No.
- 02/2017
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
a valuable resource waiting to be leveraged
INDEX
02 Knowledge management: a valuable resource waiting to be leveraged
03 What exactly is knowledge?
03 Knowledge management: essential for every industry
04 An example: from information to knowledge in the service center
05 Creating a culture of knowledge
06 Knowledge management has three levels
07 Side note: collecting tacit knowledge
08 The operational implementation of knowledge management
09 Tools for knowledge management
10 Knowledge management at small and mid-sized enterprises
11 Knowledge management checklist
12 Ready to get started?
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT - A VALUABLE RESOURCE WAITING TO BE LEVERAGED 2
Most companies offer knowledge as a service to their
customers, creating a new competitive factor. Thats
why companies should collect and make usable the
knowledge, ideas, and skills of each one of their
employees. This is the only way for companies to be
ready for the future.
Alexander Holtappels, SABIO GmbH
SABIO is a perfect platform for us to communicate
knowledge and workflows to our employees.
Gabriele Bergunde, Head of Customer Service & Websupport, Carnect
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT - A VALUABLE RESOURCE WAITING TO BE LEVERAGED 3
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT: A VALUABLE
RESOURCE WAITING TO BE LEVERAGED
Knowledge is power. Its an old maxim that is or impossible to find, work grinds to a standstill.
more relevant now than ever. Practically every Employees lose their motivation and service staff
company is sitting on a cache of knowledge are forced to appease unsatisfied customers, who
hidden on its hard drives and in the minds of its often turn their backs on the company. Professi-
employees. With good knowledge management, onal knowledge management ensures that your
you can leverage this resource to be more inno- company actively collects, edits, and makes avai-
vative and customer-centric. In this e-book, you lable existing knowledge.
will learn intelligent methods for introducing
knowledge management to reduce costs and A centralized knowledge database for customer
increase efficiency at your company. service benefits not only customers, who receive
fast and accurate answers, but the entire compa-
To shift an enterprise into high gear and put it ny as well. Apple, for instance, saves US$5 million
in the passing lane, knowledge must be readily every year with its knowledge management sys-
available. The availability of knowledge and the tem.
ability of an enterprise to learn provide a meaning-
ful competitive advantage, especially with respect Thats because the company offers its knowledge
to the organizations ability to innovate and provide to customers through a self-service interface that
services. Customer service in particular is increa- results in fewer questions being directed at its
singly becoming the differentiator. The service service centers. Consistent knowledge manage-
experiences customers have determine loyalty ment also has a positive impact on first contact
and sales. resolution (FCR). Efficiency also increases, since
processing times decrease across all channels.
A lack of knowledge management can slow down
the entire organization. If information is difficult
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT - A VALUABLE RESOURCE WAITING TO BE LEVERAGED 4
WHAT EXACTLY IS KNOWLEDGE?
In conversation, we generally equate knowledge year. The comparison turns the numbers into
with information. Knowledge managers at enter- information: the company is growing. This type of
prises, however, should make a clear distinction information is in turn the foundation for creating
between the two terms if they are to be truly suc- knowledge. Knowledge creation involves the com-
cessful with their knowledge management efforts. parison, evaluation, connection, and interpretation
of information. In this way, information becomes
a prized resource that has a very high value, for
Knowledge is a network consisting of facts,
instance as part of customer service.
skills, and capabilities that an individual uses to
solve a problem or complete a task. Knowled-
ge, however, is fleeting. It can become outda-
ted or be misplaced.
Knowledge management starts with the data that
every company has in excess and can be gathe-
red with varying degrees of effort from internal
or external networks. This data by itself, alone
and without links to anyones mind or a system,
is initially of little or no use. Heres an example:
Sales increases by X percent. Is this good or bad?
