Doubt: I don't have time.

Possible Underlying Beliefs

• No value to me
• I am measured on how many cases I close
• I have to create an article for every case
• I don’t want others to see a resolution that I wrote that I am not confident in   

Suggestions for Discovery

• Is this more of a time management issue with the knowledge worker or really a concern about KCS?  
• This doubt is often driven by an unstated belief or fear.
• Ask before coaching.
• Use inquiry, reflection, and appreciation while seeking to understand and diffuse the emotion.
  • Tell me more about that?
  • What kinds of things or reference materials do you use to solve issues?

Key Points for Advocacy

Use sparingly!

• Most likely, they are already spending time capturing, just not in a way that is structured, widely shared, or following quality case management practices. Most knowledge workers (in moderate to highly complex environments) take notes, especially when they encounter a new issue. The notes are often done in a notebook or in a digital form (word, excel), sometimes on a team-shared drive. But the repository lacks standards and isn’t shared with everyone who might benefit or contribute.  
• Knowledge workers have to document the resolution and if it is a new issue the case was probably created by the customer in self-service. If they are in a tiered model, they should only have to complete the notes that were started at the first point of contact, which could be case create in self-service or captured by level 1.
• Creating an article from scratch should be an exception. Once KCS has been adopted for a few months, most issues should already have an article. And, if it is a new issue, with case create as part of most self-service mechanisms the customer has created some of the content that would become part of a new article. Creating an article from scratch by a knowledge worker generally only happens in the knowledge domain analysis activity (the Evolve Loop)
• Fewer disruptions from others - If the issue is in the KB others won’t have to bother you with questions about it.  
• Eliminate redundant work - If the issue is available in self-service the customers can find it on their own or will have a better understanding of their issue by reviewing similar articles in the knowledge base.

Reference Materials

• KCS Benefits
• Practice: Capture
• Technique: Linking
• Technique: Self-service Success

Sample Scenario

NOTE: This is a sample scenario that provides an example of how a conversation might go between a coach/influencer (Nigel) and a doubter (Jan). Coaching skills are denoted in blue.

Each situation will vary, and influencers will have to adjust their approach based on the situation. Listening and good judgment are required; it is important to be really curious.  We’re aiming to identify underlying beliefs so we can offer a different way of looking at things!.  Asking people to explain their concerns by demonstrating how they do their work can provide a lot of insight.

