We leverage our enormous base of experience, wealth of best practice resources, and the latest quality management techniques to provide you with high-value services and deliverables that will improve your business. As veterans in the industry, we understand the value of strategically aligned service operations, clear management analysis and practical implementation techniques that yield measurable return on investment. Our highly regarded consulting services can help you address a number of business challenges, including:

• Strategic Planning
• Resource Planning and Analysis
• Global Service Assessments
• eServices Assessments
• Training Assessments
• Organizational Restructuring
• Service Process Re-engineering
• Service Program Design
• Best Practices Benchmarking
• Satisfaction & Loyalty Programs
• Channel Partner Programs
• Certification Preparation and Pre-Audit Assistance

Knowledge Centered Support Offerings

Assessment
Let the experts from Service Strategies assess your readiness for a Knowledge-Centered Support implementation.  In three days of on-site work, we will interview executive sponsors, support managers and supervisors, the KCS champion, escalation group personnel, IT personnel and support engineers. In addition, we will facilitate a working session with your KCS Core Team. The purpose of the engagement is to help you:

• Win the appropriate executive-level support
• Create a project plan for a successful implementation
• Identify the needed tools and integration
• Create an ROI for your KCS implementation
• Avoid the implementation pitfalls that many companies have fallen into

With our practical knowledge of the support industry and our in-depth understanding of how KCS can benefit you, we can deliver a recommendation report that tailors the KCS principles to your unique environment.

3-Day Design Workshop
In a three-day, highly interactive workshop setting, your team will become fluent with the eight processes in a KCS implementation and understand how to implement them in your environment.  We discuss the roles and responsibilities of the players in KCS, map the workflow of your KCS process, talk about the performance measures you’ll need to modify for a successful rollout, and discuss the leadership and motivation it takes to transform the collective mindset to the collaborative environment that KCS creates.  Lastly, we’ll discuss the communication plan you’ll need to create to successfully implement KCS and the adoption roadmap, or what needs to get done when as you rollout the new process.

1-Day KCS Workshop
In a highly condensed version of the three-day Design Workshop, attendees are introduced to the eight processes in Knowledge-Centered Support.  In addition, we discuss the strategic business goals that a KCS implementation will support, the KCS players and their roles, performance measures and who they evolve when using KCS.  We finish this short introduction with the challenge of communicating a transformational change and the ROI you can expect with KCS.

Executive Briefing
Service Strategies can come onsite to present a one- to two-hour executive briefing for the executive sponsors of your KCS initiative.  This briefing will highlight the benefits and ROI of KCS, identify the management investment and attention that is needed for a successful implementation, and briefly list some of the common implementation pitfalls to avoid.

1-Day Analyst Training
This is a customized training program designed to introduce KCS to support analysts and/or development engineers and will set their expectations for the KCS rollout.  In the training, participants are introduced to the basic concepts of KCS, the customized workflow that the KCS Core Team has developed, the Content Standard, the Quality Solution Index (QSI, the form used to evaluate newly authored knowledge solutions) and new performance metrics.  The afternoon focuses on writing and assessing knowledge solutions according to the content standard using the QSI.

We can assist in customizing this class and perform a train-the-trainer session for your internal trainers, or we can facilitate the training for your entire organization.

2.5-Day Coaching Training
Effective coaches are a vital element in a successful KCS implementation. In the KCS model, the coach is a part-time role assumed by a select number of analysts.  In this session, we work with your coaches to prepare them to develop KCS competencies within your organization.  We teach non-judgmental listening, directive questioning, building on strengths and the best approach to guiding peers.  Coaches will understand that their strongest teaching skill is the example they set while working in the support center.  After two and one half days, your coaches will be empowered to evangelize, inspire and train your team to enable a successful KCS implementation.