How would you like to be a Guest Blogger for KMI? Email us at: info@kminstitute.org and let us know your topic(s)!

Great Knowledge Management can lead to Award Winning Innovation

March 28, 2023

One of the most underrated and under-utilised aspects of Knowledge Management is its ability to lead to innovative solutions for customers and frontline staff. Below is a real example of award winning innovation from early on in my career at WDS (See my KM origin story)

Use Case

Whilst working for WDS, back in the early noughties, we created mobile phone knowledge for Network Operators (MNOs) and mobile phone manufacturers, as well as being an outsourced call centre for technical data queries.

We created, refined, simple and easy-to-use content for the end user. Still, some of the most time-intensive and complicated problems to solve for call centre agents and customers were setting up the Internet, WAP, MMS and Email on their mobile phones. And although we had the proper knowledge to talk users through the journey, it was still a timely process and involved the customers knowing their technical settings.

A couple of intelligent people at WDS identified this problem. So they looked for a more brilliant, innovative way to deliver customer knowledge to solve these issues. They discovered they could send components of knowledge and settings directly to the mobile phones through SMS and automatically set the customer up in a matter of seconds, instead of the 15-minute calls it would take in the call centre. Due to this innovation WDS actually won "Most Innovative use of technology in a small call centre 2001", what a great night that was. (In 2001!!!! I feel old). 

Anyway, after this innovation, WDS productised this technology and made it available directly to MNOs and Manufacturers for self-service channels. First, customers would get a new device. Then, go to the MNO or Manufacturer web site and send the settings they need directly to their phone. All from the same single source of knowledge where the original knowledge articles were housed.

This technology evolved even further over the coming years by embedding the knowledge directly onto SIM cards and Manufacturer devices. So the moment a user inserted a new sim card or entered their email address, the correct settings and configurations were automatically configured without the customer knowing it. Solving a problem before the customer realised they had one.

This technology saved millions of dollars in the cost to service customers for these particular problems. And customers nowadays take for granted that setting up email and the internet on your phone is easy and automatic.

Summary

A well-rounded Knowledge Strategy should have continuous improvement and innovation embedded as part of the process. It should look at customers' problems and how knowledge can help innovatively find a better solution. Don't just think about knowledge as a static piece of content. Think about how a combination of knowledge and technology can provide real customer benefits.

Knowledge Management, when done right, will help lead to innovation.

Read Post

Breaking Knowledge Silos with Knowledge Management

March 21, 2023

Innovation is a buzzword for organizations striving to be the best in the highly competitive world today. How do we use the collective brains of an organization to innovate?

The easy and the simplest answer is to break the knowledge silos that most organizations struggle with, more so with flexible and WFH culture becoming a part of the corporate world. And the fact of the matter is that Hybrid and WFH culture is here to stay so the organizations that fail to come up with ways to break these silos now should be ready to face even bigger and harder-to-solve challenges in the future in terms of knowledge loss and ability to maintain their competitive edge.

Overcoming knowledge silos requires concerted action to create a culture of collaboration, knowledge sharing, and openness within an organization.

So, what are knowledge silos? 

It is the long prevalent culture where knowledge and information from a team member or a team stay within the team with no protocols in place to take it to the whole organization.

The lack of knowledge management protocols and processes to ensure the distribution of knowledge across teams and countries costs an organization lot in terms of money with the amount of time spent in research and repurposing the knowledge, tools, and processes already available within your organization.

The result is redundant work, loss of time and productivity which would have otherwise been utilized for innovation, taking care of other key priorities, and opportunities for improving customer experience.

Why Knowledge Silos Occur:

The knowledge silos occur mostly because of a missing system to seamlessly integrate and distribute knowledge across the teams and organization.

Another critical reason for knowledge silos is the failure of the leadership to communicate the organization’s vision clearly to the organization. It trickles down to the employees who fail to embrace the knowledge-sharing culture and veer off in different directions blocking the road to innovation that comes when people from different backgrounds and skills bring together their brains.

The absence of seamless integration between departments might end up impacting the company’s credibility. For example, in the absence of a knowledge management system, the sales team might end up approaching a customer for selling a product or a service that is already used by the customer, due to a lack of sufficient documentation in place.

It also might be the case, that a sales proposal for a particular service is already in place as designed by another team, however, has to be recreated from scratch due to a lack of visibility of the available assets.

How to Break the Knowledge Silos:

Overcoming knowledge silos requires concerted action to create a culture of collaboration, knowledge sharing, and openness within an organization.

Integrate knowledge management (KM) in your organizational goals: The key is to have knowledge management, not as an individual entity but embedded into the organization’s culture and individual employees’ day-to-day work.

