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Table of Contents
Introduction
There’s an oft-repeated phrase: “Knowledge is power.” While it might seem cliche, this statement is particularly true in an ever-changing marketplace where customers’ expectations rapidly shift. As consumers demand more timely and personalized service across channels, you want to ensure your call center agents are empowered with relevant information and the right technology to meet these demands.
In this article, we’ll explore what a call center knowledge management system (KMS) is and how it can bridge the gaps between your agents, information storage, and customer service. Read on for a blueprint for building and maintaining a successful knowledge base
Key takeaways
- Why? As self-service systems get smarter, your agents are left to manage more complex customer issues.
- What? A call center knowledge management system offers a platform for agents to seamlessly access relevant content to efficiently resolve customers’ queries.
- How? To build and maintain a successful knowledge base for your call center, you’ll want to curate high-quality content and present it in an intuitive interface.
What is a knowledge management system?
A call center knowledge management system is a centralized repository of critical information. It consolidates information on your standard operating procedures, troubleshooting guides, and logistics.
Typically, a KMS is built with call center management in mind. That means it includes:
- Onboarding and training guides for new agents
- A search function
- Troubleshooting guides
- Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
- User manuals
- Step-by-step guides
Advanced call center knowledge management tools go beyond mere repositories. Their functionalities extend to dynamic knowledge creation and application, making them instrumental intelligence tools for delivering a consistent customer experience across all touchpoints.
In an era of empowered customers, contact center knowledge management enables agents to seamlessly access relevant content to quickly resolve customers’ issues. In other words, a KMS reinforces the general call center’s mantra of delivering timely and efficient customer support.
Importance of knowledge management in call centers
A call center isn’t just about answering phones. It’s the front line of your business. For example, 76% of customers will make a special effort to do business with you if you offer excellent customer service. Eighty-six percent will switch brands if you deliver a superior customer service experience.
Yet customer-facing agents still deal with various daily stressors — questions they can’t answer off the tops of their heads, angry customers, and floods of calls — any of which can compromise their service delivery if not appropriately handled. A robust knowledge management strategy can alleviate these challenges and help your company deliver a better customer experience.
Enhancing customer satisfaction
Ninety-two percent of customers expect a quick response to their queries. They are irritated by long wait times, situations in which they have to repeat themselves, and any difficulty they face in reaching customer support. A KMS reduces the time agents spend searching for information to address customers’ questions, resulting in shorter handle times.
As a centralized information hub, a KMS offers a single reference point to reduce redundancy and minimize confusion. Agents stay up to date with the most accurate information, which translates to improved customer interactions.
Reducing agent training time
Customer service agents undergo constant training cycles to meet ever-increasing customer expectations. A KMS can help your business reduce its agent training time by centralizing training materials, resources, and guides. Instead of relying on prolonged training sessions or senior colleagues, a KMS facilitates:
- Self-guided learning with pre-organized modules, FAQs, and troubleshooting steps
- Just-in-time learning during live interactions as agents access real-time data to reinforce their knowledge
- Reduced shadow dependence — new hires can navigate the KMS for solutions instead of heavily depending on senior agents
Ensuring consistent information flow
A well-integrated call center knowledge management tool unifies customer communications across channels to provide a consistent experience. With a centralized information hub, all your agents, customers, and automated systems access the same data to reduce the risk of conflicting information.
If any information changes — due to product updates or policy modifications — the KMS facilitates instant updates across all channels to maintain accuracy.
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4 key features of an effective call center KMS
An effective knowledge management system has a range of features that improve collaboration, usability, and accessibility. Here are the primary features to seek out.
1. Advanced search capabilities
Advanced search capabilities are the heart of an effective call center KMS. They allow users to quickly locate the most relevant content with minimal effort.
The search function uses a sophisticated algorithm to present the most relevant results, enabling faster, more informed resolutions. Most search functions also have smart filters that sort results using tags, categories, and keywords to refine the results quickly.
2. Integration with your CRM and other tools
Seamless integration with your existing technology is a key feature of an effective KMS. Linking your KMS with your customer relationship management (CRM) system ensures that knowledge flows freely, avoiding data silos and enhancing your overall efficiency.
This integration creates a cohesive ecosystem to support collaboration and streamline your workflows.
3. Categorization and tagging
Categorization and tagging make it easier for agents to find and use your resources, leading to faster issue resolutions and lower handle times. Tagging and categorization also enhance your search functionality by narrowing the results, further enhancing the user experience.
4. User feedback for continuous improvement
Every call center strives for perfection. In reality, though, there’s always room for improvement.
A knowledge management system with analytical tools can capture agents’ and customers’ feedback through clicks, ratings, likes, and comments to shed light on areas that need improvement.
You can use the gathered insights to update your KMS and keep it relevant over time.
