No.

- 02/2017

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
a valuable resource waiting to be leveraged
INDEX

02 Knowledge management: a valuable resource waiting to be leveraged

03 What exactly is knowledge?

03 Knowledge management: essential for every industry

04 An example: from information to knowledge in the service center

05 Creating a culture of knowledge

06 Knowledge management has three levels

07 Side note: collecting tacit knowledge

08 The operational implementation of knowledge management

09 Tools for knowledge management

10 Knowledge management at small and mid-sized enterprises

11 Knowledge management checklist

12 Ready to get started?

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT - A VALUABLE RESOURCE WAITING TO BE LEVERAGED 2

Most companies offer knowledge as a service to their
customers, creating a new competitive factor. Thats
why companies should collect and make usable the
knowledge, ideas, and skills of each one of their
employees. This is the only way for companies to be
ready for the future.
Alexander Holtappels, SABIO GmbH

SABIO is a perfect platform for us to communicate

knowledge and workflows to our employees.
Gabriele Bergunde, Head of Customer Service & Websupport, Carnect

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT - A VALUABLE RESOURCE WAITING TO BE LEVERAGED 3

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT: A VALUABLE
RESOURCE WAITING TO BE LEVERAGED
Knowledge is power. Its an old maxim that is or impossible to find, work grinds to a standstill.

more relevant now than ever. Practically every Employees lose their motivation and service staff

company is sitting on a cache of knowledge are forced to appease unsatisfied customers, who

hidden on its hard drives and in the minds of its often turn their backs on the company. Professi-

employees. With good knowledge management, onal knowledge management ensures that your

you can leverage this resource to be more inno- company actively collects, edits, and makes avai-

vative and customer-centric. In this e-book, you lable existing knowledge.

will learn intelligent methods for introducing

knowledge management to reduce costs and A centralized knowledge database for customer

increase efficiency at your company. service benefits not only customers, who receive

fast and accurate answers, but the entire compa-

To shift an enterprise into high gear and put it ny as well. Apple, for instance, saves US$5 million

in the passing lane, knowledge must be readily every year with its knowledge management sys-

available. The availability of knowledge and the tem.

ability of an enterprise to learn provide a meaning-

ful competitive advantage, especially with respect Thats because the company offers its knowledge

to the organizations ability to innovate and provide to customers through a self-service interface that

services. Customer service in particular is increa- results in fewer questions being directed at its

singly becoming the differentiator. The service service centers. Consistent knowledge manage-

experiences customers have determine loyalty ment also has a positive impact on first contact

and sales. resolution (FCR). Efficiency also increases, since

processing times decrease across all channels.

A lack of knowledge management can slow down

the entire organization. If information is difficult

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT - A VALUABLE RESOURCE WAITING TO BE LEVERAGED 4

WHAT EXACTLY IS KNOWLEDGE?
In conversation, we generally equate knowledge year. The comparison turns the numbers into

with information. Knowledge managers at enter- information: the company is growing. This type of

prises, however, should make a clear distinction information is in turn the foundation for creating

between the two terms if they are to be truly suc- knowledge. Knowledge creation involves the com-

cessful with their knowledge management efforts. parison, evaluation, connection, and interpretation

of information. In this way, information becomes

a prized resource that has a very high value, for

Knowledge is a network consisting of facts,
instance as part of customer service.
skills, and capabilities that an individual uses to
solve a problem or complete a task. Knowled-
ge, however, is fleeting. It can become outda-
ted or be misplaced.

Knowledge management starts with the data that

every company has in excess and can be gathe-

red with varying degrees of effort from internal

or external networks. This data by itself, alone

and without links to anyones mind or a system,

is initially of little or no use. Heres an example:

Sales increases by X percent. Is this good or bad?