Does that translate into profits? Only when the
data have been evaluated in context and thus a
particular objective is being pursued can the data
provide us with information. Sales are increasing
by X percent, a higher rate than the previous
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT - A VALUABLE RESOURCE WAITING TO BE LEVERAGED 5
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT: ESSENTIAL
FOR EVERY INDUSTRY
When a company purposefully manages existing Most business leaders are aware of the importance
knowledge, it is in a position to not only provide of knowledge management. According to a KPMG
better information, it can also more easily react to survey, 80% of managers recognize that active
the demands placed upon it and is generally more knowledge management is important. But only
innovative. 21% have already implemented it. But the active
use of knowledge generates value for the company
CAUTION: knowledge management is not the and offers numerous benefits. These advantages
same as CRM
include increased visibility of successes and exis-
CRM systems contain data about customers. ting capabilities; the retention of knowledge even
That includes addresses, past purchases, and
more. Knowledge management systems collect when certain employees leave the organization,
and distribute knowledge and information about
businesses and their products. That includes positions are frequently shuffled among the staff, or
process and product information, procedures,
price sheets, etc. Customer service knowledge there is a lack of personally exchanging of knowled-
management systems should aggregate existing ge among employees; the opportunity to optimize
knowledge from wikis, share points, file servers,
information and emails, and intranets to create
a unified store of information that employees
are happy to use. Of course CRM and knowled- Achieving company objectives through
ge management systems can be combined. knowledge management
Frequently, interfaces are available.
Increase performance and competitiveness
Strengthen position in the market
Information and knowledge ensures that better
Improve resource utilization
decisions are made. For this reason alone, it is im-
Maintain business-critical knowledge
portant for every company to create a foundation of
knowledge and systematically collect and evaluate Increase product quality, innovativeness,
and customer focus
relevant information. There are no exceptions here
Develop capabilities, products, and
knowledge management is essential in every processes
industry.
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT - A VALUABLE RESOURCE WAITING TO BE LEVERAGED 6
processes; and of course, better customer service. incorrect or outdated information at least once a
Despite these obvious advantages, the implemen- week. In addition, 59% of employees do not have
tation of knowledge management is still in its early access to information that they urgently require.
days at many companies. A survey conducted by Astoundingly, according to the survey, only 37%
the Association for Information and Image Ma- of CIOs believe that the information they have is
nagement (AIIM) and Accenture revealed that current and sufficient to manage operations. In
47% of employees do not trust the information other words, its high time this lack of knowledge
that is available to them and 42% of managers use management is resolved.
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT - A VALUABLE RESOURCE WAITING TO BE LEVERAGED 7
AN EXAMPLE: FROM INFORMATION TO
KNOWLEDGE IN THE SERVICE CENTER
Where would a service center be without agents?
Tacit and explicit knowledge
Service performance is dependent upon the
quality of their work. To provide the best pos- Tacit knowledge is rooted in the individual and is
not openly accessible. Anybody can walk, but only
sible service to customers and meet what are a few of us are able to explain exactly how main-
taining your balance works. Experiential knowledge
sometimes very ambitious KPI targets, agents is not included here, since it is easier to explain.
require quick access to the right information. Explicit knowledge, however, can be communica-
ted at any time. It can be collected and retrieved
The challenge here is combining the delivery of
like the extensions of employees in the company
information during customer interactions with telephone directory, for instance.
experience and a healthy portion of empathy. Successful knowledge management combines both
types of knowledge and can be used to pursue a
number of different objectives including increa-
sing anything from innovation to service quality.
Good service has three components:
1. Current and valid information from the
knowledge management system management to gain a competitive advantage
2. The ability of the agent or, in the future, artifi- in this case, outstanding service quality. In addi-
cial intelligence, to process and link information tion to the distinction between information and
3. Experience with the topic and interacting with knowledge, knowledge managers should also be
customers familiar with explicit and tacit knowledge. Explicit
knowledge can be expressed in words whereas
If you use a slightly broader definition, the compa- tacit knowledge is difficult to explain (see side-
ny knowledge that is created is far more than the bar). This is generally knowledge gained through
sum of the knowledge that each individual em- experience that is not easily described. This tacit
ployee possesses. Only when companies actively knowledge in particular is especially valuable to
collect and link the knowledge on hard drives and companies which is why it should be a key part of
in their employees heads are they able to consi- their knowledge management efforts. Weve de-
derably increase innovation and use knowledge scribed how to collect it in the pages below.
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT - A VALUABLE RESOURCE WAITING TO BE LEVERAGED 8
CREATING A CULTURE OF KNOWLEDGE
Knowledge management often fails for the sim- Backing from the companys senior executives
plest reasons. For instance, employees dont have for the implementation of knowledge manage-
the time to enter information. Or the software is ment
not intuitive enough, or it has a confusing inter- A culture of sharing and rewarding dedicated
face. Sometimes information is difficult to find in employees
the IT system. You can overcome these challen- An awareness of the effort required to imple-
ges by establishing the right culture at your com- ment knowledge management combined with
pany from the beginning when implementing a realistic goals
knowledge management system. Sufficient time and good software
Definitions of roles and responsibilities.
