Knowledge Management - 5 Steps to Do IT Right the First Time

A strategically implemented knowledge management solution is the answer to the growing need to do more with less. It can reduce costs and increase efficiency and productivity.

But while a carefully implemented knowledge management initiative can transform employees experiences and organizational efficiency, a poor implemented initiative can have a negative impact.

Here are five steps for optimizing customer service and support with an effective, best practice led knowledge management initiative.

1. Define and phase your knowledge management initiative.

Start with clear goals and objectives, and roll out your implementation in stages. Implementing knowledge management in only few departments at a time, offers a chance to fine-tune knowledge management in few departments before expanding to the rest of your organization.

2. Target and tailor your employees interactions.

Be sure you understand the context and intent of your employees queries for information. Choose knowledge management tools that enable you to avoid overloading your employees with information and would deliver tailored, interactive, accurate answers to their queries.

3. Foster collaborative knowledge creation.

Encourage collaboration during knowledge creation making sure that your knowledge capitalizes on the collective knowledge of your organization employees. This collective knowledge might be included in social networks of your organization.

4. Analyze the Performance.

Powerful analytics are vital to optimizing your knowledge management initiative. They should be used on an ongoing basis to identify opportunities for improvement, emerging questions trends, and common employees information seeking behavior. You should monitor the performance of your knowledge management initiative and adjust practices accordingly.

5. Think enterprise-wide.

But where do you begin? Start with one group or department but think enterprise-wide. During early stages, be sure to involve all those who would benefit from future roll-outs. Knowledge management can ultimately deliver benefits across enterprise - from expanding the scope of marketing campaigns and supporting the development of departmental intranets and portals, to enhancing relationship with partners and vendors.

Comprehensive knowledge management solution helps organizations strategically transform the customer service and support experience - and drive customer satisfaction, competitive advantage, increased sales and reduced costs.