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Consortium for Service Innovation

Indicators of Transformation

Note: These seemingly exact numbers are offered as an example of the scope and dynamics of the KCS impact. Actual results will vary based on the characteristics of the company culture, products, and customers.

Plan and Design

Exit Criteria for Plan and Design

Benefits

Readiness Evidence

Organizational commitment

  • Clear vision and goals
  • Budget approval
  • Executive sponsor buy-in
  • Management team buy-in
  • Budget approval
  • Program manager and KCS Council resources identified, allocated, and committed.
  • Communication sent from executive about plans and goals

Strategic framework complete

Defined expectations for customer, employee, and organization

Separate customer, employee, and organization views with related benefits and anticipated results

Content standard available

Consistent article content

  • Content standard is understandable and easily accessible
  • One-page quick reference guide for article quality has been created 
  • Process in place to update content standard

Content Standard Checklist defined

High quality articles

  • Checklist can be captured in an easy to use tool and accessible to all coaches
  • Mechanism to provide visibility to the knowledge workers about feedback from the Content Standard Checklist process

Processes defined and tested

Enable the Solve Loop

Process to integrate use of the KB into the issue resolution process has been documented and tested with current tools (sufficient to start)

Process Adherence Review (PAR) defined

Process compliance

  • Link rate and link accuracy assessment process defined, and measures captured and available to coaches
  • Mechanisms to provide visibility to the knowledge workers about PAR scores and feedback from the PAR process
Licensing model defined Rights and privileges aligned to competency  License level rights and privileges defined with clear criteria to award license and conditions and terms for removing a license 
Coaching model defined Consistent interpretation of content standard and workflow Wave 1 Coaches identified, trained, and practicing KCS (moving through the licensing model)

Performance Assessment Model defined

Learning and development

Draft metrics developed and defined (largely derived from Content Standard Checklist and PAR)

Baseline metrics established

Measure of progress

All indicators in the measurement framework have a baseline measure that reflects the current state

Communication plan in place

  • Benefits defined for each stakeholder
  • Commitment to project
  • Written communication plan with project owner
  • Review and signoff of plan by Executive Sponsor
  • Process for testing communications effectiveness
  • Process for feedback and improvement

Technology functional specifications drafted

Minimize technology investment for Wave I (practice KCS before major investment in tools)

  • Technology assessment complete
  • Technology supports the basic workflow

Adoption Road Map complete

  • Time and cost commitment known
  • Supports project management
  • KCS Council engaged
  • Wave I members identified
  • Training scheduled for Wave I
Training program for Wave I users Engage Wave I participants Training materials and scenarios developed and tested

Adopt in Waves

Adoption Indicators

Benefits

Evidence

KCS Training and Coaching 

Understanding and buy-in: knowledge workers have adopted the KCS workflow and understand the content standard

80-90% of knowledge workers are trained and licensed (KCS Contributors or KCS Publishers)

Knowledge base is being used for 65%-85% of requests

Reduced rework, leveraging the collective experience of the organization through reuse of knowledge, and minimal duplicate articles being created

Link accuracy is 90% or greater. Link rates are 65%-85% (this range represents the fact that using the knowledge base has become a habit, and it is enough use to sustain the methodology)

Articles are being reused or modified as needed, and created if they don't exist (Most of what the organization knows has been captured in the knowledge base)

Knowledge workers are finding helpful articles

Reuse/improvement of existing articles is equal to or greater than the creation rate

Functional and integration improvements identified in Wave I have been implemented

Optimal process drives how the work gets done. Make it easy for the knowledge worker to do the right thing.

Technology supports the workflow (through modifications to existing tools or acquisition of new tools)

Articles adhere to the content standard

Articles in the KB are sufficient to help (findable and usable)

Introduction of Content Standard Checklist as a coaching tool and as an indication that we are doing quality work

Knowledge workers are doing the Solve Loop activities Knowledge articles are being reused, improved, and if it doesn't exist, captured in the workflow

Introduction of PAR as a coaching tool and as an indication that we are doing quality work


 

Build Proficiency

Proficiency Indicators

Benefits

Evidence

Performance Management includes KCS behaviors Building a sustainable implementation

Outcome based goals such as:

  • A thriving licensing model
  • Team link accuracy
  • Team Content Standard Checklist adherence
  • Team PAR

Key Performance Metrics are consistently reviewed to assess behaviors. 

Demonstrates commitment to the program

  • First contact resolution increased compared to baseline
  • Time to proficiency decreased compared to baseline
  • Increase in capacity (usually 20-30%)
  • Cost per incident decreased from baseline

Articles available for self-service

Customers have faster visibility to article

  • growing percentage of knowledge base available for self-service
  • 90/0 rule—90% of requestor-actionable knowledge is available to requestors within 0 minutes of becoming known.

Self-service use

Customers are engaged with knowledge articles

Frequency with which customers use self-service before opening an incident is increasing (this is important to communicate!)

Customer satisfaction and loyalty increased

Increase customer success

Increase from the baseline

Employee satisfaction and loyalty increased

Increase profit

Increase from the baseline

Work has become more meaningful

Motivation factor for employees

Employee satisfaction increased from baseline

Incubate Knowledge Domain Analysis work Start getting curious about the information we're learning with our implementation
  • Baseline New vs Known. (eventually: improve this)
  • Feedback management
Lower customer effort 
  • Resolve issues
  • Optimize usage
  • Adopt features
Transactional CES surveys

 

Optimize and Innovate

Focus areas and trends for Continuous Improvement

Optimization Indicator

Benefits

Evidence

Self-service success Customer's ability to solve issues without opening a case Positive trend in customers' ability to find useful information

The source of pervasive issues are being identified

Organizational improvements

Increase in the number of organizational improvements identified (product function, service, process, policy)

Incident volume decreased

  • Cost savings
  • Opportunities to create additional value for customers

Number of requests/ incidents declines (this needs to be normalized to install base or revenue in order to account for the dynamics of the organization)

Customer loyalty Improve brand image and customer retention Relationship surveys (CES, NPS)
A sustainable Knowledge Domain Analysis program Mine our knowledge practices for patterns, trends, and opportunities for improvement Knowledge Domain Analysis Guide

Work shifted from known to new (New vs Known study)

Improve self-service experience (success rate), New opportunities and challenges for employees

New vs known—the work in the organization shifts from mostly known to mostly new, . Knowledge workers spend the majority of their time resolving new issues. This will vary based on product lifecycle or process/policy changes.

Time to adopt new/enhanced products

Customer success measured

Decrease from the baseline

Leveraging knowledge captured across multiple channels

Capacity increased, number of answers served increased

Understanding Success by Channel

 

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