: non-existent, outdated, not promoted or not growing • A single “Go To” person, or team holds knowledge (Tribal Knowledge) • Repeat questions killing efficiency (Very little, if any, case deflection) • Multiple knowledge sources/No maintence • Ticket load rising through new products introductions, growing customer base etc. • Headcount (isn’t this always a problem?)
4. KNOWLEDGE CENTERED SUPPORT IN BRIEF • NOTE: This is not KCS Training • KCS is a standard created by the Consortium for Service Innovation. http://www.serviceinnovation.org/kcs/ • KCS is a proven methodology for integrating the use, validation, improvement, and creation of knowledge into the workflow.
5. KNOWLEDGE CENTERED SUPPORT IN BRIEF Image from: http://www.serviceinnovation.org/kcs/
6. QUICK START PRINCIPALS • Tackling KCS in its entirety is a big undertaking and can be overwhelming • Focusing on just 2 principals that can be started within days or weeks will get you on your way quickly and drive real successes Principal 1: Integrate the creation and reuse of knowledge into the problem solving process Principal 2: Evolve content based on demand and usage
7. INTEGRATE THE CREATION AND REUSE OF KNOWLEDGE INTO THE PROBLEM SOLVING PROCESS • Assign ownership of all knowledge to one leader and/or team • Process includes searching for existing knowledge, or creating new knowledge • Knowledge creation becomes everyone’s responsibility: “Never answer the same question twice” • “New vs Known” Knowledge
8. EVOLVE CONTENT BASED ON DEMAND AND USAGE • Knowledge should be updated in real time, and always accurate • Content must be in ‘customer voice’ • Grouping ‘like’ articles together into informative docs
9. KEYS TO SUCCESS • Make it part of culture • Emphasize opportunities to work on more interesting work, focus on tougher problems • Have a team member/peer run the program instead of management • They are the experts, let them be the experts • Promote the sh*t out of it • Nudge your customers to articles or video at every opportunity • Measure Deflection • Integrate it into your Case Logging Channels & Case Management Tool
10. WORKSHOP • Write an article in the customer voice • How would the customer ask for this? (Only one way? Many ways?) • How would you answer this to ensure your customer can be successful? • What other articles might this need to reference?