Accenture Optimizing Customer Service Knowledge Management

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Optimizing Customer Servicethrough Knowledge Management


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Executive Summary/AbstractThe proliferation of customer service channels and increasing customer

expectations for accurate answers across all channels has made it more

difficult for organizations to provide adequate customer service.

One of the most common problems companies face is having inaccurate or

outdated content published in their Web, email, chat or other knowledge

bases. This leads to an inconsistent customer experience and eventually a loss

of trust in the company. Many organizations also face internal governance

issues, either through a lack of central knowledge administration, or confusion

about which business unit or group owns and manages content. And, in

some cases, there are separate knowledge bases for different channels and

groups such as customer care and marketing, which results in discrete content

silos, as well as higher resource and technology costs to update and support

multiple systems.

To improve the customer experience, it is critical for organizations to address

these problems through an accurate, accessible and easy-to-maintain

knowledge base. Unfortunately, many companies simply buy the latest

knowledge management softwareand fail to address the underlying

organizational issues that drive effective knowledge management.

Based on successful client experiences, Accenture recommends adopting

an end-to-end knowledge management strategy that combines enterprise

wide governance and well-defined processes with a knowledge management

platform. Organizations that follow this systematic approach will be ableto establish a knowledge management capability with assigned roles and

responsibilities for maintaining content, improve content quality and consistency

across multiple service channels to deliver a better customer experience, and

significantly reduce operating costs through a consolidated platform.

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Choice of ServiceChannels CreatesQuandaryToday, when customers have questions

about an organizations products or

services, they have many options from

which to choose. Should they start with

the self-service options on the companys

web siteusing either a computer or tablet?

Send an email to customer service? Initiate

an online chat session with a customer

service agent? Consult the companys

mobile phone app? Navigate an interactive

voice response (IVR) system? Or pick up the

phone and talk to a live agent? Regardlessof which channel customers choose, they

want easy access to an accurate and

consistent answer.

This expectation puts organizations into

a quandary. Customer service executives

must determine how to supply correct

answers to customers across a proliferation

of service channels for the lowest

possible cost. To achieve this objective,

organizations should balance increasing

customer expectations with several internal

operational decisionsall related to howknowledge is managed.

Accentures latest global consumer research

shows that three-quarters of respondents

expect it to be easier to obtain customer

service, 61 percent are not satisfied with

the number of choices they have to receive

service, and one in two are not satisfied

with their access to customer service using

multiple channels.1

In response to troubling statistics like

these, organizations are hastily adding new

customer service channels, such as social

media sites or mobile applications. Yet

even as they attempt to improve service

options, these companies may be failingto think about the overarching knowledge

management strategy that will power all of

these channels.

A number of organizations also lack a

knowledge management governance

structure that provides clear leadership,

designates ownership of content, or

establishes guidelines on structure, style

and tone. In addition, companies may lack

resources to maintain an ever-increasing

amount of content, as well as formal

processes for creating and maintaining

high-quality content. Out-of-date or

orphaned knowledge can result in message

inaccuracies and inconsistences across

channels. When this happens, customers

may find different answers depending on

which service channel they choose. This

erodes customer confidence and trustin

the product or service, the brand, and

eventually the entire company.

Lastly, some organizations rely too

heavily on technology to solve theproblem, thinking that the latest version

of knowledge management software will

supply customer service agents with the

information they need. But technology by

itself is an insufficient solution, and, in

some cases, may carry the same issues to a

new platform. In addition, as organizations

implement new customer service channels,

they often set up different knowledge

repositories; as a result, content becomes

siloed. Managing these multiple knowledge

bases and varying technologies can be both

complex and cost-prohibitive.

1. Accenture 2011 Global Consumer Research Study. The New Realities of Dating in the Digital Age: Are

Customers Really Cheating, or Are You Just Not Paying Enough Attention? Retrieved [M/D], 2012 from http://www.

accenture.com/us-en/pages/insight-acn-global-consumer-research-study.aspx

Guiding Principles for

Knowledge Management

To maximize return on investment

for a knowledge managementsystem, organizations should focus

on content that is:

AccurateKnowledge management

content must be correct and address

an organizations core issues.