The success of your knowledge management An understanding that knowledge management
depends on the dedication of your employees. is more than rolling out a software application
They need to share their knowledge. Otherwise, Communication of the personal benefits of
your knowledge management system will be dead knowledge management for each individual
on arrival. To motivate them, you can offer both employee.
material and non-material incentives. But in the Establishment of an atmosphere that values
end, the key is to communicate the benefits of learning
knowledge management, convince your emplo-
yees, and establish a culture of sharing and col- If you take these points to heart and put forth a
laborating. This culture can be solidified through good example, you will overcome the challenges
guidelines, management objectives, and agree- and achieve outstanding knowledge manage-
ments that detail personal targets, thus making it ment. A company culture that actively promotes
an important goal at your company. knowledge will result.
The following is important for knowledge manage-
ment:
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT - A VALUABLE RESOURCE WAITING TO BE LEVERAGED 9
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT HAS THREE
LEVELS
If you have solidified the value of exchanging in-
Potential knowledge management roles
formation and the generation of knowledge within
your corporate culture, differentiating between 1. Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO): general
organization of knowledge in the enterprise
the following three levels can be of assistance in raise awareness and motivate
implementing knowledge management. 2. Knowledge Manager: designs processes
3. Knowledge Champion: specialist
1. The human level 4. Knowledge Editor: prepares knowledge for
users
2. The organizational level
3. The technological level 5. Knowledge Broker: uncovers previously
unused sources of knowledge
6. Visibility Creator: makes knowledge disco-
If you want users to engage in the knowledge verable
management process, you need the right com- 7. User: uses the knowledge and provides
feedback on the quality of the information
pany culture, as described above. Even little
processing
things can be a distraction or rob employees of
their motivation: when roles and duties are not
clear, when duplicates are present within the
knowledge management system, when searching
for information is more laborious than expected,
or when people dont even get access in the
first place. The second and third levels should
therefore be properly implemented to ensure
everything is ok on the human level. One thing
is clear here no system is perfect from the
very start and users should be encouraged to
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT - A VALUABLE RESOURCE WAITING TO BE LEVERAGED 10
provide feedback. Is there missing information? CRM or ticketing systems. In this manner, a fully
Is everything easy to understand? The editors integrated, holistic solution is established that can
then listen to these suggestions and improve the be used across the entire organization. This type
information in the system. of integration opens the door to new opportunities
with respect to seamless applications of knowled-
The second level, organization, should include ge management systems and rapid access to
clear definitions of processes and roles so that knowledge. But more about that later.
knowledge is gathered across the enterprise and
made available in the right quantity, at the right
time, and at the right location. You should define
which knowledge is relevant for your company in
advance. You can start small when implemen-
ting knowledge management. This can include
encouraging the formation of working groups or
providing books or professional journals for support
and insight.
A good knowledge management system is charac-
terized by efficient rollout and operation as well as
good usability. It should make a contribution to in-
formation storage, processing, and availability. The
system must offer outstanding usability. The soft-
ware should be able to immediately understand all
the roles and work with them. These include users,
editors, and managers. In addition, the knowledge
management system should as required be able to
interface with customer service software such as
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT - A VALUABLE RESOURCE WAITING TO BE LEVERAGED 11
SIDE NOTE: COLLECTING TACIT KNOWLEDGE
Tacit, personal knowledge is often especially is passed on. The mentor makes available their
valuable, but difficult to define. If it exists only in knowledge, contacts, and relationship networks
the minds of those who possess the knowledge to the mentee. By implementing smart proces-
and know-how, its like a liability on the balance ses, you can make it possible for the conveyed
sheet. How can this knowledge be passed on and knowledge to be transferred to a knowledge
recorded? Below are a few examples of organizati- management system as required. The success of
onal approaches that work for smaller groups. such processes depends on the overall method a
Establish informal meeting spaces at your compa- company uses to implement knowledge manage-
ny, for instance by setting up a cozy corner where ment.
people can have a coffee. This will promote the
exchange of experiences. Informal knowledge is
also transmitted here as well.
