Implementing Knowledge Management III

Since KM systems can capture and manage knowledge from just about any subject area, organisations can use their KM systems to handle problems across a broad range of topics and job functions. This permits the knowledge base to become a real repository of collective organisational wisdom.

As support volume can increase dramatically with little or no increases in cost for support personnel, and the most needed knowledge is available online 24/ 7/ 365, organisations that deploy KM systems become much more competitive than those, which don’t. They can offer more services more often at the same price as those organisations that still rely on 8- hour or half- day telephone support coverage.

The proper use of a KM system to support even tough calls ensures that answers based on shared knowledge come up quickly, and are far more likely to be correct. The paybacks from a committed investment in KM systems and technology go beyond controlling escalating support costs. They also involve an increase in customer satisfaction, the ability to capture knowledge and resolve related problems of all kinds, and an increasing ability to recognise and deal with an organisation’s problems, no matter where and how they occur.

As a result, proper deployment and use of KM systems and tools promise a substantial payback. Not only can organisations do more with the same or fewer resources, they can also deliver a better quality of service to their customers.

Benefits & Payback for Knowledge Management

Given the right degree of investment in KM systems and technologies, and the right level of organisational commitment to their deployment, upkeep and regular use, the following benefits for KM may be realised:

* Re- use of existing knowledge elements prevents recurring costs related to repeated research of the same topics and repeated formulation of the same solutions.

* Access to in- depth knowledge elements for support staff, partners and customers improves the customer service experience and speeds the time from problem statement to problem resolution.

* Support organisations can deliver faster, more accurate responses to questions. Be it from a successful self- service support, or from an assisted service call, customer satisfaction improves when problems are resolved quickly.

* Faster resolution of support calls means improved support staff productivity: support organisations can handle more incidents overall (particularly when self- service works for common problems and queries), and support staff can concentrate on helping customers with more serious problems or questions.

* As a knowledge base is used over time, continuous feedback from its users helps the system improve relevance ranking, identify new and improved solutions, and establish the applicability of known solutions to all related problems. This increases the value and usability of the knowledge in the knowledge base.