According to data from the Future Foundations think tank, one in eight employees throw in the towel and leave their job before they reach a competent level of performance. Why they fail to reach a competent level is more about training and the skills of their manager than it is about the employee.
The 4 R’s of Services Account Management
February 13, 2012 By 1 Comment
Services account management is a critical capability for almost all organizations selling and delivering complex products and services. Yet, as customer’s needs, wants, and expectations have grown, so has the role of the high-performing services account manager evolved to meet these new requirements.1 My research and experience confirms that the very best SAMs are masters of delivering on the 4 R’s: Resolution, Retention, Revenue, and Relationships. Read on to learn best practices and to take an assessment to compare yourself or your SAM organization to top performers.
Secrets of Services Account Management (On-Demand Webinar)
February 13, 2012 By
Join us for this Best Practice Webinar titled “Secrets of Services Account Management.” In this action -packed session, services experts Ben Stephens of Service Strategies and James “Alex” Alexander of Alexander Consulting will answer the most asked questions about the secrets of stellar services account management.
Ten Listening Tips for Effective Leadership
February 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Listening is not the absence of talking, but the presence of attention. Listening is not simply hearing, it is a matter of understanding. It requires participation, action, and effort. Listening is the glue that holds conversations together. And it is absolutely essential for effective leadership. Here are 10 valuable tips to increase your listening skills…
Managing Customer Support as a Business
December 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment
We all want and need similar things – well documented processes, qualified people, rapid responsiveness, fast resolution times, and detailed metrics to identify root causes of process and product failures. But in today’s marketplace – even all of this is not enough! Truth is, support management can achieve all of the above and still fail [...]
The Journey Through Global Unification
December 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Having grown through acquisition over the past several years, the management team at Progress Software recognized that the global support organization had become somewhat fragmented in terms of service execution, delivery methods and business systems. In an effort to address this issue, and pursue their goal of enhancing support quality and effectiveness, the management team sought to unify the organization, drive process consistency and integrate industry best practices.
Online Support Communities at Sophos
October 31, 2011 By 1 Comment
SophosTalk, the company’s online community was launched in November 2009 and complements traditional phone and email support channels for customers. It is structured around the Sophos product lines such as Endpoint, Gateway, Data Protection and Mobile Security. In addition, there are discussion boards for specialist topics such as the small business versions of our products, and issues relating to data loss protection. There are boards for notifications from us, and for comments and feedback from community members. In this post, Dave Jobling of Sophos discusses community metrics, including a compelling indication of return on investment (ROI).
Knowledge Management Systems at Sophos
September 30, 2011 By
Knowledge has a well-defined strategic role within the Sophos, Global Support Services (GSS) organisation. That role is to enable scalable support provision for a customer base whose growth continues to outstrip that of Sophos’ major competitors in the data and system security industry. In pursuit of that strategic goal, we aim to identify and maximise case deflection, to boost our online reputation while gathering customer feedback, and to succeed at both of those at the lowest possible operating cost.
Measuring Service Deflection
April 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Training vs. Skills Development
February 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment
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