Initiating study groups on specific topics and pro-
blems can help to encourage participants to share
their informal knowledge.
Job rotation, which involves a systematic process
of switching roles within the enterprise, encoura-
ges employees to expand their tacit knowledge,
especially if this sharing occurs across depart-
ments or other boundaries.
Mentoring of an employee by a skilled individu-
al is a very good way to ensure tacit knowledge
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT - A VALUABLE RESOURCE WAITING TO BE LEVERAGED 12
THE OPERATIONAL IMPLEMENTATION OF
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
Good knowledge management requires a corpo- when should the system go live? Its recommended
rate culture that emphasizes learning and rewards to pick up where other measures left so that things
the collection and sharing of knowledge. There are are familiar, which makes users feel comfortable
pre-defined building blocks which, when com- with the new system. You should of course know
bined in a manner tailored to the respective com- the main items that users demand of a very good
panys needs, form a methodology. These building knowledge management solution. Users such as
blocks are as follows: service agents want to find answers quickly, recei-
ve current information via push notifications, and
1. Identify knowledge in the company be able to easily provide feedback. Editors want
2. Acquire external knowledge to be able to easily enter knowledge and manage
3. Develop tacit knowledge existing knowledge. They also want to be able to
4. Distribute knowledge manage feedback from agents efficiently.
5. Use knowledge
6. Retain knowledge For these building blocks, there are certain ques-
7. Evaluate knowledge tions that need to be answered. Which knowledge
is available within the company and who posses-
At most companies, it makes sense to start with a ses it? Usually, there are both internal and external
pilot project that focuses on a single business unit. sources of knowledge. Editors ensure the collected
Often, customer service is where the benefits of knowledge is prepared, maintained, and distribu-
knowledge management are most readily noticed. ted via a knowledge management system. Agents
You should set objectives based on business requi- then use this knowledge for customer service.
rements and which knowledge has been identified Feedback and suggestions ensure the quality of
as mission-critical. You should also know your the knowledge is assessed. Outdated knowledge
knowledge management strategy: How do you should be removed, and new knowledge should be
wish to proceed, who is responsible for what, and added. The goal is to establish a continuous cycle
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT - A VALUABLE RESOURCE WAITING TO BE LEVERAGED 13
that ensures knowledge is constantly up-to-date. users, a CRM system, a ticket system, self-service
What might this cycle look like at your company? features, or chat solutions can be connected using
How would the information have to be structured? open interfaces. The reliable knowledge in the sys-
Generally, knowledge management systems are tem can thus be made available for many uses. It
not integrated in the beginning because the ini- becomes a living system that represents an integ-
tial focus is on consolidating existing knowledge. ral part of the organizations success as a whole.
Subsequently, in accordance with the needs of
TOOLS FOR KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
A knowledge management tool should make In addition to collecting, processing, and distribu-
a contribution towards keeping the collected ting information, knowledge management software
knowledge of the enterprise up to date and easy should also work according to the push-pull princi-
for users to access. Often, the use of systems for ple for information distribution. Critical information
document management is incorrectly equated with that no user should miss is automatically distribu-
knowledge management. But as the names indi- ted by the system in the form of push notifications.
cate, these two systems have different objectives. But anyone can obtain (pull) information and
One is about managing documents, not making especially for customer service, this process
information readily accessible. If youre really should be quick and easy.
interested in knowledge management, youre going
to want to have a professional solution that is easy While larger companies tend to exhibit greater
to implement and has interfaces to existing sys- complexity and have corporate culture issues to
tems. It can include a directory listing specialists deal with when implementing knowledge manage-
with their names, job titles, departments, contact ment, its different with small and mid-sized enter-
information, experience, and know-how to make it prises (SMEs). But here especially, knowledge
easier to find the necessary experts and holders of management pays off.
knowledge.
