Introduction to Knowledge Management

Learn more about the nature and benefits of knowledge management and what’s involved in implementing such solutions.

As business operations shift increasingly to the Internet and the Web, organisations are being forced to move their customer support and service operations online. The benefits of such a move can be substantial, since the virtual world operates nonstop 24/ 7/ 365, and provides unlimited opportunities for customer interaction. However, it’s also the case that satisfying unlimited demands for information and service can be expensive, and creates an “instant response” mentality in the customer base.

The solution to this problem lies in deploying a knowledge management (KM) initiative. Using KM technologies, organisations make it possible for their customers to obtain information just by searching for it, enabling them to satisfy their own demands around the clock. Since customers and end- users can answer many of their own questions through tier zero “selfservice,” customer service and support agents can devote more time and resources to handling complex issues.

In an enterprise environment, KM solutions make it possible to deliver expert knowledge to all sites within an organisation. KM solutions also help mitigate the effects of personnel turnover and job changes since captured knowledge remains accessible at all times. Finally, KM solutions deliver the latest and most- upto- date answers and information across the enterprise, because knowledge sharing and replication ensures that all captured knowledge is current and available.

Implementing a KM solution requires that an organisation recognise that knowledge is widely and unequally distributed within the minds of its employees, and buried in documents, e- mails, FAQs, manuals, and other information resources. The main hurdle to implementing a KM solution lies in the cultural changes needed to make KM really work— namely, the notions that knowledge must be explicitly captured, shared, and used effectively to provide the best possible benefits. Thus KM is as much a mindset as it is a set of tools and related information. Without management support, proper training, and a committed effort to make implicit knowledge explicit, KM technology will be ineffective. Companies can successfully avoid these pitfalls by choosing the right people, processes, technology and knowledge to implement a KM solution.

The best guarantee of a successful implementation lies in partnering with a KM provider that offers the right mix of methodologies and tools to address KM needs. Those solutions include software that can capture and organise knowledge elements, along with the necessary support and training to insure a successful launch of KM solutions within an organisation.