SSPA Archived Research |
Tackling the Multi-Vendor Support Challenge
Author: Trisha Bright — VP, SSPA Member Programs
In the race to gain competitive advantage through information technology, today’s computing environments have become a complex web of highly integrated products and technologies from a myriad of suppliers who collectively are fueling the fire through their R&D efforts.
So it is that multi-vendor support is driving complexity into support operations and putting support efficiency – and margins – at risk. As enterprise customers continue to build elaborate computing environments, the folks managing the support and maintenance relationship need to devise the means to profitably service these complex environments. |
Web-based Service Delivery Not Living Up to Its Promise
Author: Trisha Bright — VP, SSPA Member Programs
With product sales in a slump during this same period, support organizations have faced the added challenge of delivering margin improvements through service delivery optimization efforts. Under intense pressure from the CFO to cut costs, support and maintenance organizations have made significant investments to transition service delivery from costly call center operations to highly efficient, lower-cost web delivery. |
Challenges and Opportunities for the Offshore Call Center Outsourcing Industry
by Bill Rose, Founder & Executive Director, SSPA
This report explores offshore call center outsourcing—from the challenges of managing global operations, to the future of the industry. |
Setting the Standard for World-Class Electronic Support
Published: March 2003
Author: SSPA
This study highlights six critical characteristics of world-class electronic services and presents the performance standards by which world-class electronic services are measured. This study offers insight into the strategies and best practices used by leading support organizations to develop and maintain world-class electronic services. |
Support Financials: Managing the Business of Support
Published: June 2003
Author: SSPA
This report provides a detailed look at the financial aspects of the support business. Budget allocations, revenue sources, and critical financial metrics are presented. This study also examines key financial practices including budget planning, approval, revenue recognition and interdepartmental charge backs. |
Customer Retention – Maximizing the Lifetime Value of the Customer Relationship
Published: March 2003
Author: SSPA
This study examines the concept of the Life Time Value (LTV) of a customer relationship and the strategies, practices and benchmarks used to maximize and measure customer retention. This study examines Support’s role in customer retention by examining customer interaction practices, support portfolios, and customer retention and support contract renewal best practices. |
Web Support Services – The Basics and Beyond
Published: March 2003
Author: Francoise Tourniaire, PH. D.
This report examines the elements of highly effective web support services and provides practical insight into how to develop, promote, and administer interactive electronic support and self-service resources. Knowledge management, electronic software distribution, on-line case submission and management, personalization, discussion forums, collaboration, tools, staffing are key areas highlighted. |
Defining World-Class Support
Published: September 2002
Author: SSPA
This report presents performance benchmarks and best practices of world-class support organizations. With this report support managers and executives can gauge their own organizations performance against the targets established by SSPA through the review and analysis of leading companies. |
Why Backlog May Be Costing You Millions and What You Can Do About It
Published: August 2002
Author: SSPA
This report presents performance benchmarks and metrics for measuring the magnitude and cost of support incident backlog and introduces strategies for managing backlog by examining the trade offs associated with resource allocation and customer satisfaction. The report also includes a spreadsheet model designed to let you examine your backlog capacity, costs and resource requirements. |
New Opportunities for Outsourcing: A Cost-Benefit Perspective
Published: October 2002
Author: SSPA
This report explores state of outsourcing today and offers guidelines for revaluating the business potential of outsourcing. Outsourcing will not be right for everyone but, SSPA believes it is time for to take another look at outsourcing. |
The Real Multivendor Support Problem
by Bill Rose, Founder & Executive Director, SSPA
The problem for technology support organizations is not that they need to contact other vendors to get help a few times per year. The problem is the internal cost base they’ve built up to make sure they don’t have to contact other vendors. |
Escalation Management
by Francoise Tourniaire, Ph.D.