Embrace the collaboration culture: When you collaborate, you share and learn, this is the basis of sharing knowledge and breaking silos. Research proves that companies that actively collaborate definitely lead the competitive race.  Create opportunities for team members to interact and collaborate regularly.

Recognize and reward collaboration: The next step is to recognize and reward employees who are committed to collaboration and knowledge sharing. This can include bonuses, promotions, and other incentives that encourage collaboration and break down silos.

Promote a culture of learning: foster a culture of continuous learning and development by providing opportunities for employees to learn new skills, attend workshops and participate in training programs. This helps break down silos by allowing employees to understand other areas of the organization and how they contribute to the overall mission.

Promote cross-functional teams: Encourage cross-functional teams where employees from different departments work together on projects. This not only fosters collaboration but also helps employees develop a broader understanding of the company’s goals.

Having a KM lead culture is a sure-shot way to ensure the seamless communication of data, information as well as customer experience. When the whole organization is on the same page when it comes to sharing knowledge, experiences, and insights, the outcome is bound to be an exceptionally innovative and motivated workforce and delivery of high-quality customer experiences.

Read Post

The Different Roles in a Knowledge Management Team

March 21, 2023

Whether implementing a new Knowledge Management initiative or maintaining Knowledge Management in BAU, customer service organisations need to consider the following roles for a Knowledge Team. 

All organisations are different, so the size and scale of the team may vary, and you may have individuals performing multiple roles simultaneously. 

KM Exec Sponsor – This person represents the highest position in the organisation for Knowledge Management. This person supports the ongoing strategy of Knowledge Management and represents Knowledge Management at the highest level.

Knowledge Manager – The Knowledge Manager is the most critical role for KM success. They are accountable for Knowledge Management within an organisation. They work with the KM Exec sponsor to set a KM vision and strategy and provide leadership to the rest of the team to manage knowledge effectively. A Knowledge Manager needs to ensure they deliver continuous value to customers and frontline staff and share the value across all relevant stakeholder groups.

Knowledge Workers (Knowledge Analysts / Knowledge Engineers / Knowledge Editors / Content Editors) – These will likely be the most numerous role in the KM Team. They manage new and updated knowledge for customers and the frontline across the content lifecycle. In addition, they drive ongoing end-user adoption and engagement. They continuously improve customer and end users' knowledge experience using metrics and insights. 

Knowledge Architect – This role will depend on the organisation and the systems in place. However, they are responsible for the underlying taxonomy of a Knowledge base. They usually represent the technical requirements of the wider Knowledge Management team and work closely with the Knowledge Systems manager.

KM Champions – These frontline users work together to promote Knowledge Management best practices amongst the frontline and represent the end user's voice to the broader knowledge management team.

Knowledge Systems Manager – If you use an out-of-the-box vendor solution, you won't necessarily need this role. It depends on the system you are using, but this could be an IT, Developer or UX person responsible for the ongoing upkeep and maintenance of the Knowledge Management platform.

Agile – If your organisation follows Agile, you may need a KM Product owner and Scrum Master to help facilitate Agile methodology.

 

Read Post

Agent Brains are a Goldmine for Knowledge Management

March 17, 2023

After finishing one of my previous blogs on user engagement with customer facing staff, I couldn't help but reflect on how brilliant the brain of a call centre agent is. When a call comes into a contact centre and is received by a top-performing call centre agent, amazing things happen in the agent's brain.

The Real AI (Agent Intelligence) 

Before the customer comes through on the phone, agents analyse what the customer might need based on the context of what is shown on the screen. As the customer starts talking, the agent deciphers which systems to use and knows how to answer the customer's question best without navigating the knowledge base. They get to the answer far better than any AI system would (at this moment, March 2023), and the customer is delighted.

Even when they don't have the answer, they know exactly where to look and what to do to get the information they need.

They end the call, and 10 seconds later, they do it again and again for 50+ calls in a day.

How does the agent do this? I'm full of admiration for customer-facing frontline staff.

Why should KM Professionals care?

"I've created content with the legal and compliance teams and agents just need to follow it. I know best!!" No No No hypothetical KM professional, that won't do.

I've always been a firm believer that KM professionals should be engaging with the frontline staff constantly. In customer service, agents are the ultimate "Customer" of Knowledge Management, and as such, Knowledge professionals should be asking how they can continuously offer more value from a KM perspective.

Agents' brains contain brilliant information; if KM professionals can utilise it correctly, everyone benefits.

