Knowledge Management System Examples
What is a Knowledge Management System?
A key enabler of any enterprise-level knowledge management process is the technology behind it, that is, a modern Knowledge Management System (or a KMS). The knowledge management system is the IT system that stores and organizes information, making it accessible to many people. It includes content, search, guidance, and insight.
Here we describe:
- 4 use cases for knowledge management systems and
- 6 great examples of knowledge management systems in the real world
How are knowledge management systems used?
Knowledge management systems can be internal facing—providing information within an organization, or external—providing information directly to external stakeholders such as customers and channel partners.
Use Case 1: Using a KMS to guide search and conversations
Young employees – millennials and Gen Z – cannot learn reams of training material. They need a knowledge management system that will enable them to find information, rather than know the nitty-gritty of the information itself. A modern KMS, like eGain Knowledge Hub™, includes AI reasoning capability that can guide self-service customers or frontline agents through conversations to an answer or the next step in a process.
Use Case 2: Using a KMS to comply with regulations
In many industries, compliance with industry or government regulations is a non-negotiable condition. An AI-powered knowledge management system guides agents through the compliance maze, ensuring key steps are completed, knowledge is shared according to rules, an audit trail is maintained, and information is accurate and updated. eGain Knowledge Hub can also flag non-compliance in real-time and enforce compliance and automatically escalate.
Use Case 3: Using KMS to improve decision making
A knowledge management system with AI reasoning capability facilitates fast and flexible decision making. Unlike a rule-based process, an AI-infused KMS can work with ambiguous or incomplete information and reappraise instantly if any previously considered details are changed to suggest the next-best step in a decision-making process.
Use Case 4: Using a KMS to power a Virtual Assistant or chatbot
Virtual Assistants (VA) need access to knowledge to resolve customer queries. A KMS can make that information available to the VA, that then offers it to the customer.
A good Virtual Assistant will wow customers with its understanding of natural language and the ability to grasp the intent of the customers’ questions. It is also aware of its own limitations and escalates to a human agent as necessary. The agent receives full context from the self-service interaction and uses the same KMS to provide a customer experience that is consistent and effortless.
Here are six examples from eGain’s clientele where our modern Knowledge Management System has created transformational business value at scale.
- Knowledge Management in a Telco Contact Center
- Knowledge Management in a Behemoth Government Agency
- Knowledge Management in a Healthcare Firm
- Knowledge Management in a SaaS Provider’s Contact Center and Product
- Knowledge Management in Banking
- Knowledge Management in a Mobile Operator Contact Center
Example 1: How a telco used a knowledge management system in its contact center
The UK’s largest mobile operator transformed customer service with an AI-powered knowledge management system in its contact centers. The enabling knowledge + AI software helped it to improve answer consistency across agents and streamline processes and knowledge across multiple brands . Rather than train every agent on every possible question, the telco trained its agents to use the knowledge system to find the answers.
The business not only embraced AI but through practical applications has used it to turbo-charge its whole organization. The telecom was recognized in the KMWorld Reality Awards 2021 as “an organization in which knowledge management is a positive reality, not just rhetoric.”
Good knowledge management systems deliver transformative benefits for organizations and their customers. This telco saw:
- 25-point improvement in NPS (Net Promoter Score)
- 35% improvement in FCR (First-Contact Resolution)
- Reduction in agent time to competency by 50% across 18,000 contact center agents and 600 retail stores
- Reduction in training time from at least 14 days to 8, while enabling any agent to handle any call
- IT savings of more than £1 million per year
Learn more about the creation of this enviable KMS straight from the horse’s mouth in this presentation.
Example 2: How a behemoth government agency uses a KMS to support taxpayers
This government agency serves more than 50 million citizens. It uses the knowledge management system to support citizens to find answers through self-service and to enable contact center agents to provide answers to customer queries. The AI Virtual Assistant helps the agency deflect 70% of incoming calls (increasing the availability of taxpayer services per hour by 400%). When citizens do speak to a human agent, the agent uses the same knowledge system as the Virtual Assistant and therefore provides consistent advice. This single source of truth is also easier for the agency to maintain and keep updated.
After the AI-powered KMS was introduced, agent engagement improved to 92% versus an industry benchmark of 67% (Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey). Agent handling time decreased by 25%. Happier, better informed agents providing quicker responses improve customer satisfaction.
Learn more about the powerful Knowledge Management System straight from the agency’s representative in charge of the digital customer service transformation.
Example 3: How a premier healthcare firm used a knowledge system to improve service even as its employees had to work remotely
A premier health insurance firm supporting 5 million members implemented a knowledge management system to meet 30 key business objectives focused on improving customer service and reducing training time. It was able to meet all the objectives, including reducing agent training time for handling complex health insurance queries by 33% even as its agents—over 2,000 of them—had to go remote overnight due to COVID lockdowns. Not only were agents working remotely, without access to support from colleagues, but they were also dealing with an increase in both the volume and complexity of calls. Yet, first contact resolution (FCR) increased and agent handling time decreased—two traditionally conflicting customer service metrics improved simultaneously.
With a knowledge management system providing agents with complete, consistent, and compliant answers to member questions, the healthcare firm was able to improve customer satisfaction and was subsequently ranked in the top 5 health insurers in Forrester’s US CX Index, 2020 and 2021.
Example 4: How a fast-growing SaaS Provider uses a KMS to radically increase engagement
A fast-growing SaaS provider in the HR domain deployed a knowledge management system to enable agents to answer end-user questions. By providing agents with a single source of truth that was easy to maintain and therefore accurate and current, agent confidence in answers increased by a staggering 60%, and the consistency of answers increased by 62%. Agents were also 35% more likely to find the right answer and 67% quicker to answer.
The rapidly growing company soon offered the same knowledge to its customers for self-service. The resulting 30% increase in self-serving users was essential as the organization was experiencing 40% topline growth. The next year it embedded the same knowledge within its products, further improving access to information for users.
Learn more about increasing engagement through knowledge management in this presentation.
Example 5: How a KMS unified many tools in one solution to deliver success for a global bank
A rapidly expanding bank introduced a knowledge management system with the aim of becoming #1 in customer service in its market. It met this objective within 18 months, thanks to a knowledge system that provided agents with the tools necessary to resolve customer queries quickly, consistently, and accurately. The bank did this despite the fact that 80% of its agents were inexperienced due to the bank simultaneously expanding into 11 countries. Implementing a system that included authoring, intelligent search, workflows, and single knowledge base was essential in enabling all agents to handle all calls, the holy grail of customer service. Using an AI-powered KMS that incorporated best practices with local regulations ensured compliance in this highly regulated industry.
Example 6: How a leading European telco used an AI-powered knowledge management software to reduce returns and exchanges
The most successful mobile virtual network operator in the world implemented an AI-infused KMS to support agents in its call centers. The KMS guided agents through better problem resolution resulting in a 38% reduction in unwarranted handset returns and exchanges, saving millions. Not only that, but the enhanced agent ownership also led to increased job satisfaction and a 90% improvement in call handling.
More about knowledge management
- What is a knowledge management solution?
- Attributes of the best knowledge management software in 2022
- Knowledge management tools
- Knowledge management best practices
- Knowledge management platforms
If you need help implementing a knowledge management system in your organization, get in touch with eGain, we’ve been managing knowledge for more than two decades.
