“Transitioning to a Knowledge-Powered Service Desk”

1. “Transitioning to a Knowledge-Powered Service Desk” Paul M. Dooley Principal – Optimal Connections, LLC www.optimalconnections.com

2. Paul M. Dooley - PrincipalOptimal Connections, LLC • Founder and Principal at Optimal Connections, LLC • Visit: www.optimalconnections.com • Based in So Cal., firm specializes in service desk and ITSM/ITIL training, assessments, and consulting in best-practices • 25+ years in service & support • IT Service Mgr, ITIL V3 Expert

3. Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place! • We were at a “cross-road” … • The Organization was to rolling out new technologies to our customerbase during the upcoming year • At the same time, the economy was in “recession” (sound familiar?) • Based on my staffing model, and the projected increased workload, I submitted a request with justification for 4 additional support analysts • To my chagrin, my management replied that ‘headcount’ was ‘frozen’, and that I would just have to cope!

4. Hard Choices to Make! • Fortunately I had metrics and reporting in place that allowed me to show management what would be the consequences… • Staff that would steadily be overwhelmed with added workload • A decline in average response times and resolution times • Decreased staff satisfaction, which could then lead to loss of staff and reduced productivity • Decreased customer satisfaction with our performance, which could lead to loss of customers • Bottom line – we were looking at reduced performance levels relative to SLAs, and increased costs to deliver!

5. Which Way Should We Go? … • I gave management three options to consider, backed by solid evidence over thepast year… • 1. We could maintain the same staff level, and take on the added work with no other changes; in this case we should expect declining performance and rising costs • 2. We could add the necessary headcount over the course of the year, as we had in the past – and maintain performance with the added workload (but more costs!) • 3. OR, we could move to a “new way of working”,a new support model

6. The Move to “Solution Centered Support” • A new “knowledge management” support paradigm was being introduced to the industry, based on the proposition that … • The key output of a support center was “solutions” • That many support center and help desks were ignoring this fact, and continuing to resolve the same solution over and over • Thus support analysts were not empowered, not equipped, and not performing optimally! • Bottom line: higher costs, lower productivity, lower customer and employee satisfaction!

7. The Move to “Solution Centered Support” • We analyzed our reports over that past year, and indeed, we had been solving many issues over and over …incidents that customers could have resolved! • Simple ‘how to’ questions • Solutions to minor incidents • Customers had no access to solutions to simple incidents and requests • Thus we were not empowering them • And we were continuing to waste time on resolving simple issues, not realizing our potential

8. The Move to “Solution Centered Support” Baseline Measurements we took a look at to examine where we were on a ‘Balanced Scorecard’ of results • Financial/productivity Measurements • Incident volume: high • Types of incidents: many relatively simple • Average cost per incident: high • First Contact Resolution (FCR) rate: low • Customer & Employee Satisfaction • Customer & staff satisfaction level: low • Organizational Maturity Measurements • Time to proficiency for new staff members: months • Quality of existing solutions: poor • Time to publish and share solutions: almost never • Ratio of new/known incidents: most “new” • Existing level of self-service: practically zero

9. The Move to “Solution Centered Support” • Imagine: what if we could capture solutions “as we worked”! • Making these available immediatelyfor re-use across the team, AND empower customers with solutions! • The challenge: • We would have to move to a “new way of working” • A new support culture that realized knowledge management was central to success • We decided we would transition our support center • From a “traditional” phone centric model • To a multi-channel, knowledge-powered support model!

10. Making the Business Case to Management • A business case was put together for management to consider • The three options were spelled out: • Option A: Doing nothing, and adding the additional load – with the resultant dire consequences • Option B: Adding 4 additional headcount thru next year, with the unwanted incremental expense • Option C: Transition to a new support model – “Solution Centered Support” (now referred to as KCS) • Option C made the most business sense • There would be incremental investment, but the cost/benefit analysis and ROI showed this was it! • Mgt approved, and we were off on the quest!

11. The Results Exceeded Expectations! • We implemented a two-phase internal/external roll-out over 18 months, incorporating the new “knowledge centered” approach into everything we did! • Our core processes • Our support systems • Our very culture • At 12 months, the support team wassuccessfully searching solutions, or creating new ones • The new model was adopted across all our teams - L1,2 and 3. Analysts were enthusiastic, as it made their job easier and vastly more effective!

