INFORMATION TECHNOLOGYLance B. Eliot, Feature Editor, Eliot & Associates THE STRATEGIC NATURE OF I.S. CUSTOMER SERVICEby Lance Eliot, Eliot & Associates Back in the days of mainframe-oriented centralized computing, the major activities of an Information Systems (I.S.) customer service area involved letting end-users know when their card decks has been run through the machine, tearing off print-outs and routing them to the right offices, and handling occasional phone calls from irritated users that were upset with slow turnaround. Essentially, a rather limited range of services. In stark contrast, today's customer service functions involve diagnosing PC hardware and software problems, advising users about new software releases and capabilities, handling minicomputer and mainframe computer questions, telling users about data communciations hook-up's and Local Area Network (LAN) access and use, and otherwise coping with a myriad of important computing-related needs that ultimately impact how users within a corporation get their work done. Sadly, some Information Systems managers stilll treat their customer service area like a relic from the past. Indeed, I often find that I.S. customer service staff are treated poorly, career paths within customer service are considered a dead-end, and the attitude of the chief information officer (CIO) boils down into "let the users fend for themselves." Such a motto might best be engraved on the tombstone of today's rapidly being replaced CIOs. CIOs that ignore or disregard customer service will inevitably be "junked" by the very users that they so easily deprive of assistance. A business savvy CIO realizes that happy users will lead to support for I.S. and retention of the CIOþbut, you gotta give support to get support. Thus, there is current movement toward reengineering of I.S. customer service in many innovative and enlighted organizations. In working with CIOs to identify how to reengineer their various customer service and help desk functions, I have gradually assembled a collection of key trends and insights that I'll briefly describe next. First, top I.S. management must be "indoctrinated" in the notion that end-users are their customers. Just as the organization has customers outside the firm that must be satisfied, delighted, and courted, so too must I.S. seek to satisfy, delight, and court their internal customers (end-users). And, no matter how irritating your customers might be, you must still put a smile on your face and try to meet their needs. If the preceding focus on "the customer" seems obvious and trivial, you probably haven't seen the dozens of non-customer focused I.S. shops that I deal with daily. The attitude on the part of top I.S. Management will shape how the rest of I.S. performs. Even when top I.S. management says they care about customers, if they don't implement their beliefs the rest of I.S. knows that serving the customer is not really paramount. In other words, I.S. management must talk-the-walk and walk-the-talk (meaning they have to explicitly state their customer orientation and then perform deeds that reinforce their stated intentions). Second, I.S. must implement an infrastructure and culture that supports the customer service orientation espoused. The scope and depth of implementation will differ depending upon the size of the I.S. shop, the size of the user base being supported, the level of computer literacy among the users, the pervasiveness of computing within the user base, and so on. Notably, I.S. should seek to develop a customer service function that matches the characteristics of their user population. I've seen many shops that fail to have a sufficiently large and properly structured Help Desk for their user base (usually leading to stressful levels of user complaint and concern), while in a few shops I've witnessed excessive investment in the customer service area. Yes, you can have overkill in supporting your usersþI've helped a few shops cut costs and yet still have happy users (rather than perhaps having very happy users). One recent trend in building the infrastructure of customer service involved making use of outside vendors for supplying hardware, software, or data communications services. Called "desktop outsourcing" or sometimes "selective outsourcing," an I.S. group will contract with a vendor to provide phone-based or on-site service for their users. Though the concept seems simple, implementation must be done with care. A seamless hand-off between in-house customer service and the use of outside services must be provided. A poor hand-off leads to finger pointing, and the harried user is caught in the middle. Before pursuing outsourcing of customer service functions, a CIO should review their existing customer service capabilities, prepare an analysis and service plan, and create an RFP (Request for Proposals) for distribution to outside firms. Then, the "best" outside service provided can be selected and carefully wedded into the range of customer service functions being performed in-house. Another trend is the use of automation for consistent and less costly response to users. Included in the tools of the Help Desk are user tracking and inventory systems that keep information about the type of systems being used by individual users and their history of contacting the customer service area, expert systems that help diagnose user equipment problems and offer recommendations, and other modern helpful packages for meeting user needs. I've even had some companies use sales force software in their I.S. customer service area to aid the I.S. staff. Such software offers tips on dealing with difficult people, tracks contact with users and provides on-screen alarms when it is time to contact a user again. The bottom-line: force I.S. staff to think more in a sales mode and less in a technic only mode. The last trend that I'll mention here deals with consolidation and streamlining of the I.S. customer service function. In some companies, the customer service function of I.S. has evolved and spread out widely within the organization. Though the dispersed function might have previously met corporate needs, many firms today have found that consolidation of these "islands of assistance" can increase overall quality of service, produce economies of scale, and lead to reduced costs in providing customer service to the users. Again, consolidation and streamlining must be done with caution. Just bringing everyone back into the main area of I.S. is not the intent of consolidation. You need to look at overlapping services, weigh the value of each service being provided, decide which services should be handled in-house versus using outsourcing, match the use of automation to those service functions that can be sensibly automated, and so on. In conclusion, CIOs must keep in mind that I.S. is more than a mere product provider (providing hardware and software to the organization). I.S. is a service oriented function, and the customer service and Help Desk area is vital to the long-term viability of the overall Information Systems function in modern companies. Put sufficient attention, both strategic and tactical, into the customer service area, and make sure that actual performance matches the "we're here to help you" claims. Remember that your input is welcomed. If you have projects
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