The Key Elements of Knowledge Management in Call Centers

There is more to knowledge management than finding and acquiring the right tool. Of course, tools are helpful and play a significant role in making the call center successful; however, they should be complemented with a properly organized knowledge management program.

A good knowledge management program will ensure guaranteed results. So what are the key elements of a call center knowledge management (KM) program? Here are a few things you need to consider while designing your call center's knowledge management system:

The objective of knowledge management is to enhance agent productivity and customer service. This requires the proper utilization of software. It also involves the analysis of key metrics.

The key elements of your KM program are people, technology, and processes. All three are equally important. That said; the fundamental aspect of any knowledge management program is knowledge itself.

When it comes to call centers, the knowledge can be broadly classified as operational, strategic, human capital, and technical. The objective of call center knowledge management is to ensure that the right people can access the knowledge and manage the day to day operation of the center. Knowledge management also involves the protection of knowledge against unwanted access. In addition, knowledge has to be kept current, comprehensive, and accurate.  This requires investment in the right technology and tools.

Strategic knowledge

This includes the information about important clients, future plans, and organizational goals. Only the top management team should have access to this information. That said; parts of the knowledge can be shared with agents. This will give them a better idea about the goals of the organization.

Operational knowledge

This includes information about daily operations in a call center. For example, information about important client contracts and customer contacts come within the purview of operational knowledge.

This information is usually monitored by middle management executives. However, it should be accessible to top management and agents as well. Top management requires this information for making strategic decisions. And when agents have access to this information, they can ensure effective service delivery.

Human capital knowledge

This is the information that the call center maintains about its agents. It includes training records and individual productivity metrics. 

Technical knowledge

Call centers cannot operate without the right technology. This includes both hardware and software, routing equipment, skill based routing, telephone networks, and software for workforce management. There should be an analytics software tool. Operational manuals and help ticket resolution data also come within the purview of technical knowledge. It is important that the call center invests in technology that is current and up to date.

In most call centers, the common practice is to send some staff members to receive direct training from the vendor. These trainers will then train other members of the staff.

Since attrition rates are high in call centers, this might lead to knowledge dilution, when the trainers who received training from the vendor leave the company. This also reduces productivity. The call center might have invested in expensive software, but due to the lack of technical knowhow, many features of this software will remain unused. As a result, many tasks that can be automated will end up being performed manually. If budget permits, all agents should be given the opportunity to learn directly from the vendor. In this case, even if some employees leave the organization, there will still be enough people possessing the right knowledge.