Certification Programs for the Support Industry

1. Certification Programs for the Support Industry Presented by: Service Strategies Advancing Service Excellence www.servicestrategies.com

2. What’s Happening in the Industry? • Product / service quality is increasing • Digitally connected world is driving customer expectations higher • Technology enhancements are improving deliverables • Certification and call center standards are evolving • Products increasing in complexity Growing Emphasis on Quality Resulting from Customer Demands • What separates those that “say they can” and those that “can do”? • Quality and consistency of service / protect – retain – increase revenue • What differentiates an original from a replica – Certification of Authenticity!

3. Impact Upon the Support Organization • Greater demands on people / process / technology • Increased need for multiple service / delivery channels • Better / faster / cheaper service Consumers are willing to pay a higher price for service if a seller can deliver a solid product with support that frees up buyers resources.

4. Service is the Differentiator Quality of Service is today’s product • Service supports products (Past) • Service leads to new sales (Revitalized Trend) • Service is the product (Today)

5. Support CenterCertification Why a Support Center“Certification” Program? • A set of “benchmark” guidelines are needed within the industry • Certification establishes a standard for measuring quality service • Focuses Call Centers on process and results • Provides recognition for those companies/operations that deliver exceptional service

6. Terms for Service Centers • Help Desk • Support Center • Call Center • Contact Center • TAC – Technical Access Center • Service Center • Customer Interaction Center

7. Defining an Industry Standard • The SSPA (Service & Support Professionals Association) started the initiative to develop the certification standard • 41 North American, European & Asia/Pacific SSPA member companies involved in SCP development • All Service Segments Represented SCP Program Also Endorsed By: ICSA

8. Large Help Desk Operations Small Help desk Operations Multi-National Database Support Complex Support Automation Vendors PC Consumer Support Vertical Applications Support Hardware and Software Support Operations Third-Party Outsourcer Support Service Segments Represented

9. CompuCom Systems Hyperion Software Corp IDX Systems Corporation Inacom Corporation Intuit, Inc. Landmark Graphics Lawson Software Lockheed Martin McKesson Corp. Oracle Corporation QAD, Inc. Rockwell Automation The Sabre Group Software AG Best Software Silicon Graphics, Inc. SPS Payment Systems SPSS Inc. Sybase, Inc. The Ultimate Software Group, Inc. Peoplesoft Xerox Corporation SCP Certification Sponsors European Sponsors North American Sponsors • Candle Corp. • Hyperion • Landmark Graphics • Mentor Graphics • Microsoft • Computer Associates • Rockwell Automation • SPSS • Stream International • Sybase • Xerox Corporation Asia Pacific Sponsors • Mentor Graphics • Network Appliance • Peoplesoft • SPSS • Cognos • Compaq • EMC • Landmark Graphics

10. Program Attributes Focuses support centers on process and results. Defines hard measures where possible that apply across the service industry. Do it Yourself ! Doesn’t require external consulting to implement. Provides a single standard for the service industry that describes World Class Support.

11. Annual support center based certification In-depth preparation to achieve certification Comprehensive on-site audits verify results Feedback on best practices from auditors Eleven key certification criteria sections Approximately 100 business elements Comprehensive weighting and scoring system Measured results are the basis for certification What’s the Program All About?

12. Customer Feedback 20% Service Delivery Processes 17% Sales & Services Interface 2% R&D Interface 2% Performance Metrics 12% Total Quality Management 3% Training Programs 10% Electronic Service Delivery 8% People Programs 10% Productivity Tools 8% Corporate Commitment & Strategic Direction 8% Journey to SCP Certification

13. SCP Certification Criteria #1 • Customer Feedback • Establishing the satisfaction metrics • Collecting data / using feedback to drive continuous improvement • Measuring performance • Managing towards the goal

14. SCP Certification Criteria #2 • Service Delivery Processes • Gathering information • Setting expectations • Communicating proactively • Establishing goals for response and resolution

15. SCP Certification Criteria #3 • Performance Metrics • Setting the goals • Focus on response and resolution • Measuring performance • Financial performance • Meeting the objectives