Escalation management is the set of processes required to properly anticipate, respond to, manage to resolution, and learn from escalations. This whitepaper shows you when and how to set up a formal escalation management process and structure. |
Combating Service Mediocrity: Customer Service for the Support Professional
by Jim McKennan
This Whitepaper is focused on improving the “customer service” provided by an internal technical support organization to its employees (internal customers). One of the things you’ll find in looking at the trend in the service sector is that standards have gotten so low. Customer satisfaction levels have been dropping nationwide for years. In fact, the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), a cross- industry national economic indicator of customer satisfaction, reports that 38 industries polled show a steady decline since 1994. This means, unfortunately, some people who are giving mediocre service think they are good service providers because they see what they are doing is no different than many of the others they encounter in their business and personal lives. |
The Road to World-Class Support: Customer Loyalty
Author: SSPA
The vast majority of customer service organizations conduct periodic customer satisfaction surveys. Some are focused on a specific support transaction, others are more broadly focused on the overall relationship with the customer. Satisfaction surveys are the foundation for assessing the state of your relationships with customers, but they do not necessarily provide a complete picture about the business value of that relationship. |
Starting from Nothing Prepared
by Francoise Tourniaire, Ph.D.
You need to create a new support center. Congratulations! How do you turn the dream into a reality within weeks and within budget? This guide will highlight what's important and what's not and will help you sequence the activities you need to accomplish to succeed. Even if you don't have a support background, you'll find that a good dose of common sense is the only prerequisite here. |
Electronic Software Distribution Management – An idea whose time has come
by Francoise Tourniaire, Ph.D.
Software distribution is the set of processes around delivering software to customers. It includes the delivery of the initial product (full version) as well as the delivery of maintenance releases and patches. It can also include the delivery of trial software. Software distribution is important for service managers and executives because they are often responsible for it, and even when they are not, problems with software distribution impact the support group if customers don’t have the software they need, don’t know when new releases are available, or have trouble obtaining fixes quickly. |
The Contact Center Supervisor: A Training Plan for Developing Critical Competencies
by Amy Preiss, PH. D
The contact center supervisor enjoys one of the most important roles in the workplace. Supervisors directly affect the success of organizational initiatives, influence customer satisfaction and loyalty, and are role models for new and experienced agents. The contact center supervisor creates and maintains the overall work atmosphere influencing agent job satisfaction, customer satisfaction, and business operations. |
Knowledge - The Ultimate Frontier for Support Centers
by Francoise Tourniaire, Ph.D.
Everyone’s talking about knowledge bases and how great they are, but no one’s talking about what it takes to build one. Are knowledge bases just for the big guys? Do you need to create (and fund!) a special group to tend to one? This whitepaper will help you sort out the must-haves from the extras and, I hope will inspire you to get started on the best-kept secret for support center productivity. |
Corporate Culture: What is it? How Do I Find It?
by Ron Johnson
What is corporate culture? Traditionally and at its most basic, it’s described as the personality of an organization, or simply as “how things are done around here.” It guides how employees think, feel, and act. Corporate culture is a broad term used to define the unique personality or character of a particular company or organization, and includes such elements as corporate ethics, core values and beliefs, and rules of behavior. |
Hiring for Great Service: Recruiting and Retaining Your Best People
by Richard S. Gallagher
Hiring and retention is, quite simply, the single biggest success factor in a customer support operation. The quality of people whom you hire, and your ability to retain them, are what drive all of the tangible performance measures of a support center: productivity, response time, resolution quality, and above all customer satisfaction. More importantly, every corporate culture rests in the hands of its people. As a result, the hiring decisions you make have a major impact on the overall culture of both your help desk and the organization that surrounds it. |
Selecting the Right Scale for Customer Satisfaction Surveys
Author: SSPA
Customer satisfaction surveys are commonly used throughout the Support industry as a means to assess the quality and effectiveness of support efforts. There are a number of methods companies use to assess customer satisfaction. The most frequently used customer satisfaction assessment tool is a follow-up transaction survey, followed by annual or semi-annual formal surveys of customer to assess a broad range of topics related to satisfaction and loyalty.
