We just concluded our annual knowledge conference, IMPACT 2014, attended by RightAnswers clients and partners from around the globe. It’s a great forum to present to our clients and partners our latest developments and our direction for the future. It’s also a great barometer of what support organizations actually need and want, and a place where we can confirm that our vision resonates with our clients.

Here are some interesting takeaways from IMPACT 2014:

KCS is gaining momentum in the U.S. and abroad

While KCS has been the de facto standard for knowledge management and well-accepted in the U.S., it is gaining traction worldwide. Our clients who have been using elements of KCS want to expand their usage, and clients that have not been formally using KCS want to get onboard. They all understand that KCS adds efficiencies and maintains knowledgebase health and usefulness.

Gamification as an incentivizer

Even before our latest software version that includes elements of gamification, our clients have been using our extensive analytics to measure agent and user or customer behavior, and have been rolling out gamification programs to promote desired behaviors (such as implementing KCS principles or creating useful articles). There was lively discussion at our Gamification roundtable regarding programs that would incentivize employees and users, and the challenges of avoiding de-incentivization and “gaming” of the system.

Measure everything

Many of our clients say that they “measure everything” to ensure that they are gaining maximum benefit from their knowledge initiatives. RightAnswers offers extensive reporting and analytics, and clients were especially interested in seeing “deep dives” into our analytics.

Clients appreciate a knowledge partner

Clients know what they want from their knowledge initiatives, but they also want a partner who can lead the way on knowledge. Clients were extremely receptive to our vision for additional capabilities that we’re developing in our upcoming software releases, and we’re excited about continuing to partner with our clients to deliver tools that meet their needs.

IMPACT 2014 was a great conference, and we intend to cultivate the strengthened relationships with our clients and partners to deliver on their knowledge needs.

Author: Simon Yelksy