Why can’t I make progress with knowledge management?
As AI tools are deployed against support knowledge bases, they are exposing the chaotic underpinning of support knowledge bases, prompting furious attempts to “clean up” or “build up” said knowledge bases. Are you stuck in an unproductive knowledge management dilemma? Here are 5 common pitfalls you need to address.
You don’t have a designated owner
Yes, knowlege management is often a group effort (and should be a group effort, in my opinion!) but it needs a leader. The owner’s job is to define the processes and tools for the job, and orchestrate the effort. If you don’t have an owner, it won’t work.
You allow multiple repositories
Most support organizations rely on multiple repositories for search (including the online forums, for instance, or the bugs database), and that’s completely fine, but knowledge creation should occur in a single repository if at all possible. It’s so much easier to manage knowledge if it’s in one place.
You don’t have a closed-loop system for continuous improvements
We have learned that top-down knowledge management, where knowledge is created once and is perfect, is a mirage. Instead, every user of the knowledge base, whether a team member or a customer, can help improve the knowledge, whether passively (usage is good!) or actively (by flagging or updating an article). If you don’t have a closed-loop system in place, you are missing out on promising opportunities to keep improving the knowledge base.
Your publication cycle is too slow
How long does it take to publish an article to meet an emerging trend? If it’s longer than 24 hours, you’re missing out on knowledge sharing, and, more insidiously, you’re discouraging contributors who don’t see the fruit of their labors.
You are using mindless KPIs
Using creation quotas? You’re likely to see plenty of worthless articles. Expecting agents to link every case to an article? Be prepared for meaningless links. Using updates quotas? Many commas and other tiny changes will be added to articles! Base your KPIs on valuable actions, which you will need to check through targeted audits.
What are you doing to improve knowledge management? Tell us in the comments, please.
