Critical Success Factors for a Support Organization

To be successful, the support organization needs:

• A mission statement and charter approved by management and accepted by the organization.
• A thorough understanding of customer expectations documented in Service Level Agreements.
• Realistic performance measures.
• Internal staff and external providers working in a consistent manner.
• Effective automated support.

Few organizations have the time or experience to implement an effective organization-wide support function and achieve the full benefits of an automated support tool such as HELP!Desk. Often the right people aren't available. Sometimes internal people know what's needed but can't convince management because they lack objective measures.

Situations Where Outside Expertise and Objectivity are Helpful

We are often called in to assist in situations like these:

• Customers are dissatisfied, and the causes aren't obvious.
• Management wants to centralize or consolidate support to reduce costs, and customers want local staff who know their business. How can these needs be reconciled?
• The support manager is concerned about the implications of automation or organization decisions. How can the demand for support be predicted?
• Partial outsourcing of support is being considered. What combination of internal staff and outside providers makes the most sense?
• The organization wants to implement an automated support management system quickly.
• Assist in negotiating Service Level Agreements.
  

Benefits of Our Assistance

• Stronger backing by management for the support organization's mission.
• Faster organization-wide implementation of standard processes and practices.
• More effective implementation of automated support management software.
• Performance measures that meet your need to monitor the value of support.
  

Assistance Customized to Your Needs

Choose the areas where you'd like help and the level of effort you would like us to provide. We'll work with you to plan our assignment within your budget. Deliverables can range from briefings to the preparation of camera-ready documentation or custom software.

Representative Assignments

• A diagnostic assessment of all aspects of support for an international company: mission, staffing and organization, automated support, effectiveness and efficiency, service quality.
• Analysis of support organization contribution and cost as a basis for staff expansion.
• A functional audit of support activities to clarify roles and responsibilities for hardware, software, and network support among several related support groups.
• Mission statement and charter to align support to business needs and customer expectations.
• Service level requirements for desktop applications and technical infrastructure. Assistance in developing and negotiating Service Level Agreements.
• Recommendations on 3rd party support services, including definition of support requirements, development of evaluation criteria, identification and evaluation of vendors.
• A measurement program and series of management reports and charts to monitor service effectiveness, efficiency, and service quality.
• A career ladder and new job descriptions for a marketing systems support group.
• Implementation of an automated support system to eliminate redundant problem solving and make proven solutions available to everyone in the organization.
• A workload forecasting and weekly tracking system for a technical services group to balance supply and demand, and as a basis for allocation of costs to customer departments.
• A policies and procedures handbook for the support staff.
• A bulletin board system to share solutions with external customers and reduce support costs.
• A skills inventory, requirements analysis, and skills development plan for support technicians.
• A series of workshops on problem solving and customer expectations management.
  

Cost And Schedule

Consulting is provided on a time and materials or a fixed fee basis.

• Time and materials -- You only pay for the level of assistance you select. You may terminate our assignment at any time and pay only for the time we have actually spent.
• Fixed price -- After an initial needs assessment, we can fix the price and deliverables.
  

Our fee will be based on a daily rate of between $1,000 and $2,000 depending on the nature of the assignment and the experience of the individuals assigned. Out-of-pocket travel expenses are additional, and will be agreed upon in advance. A schedule will be based on your needs and can range from full-time assistance to several days per month on an as-needed basis. We will confirm the particulars of each assignment with an arrangement letter that states our understanding of your expectations; our scope, approach, and staffing; your responsibilities; and the basis for consulting fees and expenses.

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 Updated on March 23, 2008