Data from the recent 2003 Support Industry Benchmark Study suggest that satisfaction data collection and scoring methods vary considerably across the industry. In this article we explore which survey scale as a means for assuring that the data collected provides actionable insights about your customers. |
A Short History Of Customer Service
by Scott Ferrell
There was a time when there were three clerks for every one customer in dept. stores. There was a man in a brass button uniform or a lady in white gloves that ran the elevator. Clerks remembered your name and what you bought on your last visit to their counter. Dry cleaners drove to your house for your dirty clothes and dropped off last weeks cleaning. If you called a company to ask a question, you got a live operator instead of “press 1, press 2, press 27.” |
Responding to Customers in E-mails: Let the Customer's Words Guide You
by R. Craig Hogan, Ph.D., Director, the Business Writing Center and Ben Stephens, Principal, Service Strategies Corporation
The use of e-mail and other written electronic support channels to handle customer service requests is increasing in the industry. Changing from phone to e-mail response significantly increases efficiency. However, if support representatives do not effectively handle service requests in the new writing medium, they will soon discover that customers return to calling the support center for service. Providing effective written support electronically requires special training for customer service representatives.
This whitepaper provides guidelines for the first key electronic response technique: understanding customers by analyzing the words they use. Using the techniques described in this booklet will lead to improved initial problem analysis while increasing the customer's confidence in submitting cases electronically to the support center.
Telecommuting: Rewards and Risks
by Ron Johnson, Director of Community Development, SSPA
The advent of cell phones, fast fax machines, Email, high speed Internet access and other electronic device advancements has created a new era of opportunities for companies and individuals to explore alternative work settings and arrangements. Telecommuting (Telework) is not a new work alternative, but more companies are now reviewing and implementing it as a viable option for certain workers. And it is growing in popularity and demand from employees. However, with the rewards come the risks. Not all companies have management systems and corporate cultures that are well suited to the flexibility that telecommuting can entail. Not all tasks are best performed in self-managing environments.
The Future of Technical Support, A White Paper
by Ann Kana, Director of Product Support, HNC Software
When I was asked to speak at the SSPA Horizons 2002 World Conference, I asked myself, "What is the future of Technical Support?" I immediately answered, well it's different if you're a large, high volume call center versus a small Technical Support organization - isn't it? As I began to dig a little deeper and ask others for their perspective, I began to suspect that the answers might not be so different after all! Maybe the specifics of how the solution is implemented will be different, but the business needs are the same. All companies, regardless of product or industry are facing increasing pressures on the bottom line.
Email Etiquette: What You "Send" is What They Get!
by Ron Johnson, Director of Community Development, SSPA
Since the beginning of time and when distance separated them, people have found many and varied means of communicating with each other. From the cave dwellers writing on cave walls, to the fastest running couriers of ancient times, to the pony express, to postal mail, to the telegraph and telephone- people have discovered new means of sending and receiving messages, whether across the street, over the mountains or around the world.
With the dawning of the Electronic Age has come the newest communication method- Email. Like other forms of "distance communicators", Email has added a wonderful, quick and efficient means to communicate with your family/friends, business associates and customers. However, like other forms of communication methods, a critical element of Email is to exercise common courtesy and etiquette. The author recalls his parents talking about the telephone "party line" that they once had and, certainly correct etiquette had to be followed there. (Although probably not always exercised.).
Family Life vs. Work Life: The Delicate Balance
by Ron Johnson, Director of Community Development, SSPA
When you are asked what is the most important part of your life, what is your answer? The most popular response from both women and men is- family and friends. The second most common answer is- work or my job. It is unfortunate then that the two most important areas of our lives are often the two areas that are in the most direct conflict. It is critical to be aware that your work demands do have an effect on you and your family and visa versa. Many people believe they can separate their work and family experiences, as if one has little effect on the other. Contrary to this common belief, however, is that most of us are not very good at separating these two worlds.