12. The Results Exceeded Expectations! • Satisfaction rose, average resolution times dropped, productivity per analyst increased, and customers were all the happier! • During the next 6 months we rolled access out to users through an integration to our web portal • Empowering customers • Reducing the level of simple incidents • Further boosting customer satisfaction! • Further reducing costs • Allows support analysts to reduce backlog and be more proactive • Year after year, this support center has continued to realize high ROI

13. So …What Do We Mean by “Knowledge-Powered” Support? • Leveraging the power of collectiveexperience & expertise to … • Solve it once, then reuse it – workingsmarter, not harder • Reduce average resolutions time through the reuse of accurate, proven solutions • Thus reducing costs of operation, boosting productivity • Increase the accuracy of answers and solutions presented • Increase consistency in the quality of solutions provided • Empower staff to be more effective • Equip new support staff to come up to speed quickly • Empowering customers to solve the simple issues themselves, thus raising customer satisfaction and ability

14. Why Is Leveraging Knowledge Especially Important Now? • Today the pressure is on to reduce costs, while maintaining quality and increasing customer satisfaction! • We have keener competition nationally, globally • IT must be an asset to the business • What is a key source of higher costs? • Lack of effective management of collective knowledge • Solving the same problem over and over • Inconsistently, inaccurately • Resulting in more labor than necessary applied to the service delivery process

15. In a Knowledge-Powered Service Desk • In a Knowledge-Powered Support Center, you are always doing one of two things: • Either re-using previously captured solutions • or • Capturing and contributing new solutions • It is a closed loop, continuous process with measurements and quality assurance built in

16. What Knowledge Management is, and is Not • Because of our “tool-centered” mentality in IT, we are often caught in the trap of thinking that buying a tool will be the solution, “the silver bullet” • “A fool with a tool is still a fool” • Knowledge Management is not a “tool”! • A database • A Wiki • A FAQs list • A web site • A person

17. True Knowledge Management is … • A PROCESS, not a tool or database • The tool or technology is the enablingfactor • True Knowledge Management is not added on, but is ‘built in’ to everythingthat you do • It becomes a part of “just the way you work” • A part of your culture • May be driven by a team, but the responsibility of everyone in the support center!

18. So Why Aren’t All Support Centers Knowledge-Driven??? • They are still operating on reactive models that capture ticket information, but not ‘solutions’ • They are too command & control driven, as opposed to being knowledge enabled and process driven • They are operating on the ‘assisted’ model, instead of on a ‘community’ model • Where customer self-service plays a complimentary role to the support center • Where online communities operate • Where customers are a ‘partner’ to thesupport center

19. 9 Pitfalls to Avoid, or What NOT to Do! • How to NOT be successful at implementing a Knowledge-Powered Service Desk • 1. Approach the implementation as a tool or a database (“a fool with a tool is still a fool”) rather than as a process • 2. Make it the responsibility of one person – the “knowledge manager” (it thereby becomes no one else’s responsibility) • 3. Don’t integrate it with your processes, procedures, and systems – try to “add it on” as an optional, extra step and get people to participate

20. Pitfalls to Avoid or What NOT to Do! • 4. Don’t document its use as part of peoples jobs – make it optional • 5. Don’t establish goals for adding knowledge to your KB – just assume people will cooperate • 6. Don’t incentivize people either • 7. Forget about establishing metrics for KM and assessing your performance against these targets • 8. Ignore a QA step – just add the knowledge in without review and publish it • 9. Don’t market and promote it internally & externally (“just build it and they will come”)

21. So What ARE the 6 Keys to Success??? • 1. Approach it as a process – nota tool! • 2. Establish a business case • 3. Set expectations for major change • 4. Implement the new support model as a project,employing Project Management best-practices • 5. Don’t ‘add it on’, build it in to everything you do – your very culture • 6. Keep it going with Continual Improvement

22. Keys to Success:1. Approach it as a Process (not a Tool!) • Approach it as the implementationof a “foundational” process • Achange in Culture • Not just in process and tools • A change in mindset • The way work is conducted • Know that moving to a Knowledge-Powered Support Centerwill take time – not days or week, but months and years

23. Keys to Success: 2. Develop a Clear Business Case! • Build a clear business case • Document current situation and solution • Impact: cost savings, productivity and customer satisfaction improvements • The solution – key elements: people, process, technology • Measurements, deliverables, timeline • Capture existing baselines to compare with later! • Performance – avg resolution time, FCR rate • Customer satisfaction level • Staff satisfaction level, retention rates • Most importantly, net this out to bottom line costs $$

24. Keys to Success:3. Set Expectations for a Major Change • Let support center staff know this is a change in the way you will operate • Let them know WHY, and WIIFM! • Eventually making their job easier, more fun, and rewarding • Customers will be happier, and the center will be more productive and cost-effective • It will not be optional but expected • It will eventually be integrated into everything that you do over time • Everyone will have a role to play • Secure high level management support (key!)