16. SCP Certification Criteria #4 • Training Programs • Customer communication • Technical skills • Tools and processes • Problem solving and troubleshooting

17. SCP Certification Criteria #5 • People Programs • Establishing career paths • Reviewing performance • Building teamwork • Communicating internally

18. SCP Certification Criteria #6 • Corporate Commitment & Strategic Direction • Commitment to support as a strategic function • Strategies for delivering support • Funding the operation • Developing the management

19. SCP Certification Criteria #7 • Productivity Tools • Customer data management • Problem solving and knowledge management • Communication systems • Automated and self help support

20. SCP Certification Criteria #8 • Electronic Service Delivery • Planning and strategy • Internet services. • Self help tools. • Measuring performance

21. SCP Certification Criteria #9 • Total Quality Management • Participation in quality initiatives • Managing service levels with critical suppliers • Representing the customer to development • Setting internal and external expectations • Participating in the release process

22. SCP Certification Criteria #10 • Research & Development Interface • Meeting with R&D • Defining requirements • Communicating with development • Tracking escalations and enhancement requests

23. SCP Certification Criteria #11 • Sales and Services Interface • Understanding the sales process • Communicating the support process • Communicating customer issues and status • Capturing opportunities for add-on business

24. Audit Experience Two Day On-site Audit Industry Expert Staff Learning Opportunity Real Time Relevance

25. SCP Goes Global The SCP program is used in all major business regions of the world. Currently, technology support organizations in 20 countries are deploying the program. United States Australia Canada India Japan Brazil Malaysia Belgium Sweden Spain New Zealand France Portugal The Netherlands Singapore Greece Ireland United Kingdom Taiwan Germany

26. Striving for Global Certification Some participating companies pursuing the vision of world class support through global consistency

27. Value of SCP Certification Increase Operational Efficiency • Examples • Improved resolution time • Improved response time • Lower cost per interaction • Result • Lower operational costs • Direct correlation to Improving Customer satisfaction • 100% of centers reported improved effectiveness and/or efficiencies of the processes in place within their support centers.

28. Value of SCP Certification Architectural Plan for Success • Examples • Provides framework to build world-class service infrastructure • Helps set priorities based on unique criteria and element weighting scheme • Result • New or Startup operations use SCP as a ROADMAP to develop service infrastructure • Mature operations use SCP to assess their capability • Validate good practices • Identified areas for improvement

29. Value of SCP Certification Recognition • Examples • Internal recognition elevates morale within the call center organization • Customers appreciate the value of pre/post sales support • Result • Raised Awareness of Support Organization • 84% of centers reported that becoming SCP Certified helped to raise internal/external awareness of value of the Call Center • Leverage service as a competitive advantage • Market the SCP achievement

30. Value of SCP Certification Global Consistency • Examples • Common service processes • Consistent use of tools • Standard set of service metrics • Knowledge capture and reuse • Service strategy and vision • Result • Strategic Planning Focus • 92% of centers reported SCP Certification helped to proved additional focus on strategic planning for their organization. • High quality support delivered consistently around the world

31. Benchmarking & Best Practices Exchange Top level analysis of your company data compared to all other SCP Certified centers Detailed benchmark comparison of your data for each individual certification element.

32. Value Added Benefits • Industry benchmarking in audit reports • Support Secrets database of best practices • Success Story marketing program • SCP Insider community newsletter • SSPA / SCP events in North America, Europe and Pacific Rim

33. Return on Investment • Initial financial investment is less than 1/2 of a Full Time Equivalent per support center • Implementation costs are minimal with workload distributed across the organization. • Efficiency improvement are typically at least equivalent to 3 FTE’s per center

34. SCP Certification Process • Step 1 Complete SCP self assessment • Step 2 Advisory meeting and review with auditors • Step 3 Internal project manager forms teams and begins preparation • Step 4 Complete preparations – typically 3 to 12 months depending on your situation • Step 5 Schedule SCP audit date • Step 6 Pre-audit review / final readiness check • Step 7 Extensive 2 day on-site audit • Step 8 Re-certify annually through re-audits of the call center The real value from SCP Certification is in the journey

35. - Conclusion - Certification is no longer nice to have, it isEssential. www.servicestrategies.com