Outsourcing Your Internal IT Support Operations: Assisted Suicide or Gaining a Business Partner by James McKennan
If not done properly, outsourcing can be “assisted suicide.” And assisted by you! If you want the process to result in gaining a business partner you need to follow some basic guidelines. In this whitepaper you will learn the basic steps in outsourcing an internal IT Help Desk. You will have all the tools and resources necessary to understand how to successfully manage this process.
Who Funds Support – A Look at Support Budget Funding Sources
Author: SSPA
The cost of support averages 14.2 percent of company revenues. For some companies this is a cost of doing business and is considered to be an investment to enhance product marketability and sustain customer loyalty. For many companies support is a self sustaining business. In this article SSPA Research examines the sources of funding for Support.
How Efficient are Your Support Representatives
Author: SSPA
The concept of utilization is most often applied to billable consultants in professional services. SSPA Research has applied a utilization rate to support representatives based on the data from the 2002 Support Industry Benchmark Study. If you do not track support rep utilization it is worth a look since your reps account for over two-thirds of your support budget. Understanding the factors that impact utilization makes good business sense.
Cautious Optimism – Support Hiring Intentions for the Next Four Quarters
Author: SSPA
The current economic conditions have clearly affected support organizations’ hiring activities. The majority of support organizations have cut back or eliminated new hiring, while other organizations have been forced to cut support staff.
Support Knowledge Management: Sources and Practices
Author: SSPA
There are a number of possible sources of Support Knowledge Base (KB) content. The problem many support organizations face is not creation of content, but creation of high value reusable knowledge. The processes and practices for support knowledge creation are often overlooked and under funded, yet can yield significant return on investment.
Does Your CEO Care About Support?
Author: SSPA
According the SSPA Support Industry Benchmark Study 21 percent of support organizations have a direct reporting relationship to the CEO. 44.7 percent of support organizations are run as profit and loss centers and the average revenue contribution of support to the bottom line is 22 percent. In addition to the financials support has a very profound impact on customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Support Backlog May be Costing You Millions
Author: SSPA
On average, 55 percent of all cases are closed at first customer contact. This is the good news. The bad news is that 45 percent of cases remain open, and require additional research to determine the problem and subsequent resolution. Another 12 percent of cases are closed within 24 hours to bring the 24 hour closure rate to 67 percent. Even at this rate 33 percent of incidents are added to the backlog each day.
Is it Time to Unplug Your Electronic Support?
Author: SSPA
Have your electronic service initiatives lived up to your expectations for cost and efficiency? What do your customers think about your e-services? Do they use it, and are they satisfied with the electronic services you provide? On the surface E-services appear to offer cost advantages, yet service levels lag far behind the phone. Electronic services offer great promise, but it is not for every support situation. Is electronic support right for you and your customers?
Time to Take Another Look At Outsourcing
Author: SSPA
Outsourcing is a well established support industry institution that has not yet achieved its full potential. Outsourcing has evolved as a cost effective alternative for meeting service demand, but is not universally recognized as a strategic imperative for achieving service excellence.
Recovery in IT Spending, How Big, How Soon
Author: SSPA
If you haven’t had time to read all of the news reports and analyst forecasts about project growth of the IT industry, here is a summary of the forecast and findings from the leading research firms. SSPA Research presents a consolidated perspective on IT Spending.
SSPA Community Perceptions about eSupport
Author: SSPA
In a recent SSPA Quick Poll, we asked you to cast your vote about how well you think your electronic service initiatives are meeting your expectations for cost, efficiency and customer satisfaction. Here are the result…
Web Services – What’s Offered, What’s Used, What Works
Author: SSPA
Just about every service organization offers some type of web based service, but, just because you build it does not mean that it will be successful. Web based services offer the potential for great savings and increased customer satisfaction if they provide the level of service your customers demand. The most important factor in the success of web based services is usage. Getting customers hooked is important, keeping them coming back is critical. Here is a look at the most commonly offered web based services and the frequency of use for each.
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