25. Keys to Success:4. Implement it as a Project • Approach it as a project, leveraging Project Management disciplines and tools • Appoint a strong project mgt. lead • Leadership and communication skills • Form a cross-functional team from the organization • Draw in other groups so they feel a part of this • Secure executive sponsorship to manage up! • Leverage PM best-practices to manage project effectively and deliver promised results

26. Keys to Success:5. “Build it In” to Everything You Do! • As opposed to making it one person or a small team’s responsibility, build it into the very fabric of your support center culture • Yes, you should have a focal point for the process, but ultimately you want everyone to feel they are a part of Knowledge Management • This includes: • Support Center Leadership • Policies and procedures documentation • Core processes: Incident Mgt, Problem Mgt • Tools and supporting systems • Metrics and reporting systems • QA processes

27. Keys to Success:5. “Build it In to …” • Your Leadership and Management • Supportive Management is critical! • Your Standard Procedures • This is not optional, or an extra step • Integrate search, capture and QAprocess steps into Incident & ProblemMgt documentation • Document what you mean by a ‘quality solution’ • With symptom, cause, solution, steps & links • Implement Ticket Monitoring” to enforce consistency

28. Keys to Success:5. “Build it in to …” • Your Service Management System • Integrate it, so its no “extra step” • Search, capture, re-use just happens • Suggested solutions should appear proactively, in order of relevance • Make sure your integrated KMS tool is fast and efficient • Repository, structure, and search tool all play a role • Must be easy to use (Google is the standard!) • The search engine and interface should provide for free form, natural language query

29. Keys to Success:5. “Build it in to …” • Your People Management Systems • Job descriptions • Capturing and re-using solutions is a responsibility of all team members • Senior Analysts assigned a SME role • Reward and Recognition Program • Recognize and reward people for going above & beyond in contributing the KM process • Quality Assurance Processes • Ticket monitoring, to ensure structured solutions captured • Operating Level Agreements (OLA) between groups • To ensure all support teams participate

30. Keys to Success:5. “Build it in to …” • Your Metrics and Reporting • Financial/productivity Measurements • Incident volume: should decrease • Types of incidents: will become more complex • Average cost per incident: will increase initially, then should decline over time • First Contact Resolution (FCR) rate: at first decline, then should improve • Customer Satisfaction Measurements • Customer satisfaction level: should rise!

31. Keys to Success:5. “Build it in to …” • Your Metrics and Reporting (Con’t) • Employee Satisfaction Measurements • Employee (staff) satisfaction level: should increase • Organizational Maturity Measurements • Time to proficiency for new staff: should drop • Quality and accuracy of solutions: should increase • Time to publish and share solutions: should decrease • Ratio of new/known incidents: should decline • Level of self-service: should grow over time

32. Keys to Success:5. Build it in to…” • Knowledge Monitoring: include KM KPIs • Solution quality index • Number of solutions per period, by Analyst and Type • % growth of KB per period (is it growing per our expectation?) • % solutions re-used per period (should be increasing, indicating valuable solutions are being added) • % success rate per KB visit (should be increasing, showing increased quality of solution relative to need – target is > 50%) • Customer satisfaction level with solution quality (through an on-going survey process)

33. Keys to Success:5. Build it in to …” • Quality Assurance processes • Integrate QA step in solution capture: designated SME review and checkbefore adding to the KB • Leverage Senior Analysts as SMEs • To review and assure on-going quality solutions • Establish a periodic auditing of the KMS repository to assure • Accuracy, completeness, and currency • Provide for archiving any “obsolete knowledge”

34. Keys to Success:6. Keep it Going with Continual Improvement • Maintain an on-going KM cross-functional team, with a designated process owner/manager • Incorporate KM metrics into daily, weekly, quarterly and annual reporting • Publish favorable impact on Balanced Scorecard performance metrics! • Look for opportunities to improve • Assess impact on KPIs in all four BSC quadrants • Translate KPIs to business ROI and $$ benefits

35. Knowledge-Powered SupportIn Summary… • There is nothing more powerful you can do than incorporate Knowledge Management into your support! • It favorably impacts all four quadrants of a “Balanced Scorecard” of performance • The engine that will enable your support center to deliver high value to stakeholders – customers, staff, and the organization • Follow these steps, “build it in”, and your Support Center will be more productive and cost-effective • Plus – it makes work more fun!

36. Resources for More Information! • Consortium for Service Innovation • www.serviceinnovation.org • Creators of the KCS Best-Practice • White Papers, Case Studies, and more! • itSMFusa.org • www.itsmfusa.org • ITSM/ITIL publications referencing Knowledge Management best-practices • HDI • Training on KCS - “Knowledge-Centered Support”

37. Thank You! Contact details: Paul M. Dooley PrincipalOptimal Connections, LLCWeb: www.optimalconnections.comEmail: pmdooley@optimalconnections.com Ph: +1 949-305-3544