Page 219 - DCAP307_PLANNING_AND_MANAGING_IT_INFRASTRUCTURE

Unit 13: Knowledge Management

Notes
Table 13.1: Knowledge Management Initiative – Typical Goals and Objectives
Contract Center Goal: Web self-service Goal:
Reduce operational costs Higher Customer Satisfaction and Web conversions
Improve agent productivity Increase call deflection
Increase first-call resoultions Increase e-mail deflection
Reduce agent training time Improve online channel adoption
Decrease tier 2 escalations Improve online content visibility
Reduce average handle time Increase cross-and up-sell opportunities
Improve service-to-sales
conversions

Source: http://www.oracle.com/us/products/applications/getting-knowledge-managt-right-wp-
1353041.pdf

Don’t Forget the Law of Unintended Consequences

As you start to look at potential knowledge management solutions, keep in mind the law of
unintended consequences and the possible adverse results.

Example: If you implement a solution in the contact centre that provides broad search
results with little contextual filtering, you’ll likely only increase the time agents required to
answer questions. As a result, Average Handle Time (AHT) will go up — and you’ll have
achieved the opposite of the effect you intended. However, if a major objective is to increase
first-call resolution rates—even if the AHT slightly increases—giving first-line agents more
research capability might be the right choice.

The Consequences of Technology

One of the most important considerations for knowledge management technology is how well
it’s integrated with the agent desktop. A solution that’s not fully integrated will require additional
navigation to get to useful answers—wasting precious seconds that can add up to substantial
increases in AHT.
An integrated desktop, in contrast, can use CRM and case data to contextually drive the discovery
process. Queries can be automatically linked to case fields such as case type, summary, and
product. And you can create links that automatically capture the solutions that shorten call
wrap-up time and create a historical record of all solutions used on the case.

A single integrated desktop can improve multiple contact centre metrics—reducing time to
proficiency for new hires, decreasing AHT, minimising training impacts, and improving agent
morale by making access to knowledge part of the natural flow of managing customer inquiries.
Similarly, a Web self-service implementation that yields thousands of answers for site visitors
to wade through may seem like a good idea—after all, you’re giving customers greater access to
useful information—but it can have the reverse effect, annoying customers who have to search
and sift through daunting amounts of information.

!
Caution Here, the likely result is more e-mails and phone calls instead of the projected
substantial reduction.

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