7 customer service KPIs that a call center KMS can improve
Ninety-five percent of customers say customer service impacts their brand loyalty. With KMS application programming interface (API) integrations, your organization can get insights into customer interactions and make informed decisions.
Here are some KPIs an effective call center KMS can improve.
1. Abandon rate
Call abandon rates reflect the number of customers who hang up the phone while on hold to talk to an agent. With the right KMS, you can deflect simple queries to a self-service platform and escalate the complex ones to a human assistant, relieving the pressure on your agents.
When interacting with customers, your agents can quickly retrieve information in your knowledge base to reduce customer wait times and the likelihood of call abandonment.
2. Average handle time
A call center knowledge management system puts relevant information at your agents’ fingertips. They can quickly find correct answers to customers’ questions to decrease their average handle time and improve their resolution quality.
3. First-call resolution rate
Another critical metric you can improve with a KMS is your first-call resolution rate. Since a KMS empowers agents with accurate and comprehensive information, they can resolve more customers’ issues in a single call.
Such capabilities reduce the need for follow-ups, saving time and enhancing the customer experience.
4. Agent errors
A contact center employee handles many daily interactions, each with intricacies. While you might try to cover nearly everything a customer can possibly ask in your training program, it’s nearly impossible for your agents to remember everything.
With a KMS, agents can access clear, up-to-date, and reliable information, minimizing mistakes caused by incorrect or outdated information.
5. Customer experience
With heightened competition, simply meeting expectations no longer cuts it. Instead, the market demands that you go the extra mile to retain customers and attract new ones.
A knowledge management system allows you to upgrade your call center management with smooth, informed interactions to deliver a seamless customer journey. The enhanced information accessibility and usability help agents meet predefined standards, which has a ripple effect on the customer experience.
6. Customer satisfaction
Happy customers often lead to repeat business. If you adopt an AI-powered KMS in your call center, you can analyze customer patterns to predict their requirements and identify gaps in your existing approach. These insights can help improve your customer satisfaction and boost your brand loyalty.
7. Service levels
In contact centers, agents handle various queries across complex processes. Quick access to relevant data ensures consistency, efficiency, and accuracy, which helps you maintain and exceed your service standards.
Building and maintaining a successful knowledge base
Merely adopting a call center knowledge management tool isn’t enough to improve your customer service. You need to build a strong knowledge management framework to form the foundation of your call center’s operations.
Content creation and curation
In a world of information overload, quality always outshines quantity. You’ll need well-written, relevant, and regularly updated content to get the most out of your KMS. That means understanding what your end users need most, curating the right resources, and prioritizing them accordingly.
Solicit:
- The questions customers and agents frequently ask
- The information senior agents hold
- The daily responsibilities your agents undertake
- The policies agents need to abide by
Create content based on your findings. Then, regularly audit your existing information for relevance and accuracy to ensure your call center knowledge management base evolves with your needs.
User-friendly design for easy accessibility
Once you have the right content, organize your knowledge base in a structured format for intuitive navigation and ease of use.
Classify your content into clear categories and subcategories. Add a search function with filters and predictive suggestions for easy access. You can also include screenshots and videos to make the guide more comprehensible.
Adopting an intuitive design encourages agents and customers to use your knowledge base.
Monitoring and updating
An ideal knowledge base is always dynamic because there will always be areas for improvement. Collect feedback on the usefulness of your content. You can also deploy customer analytics tools to identify any gaps. Use the insights to refine your content.
In case of a new product, service, or policy, roll out a process for timely updates to keep your knowledge base aligned with customers’ needs and the company’s objectives.
Benefits of outsourcing knowledge management for call centers
While a well-managed knowledge base is a lifeline for any call center striving to deliver exceptional customer service, building and maintaining a call center knowledge management system can be quite a lot of work. Outsourcing this task to an external provider like Global Response lets you tap into years of experience and focus on your core operations while ensuring your KMS is robust.
Here are some of the biggest benefits you can take advantage of.
Cost reduction
Outsourcing your knowledge base management will help your business save on operational and staffing costs without compromising on quality. You won’t spend on hiring, training, and retaining an entire staff to manage your knowledge base. Instead, you’ll tap into a global talent pool at a relatively lower cost.
Expertise
Outsourced partners specialize in knowledge management. You’ll access expertise that ensures your knowledge base is well-structured, accurate, and aligned with your customer service goals.
Scalability and flexibility
As your call center grows and faces new demands, outsourcing allows you to quickly scale your knowledge management efforts. Your partner can adapt to your needs, ensuring your knowledge base seamlessly evolves with your business.
Partnering with Global Response for knowledge management ensures your business stays agile and customer-focused while reaping these advantages. Focus on delivering exceptional service while we handle the complexities.
