Our Amazing KCS (Knowledge Management) Services We Offer!
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Tom Fuhriman has spent the last 25 years as a professional consultant, facilitator, and trainer. Since 1999, he has focused primarily on leading and supporting global Knowledge Management (KM) initiatives. Organizations he has worked with include Compaq, Ericsson, Altiris, EMC, U.S. Air Force, Veteran Affairs, and others, working in 20 different countries. He has also led global Knowledge Centered Support (KCS) initiatives for several organizations. |
He has extensive experience developing and executing KM vision, strategy, metrics, and processes. He also has a unique ability to lead the transition to a knowledge-centric, collaborative culture. He is a skilled trainer/facilitator/presenter, with extensive experience developing and delivering training.
He provides strong leadership and management skills and is an influential thought leader and change agent. He also has deep experience with customer relations and support, with over 15 years of experience implementing Knowledge Centered Support (KCS) in global, multi-cultural, multi-language organizations.
Although he has a BS in I.T. Business Administration, ITIL Foundation certification, and is HDI KCS certified, he has always believed that no amount of theoretical, academic training can substitute for hands-on, in-the-trenches experience. He also has a DoD Secret Clearance.
Prior to 1999, Tom had several opportunities to learn valuable lessons and skills he has incorporated in his work throughout his career. These included Regional Manager for an insurance company, Account executive for an AT&T division, and 8 years in the Army National Guard (Special Forces Medic). During this time, he also worked for 10 years as a facilitator/coach teaching personal development, marriage and parenting workshops, and relationship coping skills to individuals, couples, and groups. He then added organizational coaching and consulting, including developing and delivering corporate training that included conflict resolution, team building, communication, and other “soft” skills.
In 1999, he began consulting on knowledge management, when he was brought in by a consulting firm leading a KCS implementation for Compaq. He began by training Compaq support agents on a new knowledgebase tool, content authoring techniques, and effective coaching skills in their primary U.S. call center (3,000 agents). He also trained management on KM best practices, performance management, and coaching skills.
During this period, he was involved with the Consortium for Service Innovation, and was a Moderator/Presenter at their National KCS Conferences in 2000, 2001, 2002. In fact, when he began working with Compaq, the Consortium used the term SCS, for Solution Centered Support, not KCS. As Tom was working with Compaq, it was evident to him that using the term “Solution” as part of the name of the methodology was confusing. He began to use the term Knowledge Centered Support instead. This soon became the accepted terminology within Compaq, and was then adopted universally.
His success in generating significantly improved results with that group led Compaq to also send him to their European division, and then their APAC region. Tom was also given opportunities to help improve their overall global KM strategy and other KM components.
His success with Compaq created opportunities to then work on KM implementations with Ericsson in several of their European and APAC divisions, focusing on management alignment workshops to reduce duplicated effort and conflict.
His track record with Compaq and Ericsson led to additional KM consulting engagements with Hitachi and Novell. As he worked with these large global firms he deepened his expertise with developing and managing KPI's, knowledge base tool optimization, content management, developing and leading culture and change management efforts, and inspiring extraordinarily high participation by executives, managers, and employees.
In 2005, Altiris engaged him to design and lead their global KM strategy. This included developing and delivering training to employees and customers, leading an extensive effort with the technical team to optimize their CRM/Kb tool, developing and managing KM metrics/KPI's with a reward and recognition program, developing and leading communication and change management plans, and leading the all-important transition to a sustainable knowledge-centric, community culture.
The phenomenal results Altiris experienced were used as case studies for national conferences, with 700% to 1300% increases in all KM metrics in the first year. Some of these results are detailed on this website under Case Studies.
He provides strong leadership and management skills and is an influential thought leader and change agent. He also has deep experience with customer relations and support, with over 15 years of experience implementing Knowledge Centered Support (KCS) in global, multi-cultural, multi-language organizations.
Although he has a BS in I.T. Business Administration, ITIL Foundation certification, and is HDI KCS certified, he has always believed that no amount of theoretical, academic training can substitute for hands-on, in-the-trenches experience. He also has a DoD Secret Clearance.