AccessibleContent should be

easy to understand and viewable

through the channel and devices

customers use.

Easy to MaintainOrganizations

should implement clear and simple

processes that enable customer

service representatives to establish

a virtuous loop and continually

review and update content based

on feedback, ratings and analytics


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Overcoming Obstacles with KnowledgeManagementTo meet customer expectations and prepare for increasing service channel complexity,

organizations should take a more comprehensive knowledge management approach. Basedon a number of successful client experiences, Accenture recommends adopting an end-to-

end knowledge management strategy that combines enterprise wide governance with well-

defined processes to drive usage of a centralized knowledge management platform based

on leading edge technology.

The culminating goal is an integrated, enterprise wide knowledge baseone that

organizations can use to capture, store, retrieve and continually refine valuable information

to provide customers with the right answer at the right time across all channels. Equally

important, Accentures approach can help organizations to reduce operating costs while

optimizing the customer experience.

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Key questions include: Who creates the

content? Who owns it? What is the best

way to gather information from subject

matter experts into the knowledge base?

Who are the liaisons between content

owners and other enterprise stakeholders?Who approves content changes? How can

agents and customers rate content for

continual improvement?

Organizations that think through these

people-related aspects will be able to

improve the effectiveness and efficiency

of knowledge management, and improve

adoption of related systems.

In terms of governance, customer service

executives should adopt a knowledge

management governance model thatreflects their organizational structure,

and balances the requirements of various

business groups and stakeholders with the

needs of the enterprise. Options include

a centralized model with a single team

that sets processes, policies and standards

across the organization, or a representative

model that includes participation from key

stakeholders, such as product or service

owners, and customer care, IT, marketing,

legal and social media functions.

Three Componentsof KnowledgeManagement StrategyAs organizations rethink their approach

to knowledge management, the first step

is to develop a strategy that focuses on

three complementary components: people,

processes and technology.

People

Knowledge management is most effective

when an organization has an established

knowledge management capability and

dedicated knowledge organization staffed

with committed resources. This capability

includes a governance model with active

leadership, clearly defined knowledge

management roles and responsibilities, with

performance metrics and targets that drive

quality content.

Part of this effort involves thinking about

the people who will create, manage and use

the knowledge, including content authors,

customer service agents and customers.

Defining knowledge management roles

and responsibilities helps confirm that the

knowledge base contains accurate and

up-to-date content across all channels.

Sample roles include content authors,

who produce content based off of definedguidelines and style sheets; and content

liaisons representing various groups within

the organization, who are responsible for

reviewing and approving content.

To encourage employees to fulfill their

knowledge management roles and

produce usable content, organizations

can incorporate knowledge management

performance metrics into the annual

review process. It is also important to

offer incentives that focus on quality of

information over quantity. One way to

accomplish this is to use a rating system

that measures the quality of articles that

an individual contributes based on how

the articles are being used by agents and

customers, or how well the articles answer

commonly asked questions.

Case Study

Focusing on the people component was

critical for a leading software company as

part of its overall knowledge management

strategy. The company was organized into

distinct business units by product line and

each unit had its own sales, marketing,

customer care and IT organizations. In an

effort to improve operations, the company

turned to Accenture to help develop anenterprise-level knowledge management

capability that could be leveraged across

the various business units.

Accenture helped establish a governance

structure that enabled the business units

to collaborate on a common knowledge

management approach, as well as to

identify requirements for the knowledge

management platform. The governance

plan included a steering committee that

developed the strategic direction of the

platform, a knowledge management team

with representatives from each business

unit, and a change management team that

reviewed and approved changes to the

platform. These groups met regularly for

status updates and to share lessons learned

about the knowledge management system

implementation.Accenture also helped the company to

create a knowledge management community

of practice to define and manage

processes, which were integrated into the

knowledge management platform. Once the

platform was complete, a campaign was

implemented to encourage customer service

representatives to use the new knowledge

management system through change

management and training support.

