FROM REACTIVE TO PROACTIVETransforming a Help Desk into a streamlined Service Desk, Azur helps a leading airport retailer regain customer confidence.

The Azur TOUCH Series September 2014

A family-owned business since the 1960s, our client operated a chain of around 550 retail stores in airports and hotels within the United States and Canada. With over 4,000 employees managing leased brand, convenience and newsstand stores, our client had been recognized as having the “Highest Regard for Customer Service” for 17 consecutive years by a leading airport industry publication.

Meet our client

The client provided services to both general users within its support center, as well to the field (stores, warehouses, and field offices) through a Help Desk housed in its IT Department. Prior to the client’s partnership with Azur, the Help Desk was outsourced to an offshore location by the client’s former vendor, and had an all-time low customer satisfaction rating. Incidents were often not reported because of poor user confidence in the Help Desk. Due to the cumulative effect of incidents not being managed and resolved in a timely manner, business operations were adversely impacted. Business revenue was also negatively affected by the use of outdated registers and equipment. The incident tracking system had functional shortfalls, which resulted in improper incident escalation and backlog, and also impaired communication between the offshore Help Desk team and the client. The retailer turned to Azur to implement a well-structured and efficient Help Desk that presented a strong operational interface between its IT department and its customers, both internal and external.

Situation & Impact

Azur’s top priority was to help the client regain the trust of its customers by providing efficient and timely support and services. Azur chose to manage the Help Desk in-house initially, with a team consisting of one IT Support Manager and eight IT Support Associates. Within two months, the team grew from eight to fourteen IT Support Associates. The team created and followed an internal mission statement: PROMPT SERVICE—an acronym for Performance, Respect, Ownership, Motivation, Problem-Solving, Trust, Speed, Empathy, Relationship, Value, Integrity, Compassion, and Enthusiasm.

Insights & Solution

Situations where Azur employees went beyond their call of duty became the norm and were instrumental in changing the perceptions employees had of the internal helpdesk. Our talented team resolved a multitude of issues - be it registers running slow, not working, or being faulty, and even ordered new parts - often within 30 seconds. They accomplished all of this through a combination of know-how, listening and problem solving skills.

Experience clients first

Lack of appropriate documentation and metrics

Absence of replenishment policies (registers and desktop computers were more than seven years old)

Weakly defined Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and Operational Guidelines

Inadequate staffing level

Absence of continuous cross-training

Lack of appropriate tracking tools

Poor communication

Based on the analysis, the team developed specific recommendations to improve SLAs, desk efficiency, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), while also reducing costs. The team also established incident-handling processes and identified “typical” and “exception” practices for a wide variety of potential scenarios.

Azur’s primary goal in embarking on this project was to transition the Help Desk from a reactive state to a proactive state, and set the stage for continuous optimization of services. The starting point was to map out the “as-is” process, followed by defining a clear “to-be” state. Azur performed a Six Sigma validated ITSM (IT Service Management) assessment to pinpoint inefficiencies. As part of this process, one Azur personnel was placed at the client site as an ‘observer’, and a top-to-bottom health check was conducted on systems used to support the staff. Other aspects of the assessment included stakeholder interviews, detailed business process evaluation, and metrics analysis. Key discoveries made included:

Azur’s insights-driven approach helped the client implement a winning IT Service Desk. Some of the key focus areas during the overhaul process were:

Delivery playbook

Managed Service. Azur provided the client with not just ‘resources’, but a ‘managed service’ that emphasized ownership, accountability and risk-sharing.

Rebranding the Help Desk to an IT Service Desk. The aim of the rebranding was to move away from the reactive and less efficient Help Desk processes towards a proactive, productive and cost-effective Service Desk with the capacity to improve overall process efficiency, rather than just manage isolated incidents.

Continual investments in cross-training. With over fifteen skill sets required to ensure optimal support, cross-training was critical for business continuity and adequate coverage.

Project Fact file 12 member team, 8 minutes - the average first contact resolution time, 2.5 days - the second level resolution rate, 22,150 tickets created, request tracker ticketing tool.

12Member team

8Minutes

2.5Days

22,150Tickets created

A playbook, which clearly outlined objectives and strategies, was implemented for Level 1 and 2 support.

On-site/off-site model. To avoid reliance on a centralized location, an on-site/off-site model was utilized to ensure fast response and synchronization in the event that the primary support location was non-functional due to unforeseen circumstances. The off-site team traveled on-site frequently to establish a close connection with the core team.