• Nigel: Hi Jan
• Jan: Oh…. it's the KCS guy.
• Nigel: Yes, I just wanted to see what you thought about the KCS training? Inquiry 
• Jan: Well… I don’t think KCS is going to work for me.  I don’t see how we have time to write articles for all the cases.
• Nigel: I can see how it might appear that way, especially in the beginning. Can we explore that a bit? Appreciation, Reflection
• Jan: …Ok…
• Nigel: How often would you say you already know the answer to an issue? Inquiry 
• Jan: Ummmm, well since I have become the point of escalation for this product… probably about half of the cases I get are new issues.
• Nigel: Ah… you are the point of escalation for the team? Reflection
• Jan: Yup
• Nigel: Do you enjoy that? Inquiry 
• Jan: Yeah… mostly.  Some of the stuff I get should have been solved before it gets to me. 
• Nigel: How long have you been on this team? Inquiry 
• Jan: Oh….. a little over 2 years.
• Nigel: That’s impressive. Appreciation
• Jan: When I joined the team I had a great mentor, she has moved on to the development team. 
• Nigel: So others on the team are sending you cases that they are struggling to solve? Reflection, Inquiry 
• Jan: Yes.
• Nigel: And how do those cases get to you? Inquiry
• Jan: Well … usually they show up in my queue.
• Nigel: And you said you know the answers to about half of those issues? Reflection, Inquiry
• Jan: Yeah… depends on where we are in the release cycle … but yes, typically I already know the answer to about half of the cases I get.
• Nigel: And is there typically an article in the knowledge base for those known issues? Inquiry
• Jan: I guess so?
• Nigel: You probably remember the “solve it once, use it often” sound bite from the training?  Advocacy
• Jan: Yeah
• Nigel: Well….The great thing about “solve it once, use it often” is once we have captured those known issues that we have to deal with frequently, we should just be reusing an existing article.  No need to create one. So I think you said about half of your cases are known and for those, you would be reusing an existing article.  Advocacy, Reflection 
• Jan: Hmmm…. ok
• Nigel: And our goal is to get those known issues and articles to our customers via self-service… so over time you should see fewer of those known issues in your queue.  Some of that “stuff” you mentioned you get in your queue would be resolved before it gets to you. Advocacy
• Jan: Well, I will say that is one thing I like about KCS is getting more content to the customers. But I don’t have the time to write them.
• Nigel: Can we talk about those cases you don’t already know the answer to? 
• Jan: Sure
• Nigel: Do those cases usually come with some information about the issue, either in the case notes or in an attached work-in-progress article? Inquiry
• Jan: Ummm… yes there is usually some information about the issue. 
• Nigel: So the description of the issue and the relevant environment and product information is already captured. Advocacy
• Jan: Oh?
• Nigel: Tell me a little bit about how you pursue a resolution, what kind of resources do you use? Inquiry
• Jan: Well, my past experience is very helpful. 
• Nigel: Anything else? Inquiry
• Jan: I might ask one of my peers if it is something I think they have experience with.
• Nigel: Do you use any of the product documentation? Inquiry
• Jan: Not very often, I do search our shared drive if it is something that I am not familiar with.
• Nigel: Oh? What is the shared drive? Inquiry
• Jan: Well, some time ago our team started to use a shared drive to document diagnostic steps and some of the tough or critical issues we encounter.
• Nigel: Nice….. and who updates that? Appreciation, Inquiry
• Jan: We all do if we think it is critical.  But I would say it is mostly me since I get the tough ones.
• Nigel: It sounds like you are already spending time capturing your critical issues. What if you put them in the knowledge base instead of the shared drive? Reflection, Advocacy
• Jan: Ummmm… that would never work….
• Nigel: Why is that? Inquiry
• Jan: Because…. It’s our space, we don’t want to open it up to just anybody. 
• Nigel: Ah, when you say it’s our space … is it just for the team here in Austin or do the people who work in this product area in Europe and Asia have access to it as well? Inquiry
• Jan: No, I think they would mess it up. 
• Nigel: Oh? Say more about that. Inquiry
• Jan: The other teams don’t have the depth of experience we have here.  They often ask us for help. 
• Nigel: Ah… do you think they could answer some of their questions themselves if they had access to your shared drive? Inquiry 
• Jan: Yeah…. maybe
• Nigel: It could reduce the number of questions they ask you. Advocacy
• Jan: Hmmmm….. I don’t know, I think they each have their own shared drive….. Oh…. I see what you're getting at…. we should be using the same shared drive for the global support team.   
• Nigel: That does seem like it would help. Advocacy
• Jan: I just don’t trust that they won’t screw it up.
• Nigel: Hmmm… it seems like having a common place to share our global experience in resolving customers issues would be a good idea.  Do you have any thoughts on what it would take to keep others from “screwing it up”? Advocacy, Inquiry
• Jan: Well… I did get a chance to look at the UK’s shared drive…. And they use a different format.  
• Nigel: Ah… so we might need a standard format or structure for the content? Inquiry
• Jan: Yeah… but I am not sure how we would enforce that? 
• Nigel: What if … we had coaching around the use of the shared drive to encourage standards? Advocacy
• Jan: Hmmm… maybe. I think a few of the folks in the UK would be good at it but I would be concerned about the others. 
• Nigel: Ok… is there a way we might manage that? Inquiry
• Jan: I don’t know… can we tell some of the people they can update the content and others can’t?
• Nigel: Ah… we do have a way to do that. Do you remember hearing about the licensing model in KCS? Advocacy, Inquiry
• Jan: Oh… vaguely. So in the UK Lizz and Colin could contribute but others couldn’t. 
• Nigel: Right, but the coaching could help the others earn the right to contribute in a helpful way. Advocacy
• Jan: Huhh.. 
• Nigel: So, what if we had a way to manage the risks through a combination of edit rights, content standards, checklists and Coaching? Advocacy
• Jan: That sounds complicated.
• Nigel: Well…The KB is already set up with all of that. Additionally, the articles have indicators of how often it has been used and updated.  Advocacy
• Jan: Oh?… hmmm…we don’t have anything like that in the shared drive but it would be helpful to know. Well…. I guess I can see where Europe and Asia might be able to solve more of their issues if they had access to the information in our shared drive. 
• Nigel: And what makes it less complicated is tying it all together with Coaching. Advocacy
• Jan: Ummm… ok
• Nigel: Would you be willing to look at the licensing model and the article content standard and see if you think they would work for the global team? Inquiry
• Jan: I guess…. If it means it won’t turn the shared drive into a free for all… but it seems we are putting a lot of faith in the coaching. 
• Nigel: Yes, coaching is critical to our success in implementing global standards. We should set up a time to go over the licensing model and the content standard. But before we do… can we get back to your initial concern about the time it takes to create articles? Reflection, Inquiry, Reflection
• Jan: Well…. I get it…. I don’t have to create an article for every case.
• Nigel: Right. The whole point of the KCS Solve Loop process is to capture what we collectively learn from solving customers’ issues and reuse it. So we should only be creating an article for new issues… And as the point of escalation, the case for a new issue should come with a lot of the information you would need to create a new article if a work-in-progress article hasn’t already been created.   Advocacy
• Jan: Hmmmm…. Ok, maybe it’s not as bad as I thought
• Nigel: Let’s set up a time to review the licensing model and the content standard for the KB and see how you might transition from the shared drive to the KB. Advocacy
• Jan: Ok…. I will take a look at it.