Better IT knowledge sharing = happier customers
Let's be honest. IT teams have a love-hate relationship with knowledge management and sharing. You love how it could remove a lot of issues. You hate that it would create a lot of work. And the last you want is more work. You never have enough time, let alone for things that don't have clear and immediate benefits.
Unfortunately, I'm not a time wizard. I can't give you more hours - and if I did, you shouldn't spend them doing more work anyhow. I can, however, provide some clarity, help you avoid unnecessary hassle, and quickly get the best possible results.
The most popular approach for knowledge service management is Knowledge-Centered Service (KCS®). KCS is a great toolbox, with simple and effective practices. It's completely compatible with ServiceNow, TOPDesk, and other leading ITSM tools too. If you already have these tools, you're pretty much set to go. Of course, like many other practices, it shouldn't be adopted blindly. It takes common sense and the right approach to get the optimal results. Still, I would recommend KCS to any service team looking to improve their efficiency.
Here are some results achieved with KCS by different IT teams. Don't look at the numbers at face value though. Imagine what achieving these would mean for you. Fewer calls? More time for real work. Happier customers? Fewer complaints. Lower costs? More budget to work with.
HP (Infrastructure):
- 5% increase in Net Promoter Score (to 69%)
- 40% lower resolution time
- 14% reduction in ticket volume and support costs
- 25.000 out of 26.000 documented solutions directly available to customers
- 7x increase in customer self-service within 12 month period
AVAYA (Unified Communications & Cloud):
- Customer satisfaction improved by 12%
- 53% increase in Net Promoter Score (to 52 points)
- New knowledge available to customers within 24-36 hours after publishing
- 50% lower resolution time
- 57% reduction in cost / ticket
- 66% reduction in overall support costs
- 12% increase in employee engagement
ServiceNow (Service & Workflow Management):
- 87% increase of direct link between ticket and article
- 52% faster resolution time
Quest (Data & Infrastructure Management) :
- Customer Experience increased from 38% to 68.1%
- Net Promotor Score increased to 77%
- Service success increased from 47.6% to 57.9%
- Increased the link rate (tickets solved by reusing a knowledge article) from 36% to 67%
- Raised the percentage of new knowledge published before ticket closure from 0.3% to 95%
Salesforce (Cloud CRM)
- 87% adoption rate among 13.000 employees
- 524 out of 900 articles created in-resolution
- 10% link rate
Verisign (Domain Registry and Internet Infrastructure):
- Reduced number of tickets by 88%
Extreme Networks (Infrastructure)
- Reduced customer support interactions from 9% to 4%
- 85% reported low customer effort
- Quadrupled self-service success in one year
- More than 80% customer feedback on knowledge articles is positive
What would getting similar results mean for your team?
It doesn’t take all that much to get these either. The KCS practices integrate completely into your existing service delivery process. So, the investment and adoption required is minimal.
Sources:
- KCS Academy Roundtables 03 June 2021
- http://www.serviceinnovation.org/included/docs/kcs_cs_hpsupport.pdf
- https://www.serviceinnovation.org/included/docs/AvayaTransformingCE.pdf?pdf=AvayaTransforming
- https://library.serviceinnovation.org/Case_Studies/KCS_Case_Studies/ServiceNow_KCS_Faster_Time_to_Relief
- https://www.serviceinnovation.org/included/docs/quest_90_0_case_study.pdf
- https://www.serviceinnovation.org/included/docs/SFDCEmployeeSuccess.pdf
- https://www.serviceinnovation.org/included/docs/kcs_publication_verisign.pdf
- http://www.serviceinnovation.org/included/docs/kcs_cs_extremenetworks.pdf
23 December 2023
Metaknowledge Part VII : Governance
This part provides an overview of the different methods and tools to ensure a successful KM program.
Metaknowledge Part V : Roles
A deep dive into the different roles involved in each of the knowledge management activities.
Metaknowledge Part IV: Process
An in-depth examination of the processes and practices related to the four knowledge management activities, with examples for each.
Metaknowledge Part III: The 4X4KM knowledge management framework
This part of the Metaknowledge Guide provides the 4X4KM framework, based on the four core KM activities. This framework is an invaluable tool in organizing your KM, and keeping your efforts focused and productive.
Metaknowledge Part II: The three kinds of knowledge management
This part of the Metaknowledge Guide outlines the the three kinds of knowledge management, and how knowledge management relates to learning & development.
Metaknowledge Part I: Knowledge, Information, and Data
A practical, intuitive interpretation of "knowledge", and how it compares to information and data. This will help you position knowledge management in relation to information management and data management in your organisation.
The Do's and Dont's of IT projects
What should we do to (and not do) to ensure the project runs smoothly, and delivers the best results? I asked a few experienced IT project managers what they've learned.
How we used Digital Transformation to improve construction projects
Here's the story of how we used process analysis and digital transformation to speed up construction project initiation.
It Took A Lot Of Jelly Beans
Peter Maeseele is an expert in design and business analysis, and a lead in a number of IT knowledge management initiatives. In this talk he shared some of his experiences and insights - and why jelly beans proved a key component of their change management.
The Lazy Man's Way Of Working
Lazy smart people leverage experience to their benefit. They take the time to save time.
Three Tricks I Learned, And You Should Too
Much of the value of knowledge sharing comes from sharing and reusing tricks and small improvements that are easy to replicate and adopt. Here are three 'tricks' I learned to improve work and life.
[Interview] Not Everything German Is All German
Marianne Rutz shares some great insights and practical advice on how to account for local culture in global service teams, and how teams can leverage cultural diversity to improve their services.
[Interview] Breaking Silos in the Virtual Workplace
In this talk, Stefano Leone (IT communications and people strategy at Euroclear) sin improving collaboration and breaking down silo's in a tech-focused environment.
[Interview] The future of IT services
I recently appeared on the podcast of Marianne Rutz, a leading operational excellence consultant in the contact center industry. We talked about the future of IT services, and how to deliver real value to customers.
Nobody cares about the ServiceDesk
Traditionally, the ServiceDesk offers a safety net for IT users. But here's the thing: nobody wants a good safety net. They want to not need a safety net.
Shift-Left: getting started the right way
Many IT organisations are working to implement a shift-left of knowledge and capabilities. However, many of these initiatives don't deliver the expected results. To prevent this from happening to you, I’d like to share three pieces of advice to get started the right way.