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT - A VALUABLE RESOURCE WAITING TO BE LEVERAGED 14
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AT SMALL AND
MID-SIZED ENTERPRISES
At SMEs, employees work closely together and Knowledge management normally generates very
company structures are easier to navigate than good results. Both companies, Transgourmet and
at large corporations. Flat hierarchies, trust and Carnect, have increased customer satisfaction
loyalty, the long tenures of managers, and a considerably and this in completely different
close-knit organization promote the exchange of industries.
knowledge. But the larger a company becomes,
the more complex a task that gathering knowled- 1. Wholesaling: keeping a handle on diversity
ge and making it usable becomes. Creating a Transgourmet delivers everything that commer-
culture of active knowledge management at cial food operations require. It has roughly 1.3
SMEs is often easier to accomplish. billion in annual sales. But the companys custo-
mer service was falling behind. There were vast
And thats often an urgent need, even if its not quantities of data on the many products, but the
obvious at first glance. The quantity of knowled- information was inconsistent and spread across
ge SMEs face doubles every five years. Comple- intranets, hard drives, and emails. Agents hand-
xity is the result, and this complexity needs to be le around 150 customer contacts each day and
managed. Succession is also more successful at occasionally need to send questions to experts.
SMEs when knowledge can be passed on using That costs them time. Customers were forced to
the methods described above. Thats why SMEs wait.
should get started analyzing processes and using
them for knowledge management as soon as Once Transgourmet launched a central knowled-
possible. The following two SMEs have done so ge management system that maintains current
successfully. information for everyone and even replaced
email communications within some teams, the
Successful knowledge management at SMEs: response rate for the daily customer requests
two examples increased from 53.5% to 92.6%. The system, in
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT - A VALUABLE RESOURCE WAITING TO BE LEVERAGED 15
this case SABIO, maps internal and external pro- were of higher quality and shorter, and repeat
jects, almost completely replaces other sources calls about the same problem occurred less of-
of information, and reduces mistakes by provi- ten. For emails, the system SABIO in this case
ding current information and documents. also stores standard responses.
2. Rental car platform: keeping a handle on
processes
The B2B car rental platform Carnect has a staff
of 60 and employs 18 agents at an external call
center. The broad range of information sources
including Microsoft Word files, PDFs, and emails
had made providing customer service far more
difficult. Especially early on, agents lacked fun-
damental knowledge and there was high emplo-
yee turnover. Thats why the company sought to
provide information in a central system that can
define procedures and verify compliance with
them. After the rollout, the product knowledge of
the agents increased, dependency on the inter-
nal organization declined, customer interactions
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT - A VALUABLE RESOURCE WAITING TO BE LEVERAGED 16
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT CHECKLIST
If you see the need for knowledge management at your company, we recommend assessing the situati-
on and determining which gaps need to be filled.
Has a culture of sharing knowledge been established that promotes transparency?
Do structures for recording, preparing, and distributing knowledge exist?
Do employees have sufficient time to document knowledge?
Is the respective information current, suitable for your needs, and easily available?
Are the pathways to information in the company properly structured and known?
Is knowledge available where it is needed?
Is knowledge networked and preferably stored in a central system that allows for collaboration?
Are mistakes seen as an opportunity to learn, and is knowledge continually enhanced?
Is there an overview of employees and their skills that complies with privacy regulations?
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT - A VALUABLE RESOURCE WAITING TO BE LEVERAGED 17
READY TO GET STARTED?
Are your employees frequently irritated that important knowledge is not available? If you want to find
out where your company stands with respect to knowledge management, were glad to help assess
your situation. Well show you what our software can do and how you can improve your customer ser-
vice through integrated knowledge management.
Hendrik spent several years as a managing consultant for a consulting firm that focuses on customer
service, CRM, and customer experience management. His next position saw him become the head of
customer service at Europes largest consumer electronics retailer. As the director of customer engage-
ment at SABIO, hes responsible for both customer projects and the strategic design and development
of SABIO products.
Xing: https://www.xing.com/profile/Hendrik_Buske
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hendrik-buske-43795aa8/
Joel is a specialist for integrated knowledge management solutions at SABIO. He has been part of the
team for 3 years and as a member of Generation Y, he understands the importance of hashtags. Not
just for showmanship, but also for successful #customerservice.
Xing: https://www.xing.com/profile/Joel_Eiglmeier
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joel-eiglmeier-1b780913a/
Visit us online: www.getsabio.com
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT - A VALUABLE RESOURCE WAITING TO BE LEVERAGED 18
SABIO GmbH
Ruhrstrae 11 | 22761 Hamburg
+49 (0) 40 / 85 19 27-0
[email protected]