The end-to-end knowledge management

approach, with an emphasis on governance

and roles, helped the software company

to reduce redundant infrastructure and

tool investments, and also improve the

effectiveness of agent and customer

experiences. With the new centralized

knowledge management system, the

company achieved a 15 percent increase in

call deflections for knowledge base contenta 66 percent increase in article resolution

rates, a 340 percent reduction in failed

searches, and an 85 percent accuracy of

search results, enabling customer service

representatives to provide quick and

accurate answers to customers.

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Processes

Organizations can further improve

knowledge management efficacy by

following well-defined and standardized

content management processes. This

capability encompasses detailed workflowprocesses, along with collaboration tools,

such as feedback cycles, rating systems

and analytics, to help continually improve

content from generation through delivery.

Considering how knowledge will be

collected, reviewed and refined is a good

starting point for process definition. Key

questions include: how will subject matter

experts submit content? How will key

stakeholder groups review and approve

content? What is the best way to speedthe time between content creation and

publication? How will the knowledge

base be refreshed to monitor continuous

improvement? How will the organization

prioritize the most critical pieces to update?

How much content should the company

leverage from external sources, such as

social media sites? What is the proper way

to measure content quality? Organizations

that design and use formal and consistent

processes will reduce the time it takes to

capture knowledge, while increasing theamount and quality of the content captured.

At the same time, knowledge management

processes should not be a burden. Some

businesses may overcomplicate the workflow

by requiring numerous content approvals or

by trying to maintain too tight of a control

on content. But these constraints limit

flexibility. Instead, organizations should

design knowledge management processes

that make it quick and easy to publish

content, while also providing the necessaryoversight and approvals to monitor quality.

One useful way to support content

expediency and quality is to insert a

feedback loop into knowledge management

processes. Using a feedback mechanism,

customer service agents can identify

knowledge inaccuracies or gaps andrecommend updates to content. The same

type of tool can be used externally in the

form of a ratings system such as a one to

five scale. In this way, customers can give

a low score to content that they believe

is inconsistent or needs correction, and

a high score to knowledge that they find

particularly useful.

In all cases, knowledge management

processes should incorporate a cycle of

continuous improvement. To accomplish this

objective, organizations can commit to a

regular review of how knowledge is created

and used, including the data collectedfrom the feedback and rating tools. This

process helps enable a virtuous loop in

which both employees and customers are

more willing to share feedback because

they know it will be acted on (see Figure 1).

In addition, organizations can collect data

and run analytics to provide insights on

the knowledge that is most valuable and

the content that should be targeted for

immediate improvement.

Aut

hor

Ana

l

yti

cs

Feedback Con

sum

e

Review

Publ

ish

Figure 1: Knowledge management is most ef fective when it incorporates continuous

improvement, as depicted in this virtuous loop.

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2012 Accenture. All rights reserved.


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Case Study

Recognizing the need for more consistent

and rigorous knowledge management

processes, a global eCommerce company

engaged Accenture for help with its

knowledge management approach. Aspart of an end-to-end effort, Accenture

instituted several new processes, including a

common authoring, translation and approval

workflow and an enterprise wide process for

continual knowledge improvement.

To help confirm the company created high-

quality content, Accenture integrated a

feedback and rating mechanism for existing

knowledge, providing agents and customers

with an easy way to flag out-of-date articles

or recommend updates. This tool enabledthe company to improve content consistency

across various channels.

Accenture also gathered detailed analytics

to help the company identify which articles

were being used most frequently and

effectively to solve customer problems.

Specific data analyzed included the number

of cases solved by article, average articlerating, average time in workflow and at each

step of the workflow, and average article

aging to identify content that had not been

updated recently.

Working with Accenture, the global

eCommerce company transformed its

approach to knowledge management.

