In today’s fast-paced world, customer service is all about speed. Customers don’t care how much information you have – they care about how fast you can solve their problem. When a customer is on hold or waiting for a response, time is critical. The last thing they want is for your agent to be scrolling through a never-ending document or searching through 10 articles to find the right answer or walking through a 20 page process to complete a customer interaction. Yet, many contact center agents face a huge challenge that slows them down – knowledge overload.
What Is Knowledge Overload?
Knowledge overload happens when your team is inundated with too much information. Sometimes the information is stored in different places – and agents are left struggling to find the right answers. They often waste precious time digging through multiple resources, reading and reading just trying to piece together a solution. The result? Increased handle times, frustrated agents, and ultimately, unhappy customers.
The Impact of Knowledge Overload on Your Team
Your agents are the front-line, and they want to help customers quickly and efficiently. But when they have to sift through pages of data or search multiple systems to find a solution, their efficiency takes a hit. This slows down problem resolution and increases the likelihood of giving the wrong information. It also leads to frustrated agents who feel overwhelmed and disengaged. After all, when agents spend more time searching for answers than solving problems, it can lead to burnout and reduced morale and ultimately higher absenteeism and attrition.
Can Your Team Find Answers in Seconds?
This is the question that really matters. When a customer reaches out with an issue, they want it resolved in seconds, not minutes. If your agents are scrambling to find the right answer, it’s not just frustrating for them – it’s frustrating for the customer too.
So, how fast can your team find the answers they need? Is it a matter of a quick search or is it more like searching for a needle in a haystack?
In an age where customer expectations are high, a fast, efficient, and streamlined knowledge management system (not to be confused with a knowledge base) is more important than ever. The days of hunting down answers through clunky, hard-to-navigate knowledge bases are behind us. Customers expect faster resolutions, and your agents need the tools to make that happen.
Knowledge Management: Quality Over Quantity
When it comes to knowledge management, more is not always better. It’s not about storing more information or adding more layers to your knowledge base – it’s about delivering the right answer at the right moment.
A knowledge management system (not to be confused with a knowledge base) utilizes templates, different colors, icons, and placement in the user interface that trains the human brain exactly where to look. And that creates habits – habits that help the agent find the answer more quickly. Instead of storing more documents, focus on creating an environment where agents can access the right answers quickly. This builds habits that help agents find solutions faster and more accurately, without feeling overwhelmed by an excess of data.
Why Faster Answers Matter
Speed matters for a number of reasons, but here are the top three:
- Shorter Handle Times: When agents can access the right information quickly, they don’t have to waste time searching for answers. This leads to shorter handle times, which means agents can resolve more cases in less time. Less time spent on each call equals more calls handled overall and more satisfied customers.
- Happier Agents: Nobody wants to feel overwhelmed by an endless search for answers. When agents have a user-friendly knowledge management system at their fingertips, they’re more likely to feel empowered and confident in their ability to solve customer issues. This leads to happier agents, which in turn leads to better customer service. When agents feel supported, they perform better.
- Better Customer Experiences: Ultimately, the speed of problem resolution directly impacts the customer experience. When customers know their issue is being resolved quickly and efficiently, they are more likely to leave satisfied, leading to improved loyalty and retention. Fast, accurate service makes all the difference.
The Bottom Line: Focus on Speed, Not Volume
As the saying goes, “Time is money.” And in customer service, time is everything. The faster your team can resolve customer issues, the better the experience for everyone involved.
So, what’s the takeaway? Your knowledge management system should focus on helping agents solve problems quickly – not overwhelming them with endless amounts of information. With the right tools and systems in place, you can help agents find answers more efficiently, which will ultimately improve agent productivity and customer satisfaction.
Because in the end, a knowledge management system that trains agents’ brains where to look and builds helpful habits is the key to faster, more effective problem-solving.
Vicki Brackett is a contact center industry veteran, a long time CCNG member and regular contributor in member programs and events. Recognized as a subject-matter expert on virtual/work-at-home environments and leadership development, Vicki helps members in a variety of topic areas including innovative and progressive solutions that impact increasing higher CSATs, first call resolution, new agent speed to competency and higher productivity…all while engaging team members and reversing high absenteeism and attrition.