Does that translate into profits? Only when the

data have been evaluated in context and thus a

particular objective is being pursued can the data

provide us with information. Sales are increasing

by X percent, a higher rate than the previous

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT - A VALUABLE RESOURCE WAITING TO BE LEVERAGED 5

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT: ESSENTIAL
FOR EVERY INDUSTRY
When a company purposefully manages existing Most business leaders are aware of the importance

knowledge, it is in a position to not only provide of knowledge management. According to a KPMG

better information, it can also more easily react to survey, 80% of managers recognize that active

the demands placed upon it and is generally more knowledge management is important. But only

innovative. 21% have already implemented it. But the active

use of knowledge generates value for the company

CAUTION: knowledge management is not the and offers numerous benefits. These advantages
same as CRM
include increased visibility of successes and exis-
CRM systems contain data about customers. ting capabilities; the retention of knowledge even
That includes addresses, past purchases, and
more. Knowledge management systems collect when certain employees leave the organization,
and distribute knowledge and information about
businesses and their products. That includes positions are frequently shuffled among the staff, or
process and product information, procedures,
price sheets, etc. Customer service knowledge there is a lack of personally exchanging of knowled-
management systems should aggregate existing ge among employees; the opportunity to optimize
knowledge from wikis, share points, file servers,
information and emails, and intranets to create
a unified store of information that employees
are happy to use. Of course CRM and knowled- Achieving company objectives through
ge management systems can be combined. knowledge management
Frequently, interfaces are available.
Increase performance and competitiveness

Strengthen position in the market

Information and knowledge ensures that better
Improve resource utilization
decisions are made. For this reason alone, it is im-
Maintain business-critical knowledge
portant for every company to create a foundation of

knowledge and systematically collect and evaluate Increase product quality, innovativeness,
and customer focus
relevant information. There are no exceptions here
Develop capabilities, products, and
knowledge management is essential in every processes

industry.

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT - A VALUABLE RESOURCE WAITING TO BE LEVERAGED 6

processes; and of course, better customer service. incorrect or outdated information at least once a

Despite these obvious advantages, the implemen- week. In addition, 59% of employees do not have

tation of knowledge management is still in its early access to information that they urgently require.

days at many companies. A survey conducted by Astoundingly, according to the survey, only 37%

the Association for Information and Image Ma- of CIOs believe that the information they have is

nagement (AIIM) and Accenture revealed that current and sufficient to manage operations. In

47% of employees do not trust the information other words, its high time this lack of knowledge

that is available to them and 42% of managers use management is resolved.

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT - A VALUABLE RESOURCE WAITING TO BE LEVERAGED 7

AN EXAMPLE: FROM INFORMATION TO
KNOWLEDGE IN THE SERVICE CENTER
Where would a service center be without agents?
Service performance is dependent upon the
quality of their work. To provide the best pos-
sible service to customers and meet what are
sometimes very ambitious KPI targets, agents
require quick access to the right information.
The challenge here is combining the delivery of
information during customer interactions with
experience and a healthy portion of empathy.
Good service has three components:
1. Current and valid information from the
knowledge management system
2. The ability of the agent or, in the future, artifi-
cial intelligence, to process and link information
3. Experience with the topic and interacting with
customers
If you use a slightly broader definition, the compa-
ny knowledge that is created is far more than the
sum of the knowledge that each individual em-
ployee possesses. Only when companies actively
collect and link the knowledge on hard drives and
in their employees heads are they able to consi-
derably increase innovation and use knowledge
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT - A VALUABLE RESOURCE WAITING TO BE LEVERAGED
Tacit and explicit knowledge
Tacit knowledge is rooted in the individual and is
not openly accessible. Anybody can walk, but only
a few of us are able to explain exactly how main-
taining your balance works. Experiential knowledge
is not included here, since it is easier to explain.
Explicit knowledge, however, can be communica-
ted at any time. It can be collected and retrieved
like the extensions of employees in the company
telephone directory, for instance.
Successful knowledge management combines both
types of knowledge and can be used to pursue a
number of different objectives including increa-
sing anything from innovation to service quality.
management to gain a competitive advantage
in this case, outstanding service quality. In addi-
tion to the distinction between information and
knowledge, knowledge managers should also be
familiar with explicit and tacit knowledge. Explicit
knowledge can be expressed in words whereas
tacit knowledge is difficult to explain (see side-
bar). This is generally knowledge gained through
experience that is not easily described. This tacit
knowledge in particular is especially valuable to
companies which is why it should be a key part of
their knowledge management efforts. Weve de-
scribed how to collect it in the pages below.
8
CREATING A CULTURE OF KNOWLEDGE
Knowledge management often fails for the sim- Backing from the companys senior executives

plest reasons. For instance, employees dont have for the implementation of knowledge manage-

the time to enter information. Or the software is ment

not intuitive enough, or it has a confusing inter- A culture of sharing and rewarding dedicated

face. Sometimes information is difficult to find in employees

the IT system. You can overcome these challen- An awareness of the effort required to imple-

ges by establishing the right culture at your com- ment knowledge management combined with

pany from the beginning when implementing a realistic goals

knowledge management system. Sufficient time and good software

Definitions of roles and responsibilities.