Today, the company is using a single,

global content repository that supports

multiple service channels and more than

20 languages. Search results consistently

achieve 85+ percent accuracy, enabling

agents to find the right information at the

right time. Accenture also supported the

transition through change management

and training that drove agent adoption

of the new knowledge base to 73 percent

after only four weeks, which was more than

double the prior system.

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Technology

Organizations can complete their strategy

with an integrated, enterprise wide

knowledge management technology

platform that enables search, sharing

and archiving across the full content lifecycle. This functionality makes it easier

to repurpose old content and maintain

version control. The knowledge repository

should also have built-in tools for team

collaboration through a central portal.

Ideally, organizations will be able to

consolidate all knowledge assets and

metadata into a single, centralized

content repository. If various knowledge

management systems are in use across

the enterprise, organizations will need to

adapt their governance model to minimize

redundancies and reduce costs.

When making knowledge management

platform decisions, organizations should

consider these questions: does the

technology provide all the necessary

functionality? Is there a way to consolidate

knowledge bases using technology? Will the

technology support multiple channels and

platforms? Does the technology provide

analytics for continuous improvement? Can

the technology leverage content sources

not directly controlled by the organization,such as social media channels?

Several aspects of the knowledge

management technology should support

ease of use for customer service

representatives and customers alike. For

instance, the knowledge base should

employ a content architecture that provides

the same knowledge across any channel

(Web, chat, phone, IVR and more) and

any platform (PCs, smartphones, tablets,

televisions and more). Likewise, the content

structure must support the needs of various

channels: the Web channel should provide a

detailed view of information with interactive

content; the chat channel should include

short, textual bits of content; and the phone

channel should have simple instructions,

potentially with illustrations of what the

customer may be seeing.

Tagging content with metadata is also

crucial to improve the search function as it

makes it possible for agents and customers

to use contextual knowledge lookup. For

example, an article on setting up an Apple

iPhone could be tagged with iPhone (theproduct) and Setup (the function) so an

organization could recommend this specific

article in response to a customer inquiry on

a self-service site.

The search mechanism should move

beyond simple keyword-based searches

to incorporate key concepts, such as

synonyms and spell checking. Knowledge

management technology that uses natural

language is ideal for this purpose.

Lastly, localization that makes the samearticle available in all of the languages

customers expect is critical in a global

business world. Knowledge management

technology should include mechanisms to

schedule updates to localized versions when

the primary language has been updated.

Case Study

Accenture helped the New York Citygovernment transform customer service

through a comprehensive knowledge

management approach using one, highly

flexible knowledge management technology

platform. The citys initial vision was to

make it easier for residents to interact with

more than 300 agencies to find information,

file complaints and resolve issues. In many

cases, residents did not know which agency

to contact. Called NYC 311, it is now one of

the largest and most sophisticated customer

service systems in the world.

Working closely with the citys IT

department, Accenture led multiple teams to

build and launch a centralized, all-purpose

call facility that would direct customers to

information or resources on a 24/7 basis.

Accenture first developed a searchable

knowledge base and taxonomy of city,

state and federal government services.

Using enterprise content management

technologies, the team fed informationinto a customer relationship management

tool and established the basic structure

of information that enabled customer

service representatives to respond quickly

to customers inquiries. The result was a

comprehensive knowledge repository for

7,000 aspects of the citys government.

Accenture subsequently worked with New

York City government to launch a Web-

based self-service channel called 311 Online.

To maximize efficiency and reduce costs,Accenture leveraged the citys existing NYC

311 call center content management system

for the online channel and made it possible

to publish updates easily to both the call

center and Web channel.

Today, NYC 311 supports nearly 300 city,

state and federal agencies and approximately4,000 services for residents with information

that is available in 170 languages, from

Amharic to Zulu. On an average weekday,

more than 60,000 customers dial 311, and

the majority of calls are handled in four

minutes or less. Approximately 80 percent of

calls are answered in 30 seconds or less, and

85 percent of 311 customers resolve their

inquiry during their initial call.

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A Deeper Look at End-to-end Knowledge Management

Accenture defines knowledge management as a managed program that

combines people, processes, and technology to deliver the right information

at the right time.

