Session 301Beyond Desktop Support: A Journey from the Deskside to Comprehensive Service
Mike HansonDirector, Technology SupportOptum, Inc.
Hello!
What I’ll Be Talking About . . .
Remote Support – Business Relationships – International Support – Automation – Agile
Centralization – Process Centered Management – Support Alignment - Culture
Remote Support
• A true paradigm shift• “an important change that happens when the usual way of thinking about or doing something is replaced
by a new and different way”
• Cultural Challenges• Individual opinion changed as organizational approach to support evolved.
• Leadership Lessons• Changes to how we managed staff. Local vs. Distributed.
• Best Practices• Balancing remote vs. local. Maintaining customer relationships.
Centralized Services
• Process shifts• Focus on core responsibilities. Vertical vs. Horizonal support. Centralized fulfillment and distribution.
Repair function. Administration.
• Cultural Challenges• Losing ‘hands on’ work. Support becomes routine, less challenging.
• Leadership Lessons• Build in flexibility. Moving from generalists to specialists.
• Best Practices• Focused support teams. Huge cost savings due to creation of common inventory (JIT).
International Support
• Process shifts• Offshoring of support teams. Global support ‘follows the sun.’
• Cultural Challenges• Perception that we no longer care about US-based staff. Country-specific cultural issues.
• Leadership Lessons• Changes to how we managed staff. Time zones. Understanding cultural differences.
• Best Practices• Regular communication. Follow up verbal with written.
Support Integration
• Process shift• Integration of all support teams under a single leader. Support is not just customer-facing teams.
• Cultural Challenges• Building relationships between very different types of support teams.
• Leadership Lessons• Rally around common goals.
• Best Practices• Regular communication. Focus on common ground.
Back to the Basics
• Process shift• Walk-up support.
• Cultural Challenges• Financial concerns.
• Leadership Lessons• Selling the customer experience.
• Best Practices• Clearly defined roles & responsibilities.
Innovative Tools
• Process shift• Automation. Shift left / self-help.
• Cultural Challenges• Perception our job is being replaced by machines.
• Leadership Lessons• Beware unintended consequences.
• Best Practices• Clearly communicate strategy to support team. Help them understand the impact to
their role.
PCM (Process Centered Management)
• Process shift• LEAN. Six Sigma. Focus on process improvement
• Cultural Challenges• Helping people understand, ‘how does this effect me?’
• Leadership Lessons• Consistency is key. Communication. Performance management. Establish improvement habits.
• Best Practices• Daily huddles. Visual dashboards. PDCA.
Culture
• Process shift• Changing the focus from volume-based to customer-focused (quality). NPS. Values.
• Cultural Challenges• Changing a culture is hard!
• Leadership Lessons• Regular communication. Success requires buy-in at all levels.
• Best Practices• Keep culture front-and-center. Focus on values during individual and team meetings.
Common Threads
• Process shift• Evolutionary, with the occasional revolutionary.
• Cultural Challenges• Changing a culture is hard!
• Leadership Lessons• Build relationships and collaboration. Consistent messaging.
• Best Practices• Culture is the wrapper for all changes. Communication is vital.