The success of your knowledge management An understanding that knowledge management

depends on the dedication of your employees. is more than rolling out a software application

They need to share their knowledge. Otherwise, Communication of the personal benefits of

your knowledge management system will be dead knowledge management for each individual

on arrival. To motivate them, you can offer both employee.

material and non-material incentives. But in the Establishment of an atmosphere that values

end, the key is to communicate the benefits of learning

knowledge management, convince your emplo-

yees, and establish a culture of sharing and col- If you take these points to heart and put forth a

laborating. This culture can be solidified through good example, you will overcome the challenges

guidelines, management objectives, and agree- and achieve outstanding knowledge manage-

ments that detail personal targets, thus making it ment. A company culture that actively promotes

an important goal at your company. knowledge will result.

The following is important for knowledge manage-

ment:

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT - A VALUABLE RESOURCE WAITING TO BE LEVERAGED 9

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT HAS THREE
LEVELS
If you have solidified the value of exchanging in-
Potential knowledge management roles
formation and the generation of knowledge within

your corporate culture, differentiating between 1. Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO): general
organization of knowledge in the enterprise
the following three levels can be of assistance in raise awareness and motivate

implementing knowledge management. 2. Knowledge Manager: designs processes

3. Knowledge Champion: specialist

1. The human level 4. Knowledge Editor: prepares knowledge for
users
2. The organizational level

3. The technological level 5. Knowledge Broker: uncovers previously

unused sources of knowledge

6. Visibility Creator: makes knowledge disco-

If you want users to engage in the knowledge verable

management process, you need the right com- 7. User: uses the knowledge and provides
feedback on the quality of the information
pany culture, as described above. Even little
processing

things can be a distraction or rob employees of

their motivation: when roles and duties are not

clear, when duplicates are present within the

knowledge management system, when searching

for information is more laborious than expected,

or when people dont even get access in the

first place. The second and third levels should

therefore be properly implemented to ensure

everything is ok on the human level. One thing

is clear here no system is perfect from the

very start and users should be encouraged to

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT - A VALUABLE RESOURCE WAITING TO BE LEVERAGED 10

provide feedback. Is there missing information? CRM or ticketing systems. In this manner, a fully

Is everything easy to understand? The editors integrated, holistic solution is established that can

then listen to these suggestions and improve the be used across the entire organization. This type

information in the system. of integration opens the door to new opportunities

with respect to seamless applications of knowled-

The second level, organization, should include ge management systems and rapid access to

clear definitions of processes and roles so that knowledge. But more about that later.

knowledge is gathered across the enterprise and

made available in the right quantity, at the right

time, and at the right location. You should define

which knowledge is relevant for your company in

advance. You can start small when implemen-

ting knowledge management. This can include

encouraging the formation of working groups or

providing books or professional journals for support

and insight.

A good knowledge management system is charac-

terized by efficient rollout and operation as well as

good usability. It should make a contribution to in-

formation storage, processing, and availability. The

system must offer outstanding usability. The soft-

ware should be able to immediately understand all

the roles and work with them. These include users,

editors, and managers. In addition, the knowledge

management system should as required be able to

interface with customer service software such as

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT - A VALUABLE RESOURCE WAITING TO BE LEVERAGED 11

SIDE NOTE: COLLECTING TACIT KNOWLEDGE
Tacit, personal knowledge is often especially is passed on. The mentor makes available their

valuable, but difficult to define. If it exists only in knowledge, contacts, and relationship networks

the minds of those who possess the knowledge to the mentee. By implementing smart proces-

and know-how, its like a liability on the balance ses, you can make it possible for the conveyed

sheet. How can this knowledge be passed on and knowledge to be transferred to a knowledge

recorded? Below are a few examples of organizati- management system as required. The success of

onal approaches that work for smaller groups. such processes depends on the overall method a

Establish informal meeting spaces at your compa- company uses to implement knowledge manage-

ny, for instance by setting up a cozy corner where ment.

people can have a coffee. This will promote the

exchange of experiences. Informal knowledge is

also transmitted here as well.

