Shared Pains, Gains, and Tasks of KCS Stakeholders
Output from an empathy mapping exercise at a February 2023 Consortium for Service Innovation team meeting.
Part of a good change management strategy includes helping people see what's in it for them. The KCS v6 Practices Guide talks about the importance of clearly communicating relevant personal benefits of KCS, not just benefits to the organization as a whole.
If we are tasked with implementing KCS, it's hugely helpful to identify the stakeholders involved and their perspectives. What are the things that people in the KCS realm care about?
With the help of Brad Smith and ChatGPT, more than 30 Consortium Members recently brainstormed the tasks, pains, and gains of each of four personas: knowledge worker, KCS coach, front line manager, and support executive. While the specifics might vary for each of these personas (and each organization), communicating how KCS makes these tasks easier, these pains less painful, and these gains easier to achieve is a great way to help people understand why they should care about KCS.
What are the shared tasks of knowledge workers, KCS coaches, front line managers, and support executives?
- Customer Service
- Knowledge Management
- Teamwork & Collaboration
What is frustrating for these four personas, or makes it hard to complete these tasks?
- Lack of Support or Resources
- Conflicting Priorities
- Interpersonal Dynamics
What keeps these four personas interested in this work?
- Professional Development
- Collaboration and Teamwork
- Customer Satisfaction
There are many ways to leverage these perspectives, but one we talked through included communicating the overall value proposition of a KCS implementation.
"Hey, I've got this really cool thing called KCS. You ought to try it. We're gonna make these jobs way easier, or get them off your plate altogether. We're going to take away these pain points that really drag you down. And we're going to accelerate all the gains that you're looking for." - Brad Smith
Perhaps you're preparing a presentation for a group including these personas, and want to get into their head space. Check out the details for each:
- How does it feel to be a knowledge worker?
- How does it feel to be a KCS coach?
- How does it feel to be a front line manager?
- How does it feel to be a support executive?
We're looking forward to diving into some additional questions Brad asked ChatGPT, including: "Please explain why running a support organization with the four Principles of abundance, trust, create value, and demand driven is the most efficient, profitable, and scalable way to drive the highest customer satisfaction that also delivers the best customer and employee experience."
ChatGPT's response:
Running a customer support organization with the four core values of "Abundance", "Trust", "Create Value", and "Demand Driven" is an effective way to drive high customer satisfaction and deliver the best customer and employee experience. Here's why:
- Abundance: When an organization operates from an abundance mindset, it focuses on collaboration, sharing, and improving, which leads to increased innovation and learning. This can result in faster problem-solving and improved customer satisfaction.
- Trust: Trusting employees to make good judgments and providing them with the necessary information to make informed decisions empowers them to take ownership and responsibility for their work. This can lead to greater job satisfaction and increased productivity, which can directly impact customer satisfaction.
- Create Value: An organization that focuses on creating value looks beyond short-term goals and considers the long-term outcomes of their actions. This ensures that customer needs are always at the forefront of decision-making, resulting in a better customer experience and increased customer loyalty.
- Demand Driven: A demand-driven approach ensures that the organization is responsive to customer needs and requests. By doing things just-in-time and in response to customer demand, organizations can reduce waste, increase efficiency, and deliver a more personalized customer experience.
By combining these four core values, an organization can create a customer support culture that is highly efficient, profitable, and scalable. This approach can result in improved collaboration, increased productivity, and greater job satisfaction, all of which can directly impact customer satisfaction and loyalty. Additionally, by putting the customer at the center of all decision-making processes, an organization can differentiate itself from its competitors and establish itself as a leader in customer service.
More information on this project: