KCS: Reduce IT call volume and service desk workload

In the quest for efficiency, service desk managers are constantly asking questions. How can we reduce the number of incoming calls? And how can we reduce the average duration of the calls we do receive? The simple answer is spelled knowledge management.

Knowledge Centered Service^®

Maintaining a knowledge base might seem like a lot of work, but it’s an investment with excellent returns. A comprehensive but detailed repository of your supporting departments’ knowledge can save the departments a lot of time and effort when it comes to research – but that’s not all. If you grant customers access to the knowledge base, they will be able to answer their own questions, completely bypassing your service departments. Ideal, right?

Yes - but like we said, it is an investment. The reality many service desks face is that it is a challenge to keep the knowledge base up-to-date. This is why the Consortium for Service Innovation has developed Knowledge Centered Service, a set of best practices for knowledge management. We believe that this is the way forward for many service desks, and here’s why.

What can KCS do for your organization?

1. Up to 60% shorter lead times and up to 50% increased 'first time right' resolutions

This one is all about increasing the performance of your team. On average, service desk employees spend less time per call when they start using KCS. Providing customers with the right solution upon the first attempt means they won't need as much time going back and forth with the customer about an incident. This lowers the workload for the service desk, and improves customer experience simultaneously. It's a win-win situation.

2. New employees are up to speed 70% faster

How long does it take before a new member of your team is up and running? Chances are, you're prepared to invest some time in onboarding them before they're ready to work as an independent team member. With a good knowledge base in place, new employees can consult knowledge items to learn from the experience of their team members. They will be able to resolve recurring calls using knowledge items just as efficiently as their peers in no time.

3. Up to 50% increase in customers independently resolving their own calls

There's a big chance your customers have turned to the service desk with a question before, only to find out they could have easily resolved their own problem. If only they knew the solution was that simple! That's why it's a great idea to help your customers become more self-sufficient. Share the solutions to common questions in a public knowledge base. This way, customers can start resolving their own calls, and involve your service desk team only when their expertise is needed most.

Rather incredible figures, but they are true.

Implementing KCS

The key to ensuring KCS’ success within your organization is making your supporting departments realize this: KCS is about registering knowledge for every customer, not just the one who happens to ask for it. Once all supporting departments are on board with this, it should be a lot easier to implement the process necessary for KCS. Based on our experience with lots of KCS implementations, my colleagues and I have made a simple 6-step plan to implement KCS for your team.

Empower your end-users

Do you want to give your end-users the power to resolve their own calls? Make sure they can access your knowledge base – and know where to find it. Read about promoting your knowledge base to customers.

Giving your users the access will undeniably mean they solve many of their own problems, without your supporting departments having to get involved.

Share knowledge better in your organization

Want more inspiration on sharing knowledge? Download our Knowledge Management e-book for tips and tricks and a way to calculate your time and cost savings. 

Knowledge Centered Service is a method developed by the Consortium for Service Innovation. This article is an interpretation of that method and in no way suggest to be the correct one. All rights and interpretations belong to the Consortium for Service Innovation and can be found on www.serviceinnovation.org. KCS® is a service mark of the Consortium for Service Innovation™.