Initiating study groups on specific topics and pro-

blems can help to encourage participants to share

their informal knowledge.

Job rotation, which involves a systematic process

of switching roles within the enterprise, encoura-

ges employees to expand their tacit knowledge,

especially if this sharing occurs across depart-

ments or other boundaries.

Mentoring of an employee by a skilled individu-

al is a very good way to ensure tacit knowledge

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT - A VALUABLE RESOURCE WAITING TO BE LEVERAGED 12

THE OPERATIONAL IMPLEMENTATION OF
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
Good knowledge management requires a corpo- when should the system go live? Its recommended

rate culture that emphasizes learning and rewards to pick up where other measures left so that things

the collection and sharing of knowledge. There are are familiar, which makes users feel comfortable

pre-defined building blocks which, when com- with the new system. You should of course know

bined in a manner tailored to the respective com- the main items that users demand of a very good

panys needs, form a methodology. These building knowledge management solution. Users such as

blocks are as follows: service agents want to find answers quickly, recei-

ve current information via push notifications, and

1. Identify knowledge in the company be able to easily provide feedback. Editors want

2. Acquire external knowledge to be able to easily enter knowledge and manage

3. Develop tacit knowledge existing knowledge. They also want to be able to

4. Distribute knowledge manage feedback from agents efficiently.

5. Use knowledge

6. Retain knowledge For these building blocks, there are certain ques-

7. Evaluate knowledge tions that need to be answered. Which knowledge

is available within the company and who posses-

At most companies, it makes sense to start with a ses it? Usually, there are both internal and external

pilot project that focuses on a single business unit. sources of knowledge. Editors ensure the collected

Often, customer service is where the benefits of knowledge is prepared, maintained, and distribu-

knowledge management are most readily noticed. ted via a knowledge management system. Agents

You should set objectives based on business requi- then use this knowledge for customer service.

rements and which knowledge has been identified Feedback and suggestions ensure the quality of

as mission-critical. You should also know your the knowledge is assessed. Outdated knowledge

knowledge management strategy: How do you should be removed, and new knowledge should be

wish to proceed, who is responsible for what, and added. The goal is to establish a continuous cycle

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT - A VALUABLE RESOURCE WAITING TO BE LEVERAGED 13

that ensures knowledge is constantly up-to-date. users, a CRM system, a ticket system, self-service

What might this cycle look like at your company? features, or chat solutions can be connected using

How would the information have to be structured? open interfaces. The reliable knowledge in the sys-

Generally, knowledge management systems are tem can thus be made available for many uses. It

not integrated in the beginning because the ini- becomes a living system that represents an integ-

tial focus is on consolidating existing knowledge. ral part of the organizations success as a whole.

Subsequently, in accordance with the needs of

TOOLS FOR KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT

A knowledge management tool should make In addition to collecting, processing, and distribu-

a contribution towards keeping the collected ting information, knowledge management software

knowledge of the enterprise up to date and easy should also work according to the push-pull princi-

for users to access. Often, the use of systems for ple for information distribution. Critical information

document management is incorrectly equated with that no user should miss is automatically distribu-

knowledge management. But as the names indi- ted by the system in the form of push notifications.

cate, these two systems have different objectives. But anyone can obtain (pull) information and

One is about managing documents, not making especially for customer service, this process

information readily accessible. If youre really should be quick and easy.

interested in knowledge management, youre going

to want to have a professional solution that is easy While larger companies tend to exhibit greater

to implement and has interfaces to existing sys- complexity and have corporate culture issues to

tems. It can include a directory listing specialists deal with when implementing knowledge manage-

with their names, job titles, departments, contact ment, its different with small and mid-sized enter-

information, experience, and know-how to make it prises (SMEs). But here especially, knowledge

easier to find the necessary experts and holders of management pays off.

knowledge.