Once the knowledge management program is in place, organizations

can encourage employee adoption and participation through a change

management initiative. This initiative is directed at the customer service

agents and other employees who will use the knowledge management system

and helps to identify needs, develop a change network and communicate the

benefits of the new system. A core component of the change management

effort is effective training to help people maximize use of the new system.

Leadership & Communication

Support Organization

Communities of Practice

Individuals

Governance and Organization Plan

Technical Architecture

and Taxonomy

User Portal

Search

Knowledge Repository

On Board & Off Board Sources

Business Strategy

Process

Knowledge Management Processes

Knowledge Strategy

Incentives

Metrics

Change Management Plan

Program Benefits Realization

and Metrics Approach

Figure 2: Accenture takes a comprehensive approach to knowledge management.

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2012 Accenture. All rights reserved.


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High Performancethrough KnowledgeManagementOrganizations that adopt an end-to-end

knowledge management approach focused

on people, processes and technology have the

potential to realize benefits such as these:

Improved efficiency and effectiveness

Defining and enforcing a knowledge

management programwith governance

including central administration, designated

roles and responsibilities, and easy-to-

use processesdrives employee behavior

to support and use the knowledge

management system.

Improved content quality and consistency

across multi-service channels

Incentivizing customer service representatives

to focus on quality of information over

quantity, and incorporating a feedback loop

and continuous update cycle will help verify

that the knowledge base contains the right

information across all service channels.

Increased customer trust and loyalty

Providing consistent information on all

service channels will help customers answertheir questions quickly, and confirm trust in

the brand and company, which ultimately

improves loyalty. This consistency will also

encourage customers to use self-service

options without having to call an agent to

validate answers, which is more expensive

for organizations to support.

Reduced resource and maintenance costs

Consolidating multiple knowledge bases into

a single, global repository makes it easier

for employees to update and disseminate

content across the enterprise. Where

applicable in the organization, consolidationalso decreases technology support costs

for maintaining and upgrading multiple

knowledge bases.

Reduced customer service costs

Accenture client experience shows that a

highly functional knowledge management

system can help customers resolve issues

using self-service methods, which leads to

call deflection and reduced call volume.

An effective knowledge base can also

help customer service agents resolve

customer issues the first time, potentially

reducing average call handle time and

resulting in fewer repeat calls. Additional

benefits organizations can achieve include a

reduction in failed searches and an increase

in the accuracy of search results.

When combined, these operational

improvements can have a vital effect

making it possible for organizations to

optimize the customer experience, and,

ultimately, drive growth.

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Sales and Customer Services

Sales and Customer Services business

domain helps companies acquire, develop

and retain more profitable customer

relationships. We offer a broad range

of innovative capabilities that addressevery aspect of the customer experience,

including pricing strategy and profitability

assessment, customer analytics, direct and

indirect sales force execution, customer

service, field support, customer contact

operations, and retail/branch operations.

We use these combinations of skills to help

our clients accelerate growth, improve sales

productivity and reduce customer-care

costshelping increase the value of their

customer relationships and enhancing the

economic value of their brands.

About Accenture

Accenture is a global management

consulting, technology services and

outsourcing company, with more than

249,000 people serving clients in more

than 120 countries. Combining unparalleledexperience, comprehensive capabilities

across all industries and business functions

and extensive research on the worlds

most successful companies, Accenture

collaborates with clients to help them

become high-performance businesses and

governments. The company generated net

revenues of US$25.5 billion for the fiscal

year ended August 31, 2011.

Contact Us

For further information, please contact:

David Klimek

[email protected]

Adrienne [email protected]

Gregory Nye

[email protected]

Copyright 2012 AccentureAll rights reserved.

Accenture, its logo, andHigh Performance Deliveredare trademarks of Accenture.

This document is produced by consultants at Accentureas general guidance. It is not intended to providespecific advice on your circumstances. If you requireadvice or further details on any matters referred to,please contact your Accenture representative.

Accenture Optimizing Customer Service Knowledge Management

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