  • The gap between the worst and best-performing agents will reduce.
  • Agents are happy to get the proper knowledge at the speed of conversation.
  • New starters are not overwhelmed by jargon and can be more productive sooner.
  • Tenured agents feel valued and offer more to the business than just answering calls.
  • Customers get excellent service more consistently.
  • Leadership teams achieve their intended benefits. 
  • Knowledge Professionals get direct access to users' brains, so they don't need to guess what will work.
  • Agent feedback could benefit customers across all customer channels.

What are the practical ways of doing this? 

Well, this is documented one of my previous blogs 17 Ways to Engage Customer-Facing Staff in Knowledge Management. But to summarise:-

  • Involve users when kicking off a KM initiative
  • Pilot with users
  • Let them name the new tool
  • Launch party with users
  • Give out branded items to celebrate.
  • Get users to help write content.
  • Involve Rogue agents.
  • Use secondments.
  • Observe frontline staff in action.
  • KM staff could take calls or chats.
  • Ensure a robust feedback process.
  • Set KM sharing objectives.
  • Make Knowledge Management fun.
  • Regular Roundtable sessions with users.
  • Create a community of frontline users for KM.
  • Knowledge Champions.
  • Locate KM workers with the frontline.

Agents are brilliant and when Knowledge Management professionals show agents they are valued, great things happen!

 

Read Post

6 Reasons why Knowledge Management Implementations Fail

March 10, 2023

So you've successfully launched a new Knowledge Management initiative; however, several years later, it is deemed a failure!
What happened?

Here are my top 6 reasons Knowledge Management initiatives fail,
the underlying causes, and the best way to mitigate them.

1 - Lack of Senior Management Engagement

Sometimes KM is treated as a one-off launch, with lots of excitement initially; however, BAU lacks focus. Therefore, you must actively engage Senior Managers in KM and show its benefits to the business on an ongoing basis. It's crucial that if organisational restructuring or role changes occur and new Senior stakeholders arrive on the scene, they see the constant value of KM. Without Senior Leadership support, funding and resources for Knowledge Management are likely to reduce.

2 - Content Quality

If the quality of content that customers and frontline staff access is poor, end-user engagement will suffer. 

Quality issues typically occur when you don't have enough people with the right skills to manage the content lifecycle. Quality drops when content authors are under pressure to deliver content quickly. Quality also drops if the frontline is not actively engaged through continuous feedback, so keeping an ongoing dialogue with the frontline and customers is essential. 

Poor content quality will impact: Findability, Readability, Accuracy and the Reliability of the Knowledge Management solution. Trust will erode with the end users.

3 - Lack of Frontline Staff and Customer Engagement

As well as content quality, if there are no ongoing adoption and engagement activities with the frontline and customers, then Knowledge Management will not meet the user's needs on an ongoing basis.

Users will stop relying on it and find other means to get what they need, for example, asking a colleague or team manager or putting their notes on the desktop—leading to inconsistent experiences, upset customers, increases in complaints, escalations and quality issues. Frontline staff will lose faith in knowledge management, which could cause a high attrition rate. 

4 - Lack of responsibility / accountability for Knowledge Management

This could be caused by a lack of clarity on roles and responsibilities. For Knowledge Management to remain successful in BAU, it needs:-

Ongoing Knowledge Management vision. 
Ongoing Governance, with roles, responsibilities and accountability for Knowledge      management, clearly defined. 
Knowledge management practices embedded into everyday processes. 

5 - Technology Issues

These can come in several forms: -

Knowledge Management is delivered as a Technology solution rather than a Business or Cultural solution.
The KM solution is over-customised or integrated into other systems without      consideration of the technical debt or the end-user experience.
The gap in expectations between technical teams and business users. 
Lack of ongoing technology roadmap for continuous improvement and innovation.
Technology outages, slowness, and features needing to be fixed.
Finger-pointing and apportioning blame between different technical teams or vendors rather than working together and collaborating.
Technology teams driving KM can lose focus on the end user. Instead, KM should be business-led with support from Tech.

6 - Lack of Obvious Value to the Business

Without a clear vision and a clear way of measuring and delivering value, people will not be aware of the ongoing benefits of Knowledge management and its progress. Negative perception (rightly or wrongly apportioned) is a killer concerning knowledge management and is challenging to change further down the line.

How to stop this from happening? 

The Knowledge Management Team and Knowledge Manager roles are vital in managing the above. They should consistently show the value Knowledge Management brings, working with end users and Senior Leadership to keep them engaged. Ensuring the Tech, processes, culture, governance metrics, and content quality are all in place and continuously improving for the business in line with the broader Knowledge Management vision.

These guys are the gatekeepers for excellent Knowledge management. 

Read Post