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT - A VALUABLE RESOURCE WAITING TO BE LEVERAGED 14

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AT SMALL AND
MID-SIZED ENTERPRISES
At SMEs, employees work closely together and Knowledge management normally generates very

company structures are easier to navigate than good results. Both companies, Transgourmet and

at large corporations. Flat hierarchies, trust and Carnect, have increased customer satisfaction

loyalty, the long tenures of managers, and a considerably and this in completely different

close-knit organization promote the exchange of industries.

knowledge. But the larger a company becomes,

the more complex a task that gathering knowled- 1. Wholesaling: keeping a handle on diversity

ge and making it usable becomes. Creating a Transgourmet delivers everything that commer-

culture of active knowledge management at cial food operations require. It has roughly 1.3

SMEs is often easier to accomplish. billion in annual sales. But the companys custo-

mer service was falling behind. There were vast

And thats often an urgent need, even if its not quantities of data on the many products, but the

obvious at first glance. The quantity of knowled- information was inconsistent and spread across

ge SMEs face doubles every five years. Comple- intranets, hard drives, and emails. Agents hand-

xity is the result, and this complexity needs to be le around 150 customer contacts each day and

managed. Succession is also more successful at occasionally need to send questions to experts.

SMEs when knowledge can be passed on using That costs them time. Customers were forced to

the methods described above. Thats why SMEs wait.

should get started analyzing processes and using

them for knowledge management as soon as Once Transgourmet launched a central knowled-

possible. The following two SMEs have done so ge management system that maintains current

successfully. information for everyone and even replaced

email communications within some teams, the

Successful knowledge management at SMEs: response rate for the daily customer requests

two examples increased from 53.5% to 92.6%. The system, in

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT - A VALUABLE RESOURCE WAITING TO BE LEVERAGED 15

this case SABIO, maps internal and external pro- were of higher quality and shorter, and repeat

jects, almost completely replaces other sources calls about the same problem occurred less of-

of information, and reduces mistakes by provi- ten. For emails, the system SABIO in this case

ding current information and documents. also stores standard responses.

2. Rental car platform: keeping a handle on

processes

The B2B car rental platform Carnect has a staff

of 60 and employs 18 agents at an external call

center. The broad range of information sources

including Microsoft Word files, PDFs, and emails

had made providing customer service far more

difficult. Especially early on, agents lacked fun-

damental knowledge and there was high emplo-

yee turnover. Thats why the company sought to

provide information in a central system that can

define procedures and verify compliance with

them. After the rollout, the product knowledge of

the agents increased, dependency on the inter-

nal organization declined, customer interactions

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT - A VALUABLE RESOURCE WAITING TO BE LEVERAGED 16

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT CHECKLIST
If you see the need for knowledge management at your company, we recommend assessing the situati-

on and determining which gaps need to be filled.

Has a culture of sharing knowledge been established that promotes transparency?

Do structures for recording, preparing, and distributing knowledge exist?

Do employees have sufficient time to document knowledge?

Is the respective information current, suitable for your needs, and easily available?

Are the pathways to information in the company properly structured and known?

Is knowledge available where it is needed?

Is knowledge networked and preferably stored in a central system that allows for collaboration?

Are mistakes seen as an opportunity to learn, and is knowledge continually enhanced?

Is there an overview of employees and their skills that complies with privacy regulations?

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT - A VALUABLE RESOURCE WAITING TO BE LEVERAGED 17

READY TO GET STARTED?
Are your employees frequently irritated that important knowledge is not available? If you want to find

out where your company stands with respect to knowledge management, were glad to help assess

your situation. Well show you what our software can do and how you can improve your customer ser-

vice through integrated knowledge management.

Hendrik Buske E-Mail: hendrik.buske@sabio.de

Hendrik spent several years as a managing consultant for a consulting firm that focuses on customer

service, CRM, and customer experience management. His next position saw him become the head of

customer service at Europes largest consumer electronics retailer. As the director of customer engage-

ment at SABIO, hes responsible for both customer projects and the strategic design and development

of SABIO products.

Xing: https://www.xing.com/profile/Hendrik_Buske

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hendrik-buske-43795aa8/

Joel Eiglmeier E-Mail: joel.eiglmeier@sabio.de

Joel is a specialist for integrated knowledge management solutions at SABIO. He has been part of the

team for 3 years and as a member of Generation Y, he understands the importance of hashtags. Not

just for showmanship, but also for successful #customerservice.

Xing: https://www.xing.com/profile/Joel_Eiglmeier

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joel-eiglmeier-1b780913a/

Visit us online: www.getsabio.com

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT - A VALUABLE RESOURCE WAITING TO BE LEVERAGED 18

SABIO GmbH
Ruhrstrae 11 | 22761 Hamburg
+49 (0) 40 / 85 19 27-0
info@sabio.de