In a real high-volume, low-complexity (hv/lc) environment where average case handling times are less than 5 minutes and first call resolution rates are high (80+%), the focus is more on just-in-time (JIT) training than formal KCS. Of course JIT training has many of the same features and attributes of KCS, but there are distinct differences as well.

For example, attaching an existing KB article to close a known case is important in KCS, but may not be a part of the hv/lc process if an agent regularly answers similar questions and is able to respond effectively and efficiently without linking KB articles. However, if this same case was submitted through the email channel, using email templates to respond should be the equivalent of KB article linking in the formal KCS environment. Solving new problems requires KB searching and authoring to achieve the results of sharing knowledge for JIT training for both formal KCS and hv/lc environments.

In my opinion, the checklist of considerations to determine whether to deviate from formal KCS includes at least the following items:

• Are you trying to push knowledge to self-service? (Remember that you can serve more customers more efficiently with self-service, so a slow down in the contact center for continual knowledge reuse and creation may still produce high ROI when you look at the totals including customer self-service.)
• Is your first contact resolution rate high (above 80%)? (If so, your agents already know the answers or are able to learn them quickly without escalation or repeat contacts. But this information must be tempered with the time to proficiency.)
• Is your time to proficiency low? (Training agents is the highest budget line item for most contact centers. If your training costs are low and your time to proficiency is short, then you are currently able to train up people effectively without a formal KCS process of knowledge sharing. This must be compared to your average tenure.)
• Is your turnover rate low? (If agents have been in their position for long periods and are trained quickly, then some of the training benefits of KCS may not be as important.)
• Is your accuracy high? Are customers satisfied with the level of knowledge received from the support agents? (If not, KCS may be the right solution regardless of other areas of potential efficiencies.)

What we see ‘in the wild’ is that people have taken the pieces and parts that work for them in the hv/lc environment based on their answers to the criteria of what they need to enforce in the support organization.