Prior to 1999, Tom had several opportunities to learn valuable lessons and skills he has incorporated in his work throughout his career. These included Regional Manager for an insurance company, Account executive for an AT&T division, and 8 years in the Army National Guard (Special Forces Medic). During this time, he also worked for 10 years as a facilitator/coach teaching personal development, marriage and parenting workshops, and relationship coping skills to individuals, couples, and groups. He then added organizational coaching and consulting, including developing and delivering corporate training that included conflict resolution, team building, communication, and other “soft” skills.
In 1999, he began consulting on knowledge management, when he was brought in by a consulting firm leading a KCS implementation for Compaq. He began by training Compaq support agents on a new knowledgebase tool, content authoring techniques, and effective coaching skills in their primary U.S. call center (3,000 agents). He also trained management on KM best practices, performance management, and coaching skills.
During this period, he was involved with the Consortium for Service Innovation, and was a Moderator/Presenter at their National KCS Conferences in 2000, 2001, 2002. In fact, when he began working with Compaq, the Consortium used the term SCS, for Solution Centered Support, not KCS. As Tom was working with Compaq, it was evident to him that using the term “Solution” as part of the name of the methodology was confusing. He began to use the term Knowledge Centered Support instead. This soon became the accepted terminology within Compaq, and was then adopted universally.
His success in generating significantly improved results with that group led Compaq to also send him to their European division, and then their APAC region. Tom was also given opportunities to help improve their overall global KM strategy and other KM components.
His success with Compaq created opportunities to then work on KM implementations with Ericsson in several of their European and APAC divisions, focusing on management alignment workshops to reduce duplicated effort and conflict.
His track record with Compaq and Ericsson led to additional KM consulting engagements with Hitachi and Novell. As he worked with these large global firms he deepened his expertise with developing and managing KPI's, knowledge base tool optimization, content management, developing and leading culture and change management efforts, and inspiring extraordinarily high participation by executives, managers, and employees.
In 2005, Altiris engaged him to design and lead their global KM strategy. This included developing and delivering training to employees and customers, leading an extensive effort with the technical team to optimize their CRM/Kb tool, developing and managing KM metrics/KPI's with a reward and recognition program, developing and leading communication and change management plans, and leading the all-important transition to a sustainable knowledge-centric, community culture.
The phenomenal results Altiris experienced were used as case studies for national conferences, with 700% to 1300% increases in all KM metrics in the first year. Some of these results are detailed on this website under Case Studies.
After completing his work with Altiris, Tom worked with many organizations, again traveling to a number of different countries as he has supported global adoptions of Knowledge Management and Knowledge Centered Support (KCS). These organizations have included Novell, Henry-Schein, EMC, Ambank, Far West Bank, Information Innovators, Veterans Affairs, the Air Force, and most recently SolarWinds and MartizCX.
Deliverables included organizational assessments, KM vision and strategy development, project documentation, building tool requirements and user test cases, team building, developing and delivering training, conflict resolution, implementing and improving processes/policies/procedures, and management training and coaching. Much of this work was on-site, but has also involved working and managing remotely, including remote training and coaching.
He has also managed the knowledge management portion of several transition projects that involved outsourcing tech support. These projects included HUB International, Macmillan Publishing, Texas Workforce Services, and AutoNation.
Tom and his wife, Jerri, an accomplished trainer and facilitator in her own right, live in the mountains of central Utah, where they breed and train classical Spanish-Bred Arabian Sport Horses, Welsh Ponies, registered Nigerian Dwarf goats, and registered Chow Chow dogs. They have several national champions among their menagerie.
Deliverables included organizational assessments, KM vision and strategy development, project documentation, building tool requirements and user test cases, team building, developing and delivering training, conflict resolution, implementing and improving processes/policies/procedures, and management training and coaching. Much of this work was on-site, but has also involved working and managing remotely, including remote training and coaching.
He has also managed the knowledge management portion of several transition projects that involved outsourcing tech support. These projects included HUB International, Macmillan Publishing, Texas Workforce Services, and AutoNation.
Tom and his wife, Jerri, an accomplished trainer and facilitator in her own right, live in the mountains of central Utah, where they breed and train classical Spanish-Bred Arabian Sport Horses, Welsh Ponies, registered Nigerian Dwarf goats, and registered Chow Chow dogs. They have several national champions among their menagerie.