Coverage across time zones. It was not practical to ensure predictability with operation in the EST time zone since attrition levels are higher with employees working night shifts and weekends. Resources were based primarily in the United States (EST and PST) and Australia (offshore) to ensure coverage and meet needs in a timely manner. The client’s IT Service Desk functioned 24x7, 365 days of the year, including on all holidays.

Helpful, communicative, and diverse staff. The IT Service Desk was staffed with a diverse group of seasoned customer service personnel who delivered consistent, empathetic service, and were instrumental in winning back the trust of customers and reestablishing the Service Desk as a go-to source for issue resolution.

SLA-driven approach. This granular approach involved collective goal-setting, set expectations for deliverability, introduced transparency, ensured quick turnaround times, and provided measurable evaluation criteria. The following key SLAs were created:

Ticket Aging, with a goal to have all tickets closed within a maximum of 7 days.

Average Speed to Answer (ASA), with a goal to be responsive to field calls, reduce rolling to voice mail , and lower wait times to under 5 minutes on weekdays and under 10 minutes on weekends.

First Contact Resolution Rate, with a goal for Level 1 to resolve most tickets as quickly as possible, ideally within 24 hours.

Level 2 Escalation Rate, with a goal for no more than 25% of tickets to escalate to Level 2, and be resolved in 72 hours.

Call Abandonment Rate, with a goal to spend an average of 15 minutes per call and analyze metrics to drive appropriate staffing.

Automation, which developed scripts for repeated activities to ensure consistency and speed.

Best Practice Compliance. Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) practices and Six Sigma methodologies were leveraged to facilitate improved services.

Reliable ticketing system. Azur customized and implemented a cost-effective open source ticketing system.

Azur’s onsite team stayed true to their steadfast client focus, and embraced the client’s culture to ensure a cohesive partnership. The team also went above and beyond by participating in an unpaid, voluntary community service on a monthly basis together with the client’s associates.

Recommendations for equipment. Azur identified outdated registers that needed to be replaced, and also provided suggestions for efficient desktop computers.

The Azur Touch

Within one year of engagement, the following positive indicators were noted:

Additionally, earlier, there were incidents with excessive and repeated hand-offs between the Help Desk and other teams. Azur heavily leveraged its BPM (Business Process Management) e-tool to support efficiency improvement with a goal to increase the URR (Unique Route Ratio - defined as the ratio of the total number of instances to the total number of unique process routes) from 5.2 to 11. The team was able to achieve an improved score of 12 due to cross-training and staff productivity.

Increase in business revenue

Rank of #1 in customer service (both internally and externally); customer satisfaction was measured to be above 90%, which was a vast improvement

Cost savings, because of an eventual 25% reduction in the Service Desk

Let Us Help

IT Service Desks are fundamental aspects of business service and operation, and play a vital role in giving organizations a competitive edge. Service Desks improve user satisfaction by employing a proactive approach to IT Services Management, prompt incident resolution, enhanced communication, and identification of trends and systemic problems.

Whether you are a small to medium-sized business or a larger organization looking to implement a Service Desk, or recondition an existing Help Desk, Azur can help by:

As your partner, Azur’s overarching focus is to do what is right for your organization and needs, engineer sustainable solutions, and deliver its hallmark—premium services at non-premium prices.

Conducting an in-depth ITSM assessment

Utilizing an SLA-driven approach entrenched in Best Practices

Staffing your Service Desk with experienced, communicative and diverse personnel

Providing round-the-clock coverage

Evaluating metrics and impact

Azur is not your typical IT services provider. Combining deep rooted purpose with vision, we are obsessed about customers and our employees. Our services span the gamut of IT Strategy, Internet of Things, Mobility through to Custom Applications Development and ERP. Our philosophy is best reflected by our brand credo passionatelycurious and we adopt this approach in uncovering ways in which we can add tangible value and make a lasting impact. In an industry that is heavily commoditized and compromised, we endeavor to break the compromises that have shackled our customers. It’s time to get off the beaten path. It is time for a breath of fresh air. Say hello to Azur!

To see The Azur Touch in action, write to us at hello@azurinfotech.com or visit us at www.azur-global.com

Azur Global

hello@azurinfotech.com

www.azur-global.com