A Collaborative Cost Effective Round the Clock Call Center

A Collaborative,Cost Effective,Round-the-ClockTechnology Call Center

Keith Weber, CIO

EDUCAUSE 2013 Annual Conference1Good Afternoon and Welcome

Id also like to extend a warm welcome to members of our online/virtual audience who are also joining us today

Today Im going to share with you a framework for developing A Collaborative, Cost Effective, Round-The-Clock Technology Call Center

the Mount

2The College of Mount St. Joseph, the Mount, is a Private, Liberal Arts College located 7 miles west of downtown Cincinnati

Establish in 1920 by the Sisters of Charity, we are a Catholic Institution

Enrollment of 2200 students includes 450 Residential Students

39 UG programs

9 Graduate programs

Entering the on-line education market

Technology at the Mount

3Very brief overview of technology at the Mount

We have a campus wide wireless data network currently being upgraded to enhance support for mobile devices

Have migrated from a student notebook requirement - to a student Bring Your Own Devices (BYOD) approach

Have implemented a self-service password reset solution for students

BlackBoard Learning Management System and Jenzabar Administrative Software

Use a product called Web Help Desk to create and track help desk tickets and for asset tracking

Like most CIOs, I have responsibility for Administrative Computing, Instructional Technologies, and Technology Infrastructure Services But I also have responsibility for the Library and for Institutional Research

4I was honored to be selected to attend the Frye2012 Leadership Institute

One of the assignments during that weekwas to identify a common problem across institutions and then to develop a collaborative solution to address the problem

The collaborative solution that Im sharing today was essentially born in June 2012 during this Frye session

The Frye Leadership Institute - rebranded as the Leading Change InstituteIf you havent attended this yet, I strongly encourage you to check into it Applications for the next Leading Change Institute are due on December 2

It is truly one of the most exceptional programs that you will ever participate in

Todays ObjectivesDiscuss Level 1 Call Center ChallengesIntroduce a Collaborative SolutionReview Current StatusShare Next Steps 5Bullet points from the SlideDiscuss Level 1 Call Center ChallengesIntroduce Framework for a Collaborative SolutionReview Current Status of the CollaborationCover Next Steps

Technology Support

Level 1 Level 1 Technology Help Desk& Library Circulation Desk6Quick introduction to technology support at the Mount

Level 1- Is focused on resolving the 14 most common technology-related issues- Provides walk-in, phone, and web-based support for students, faculty, and staff- For supported problems that fall outside of the 14 most common issues, A help desk ticket is generated for Level 2 to handle

Level 1 is staffed by work study students who also handle library circulation dutiesAnd are supervised by either the Help Desk Supervisor or the on-duty Reference Librarian

Technology Support

Level 1 Level 2 Level 37Level 2 Provides Desktop Technology Support along with Media Services Resolves help desk tickets created by Level 1 works with customers, typically by appointment

Level 2 also provides immediate Classroom Support And handles Scheduled Deliveries of media equipment to all classrooms and conference rooms

Level 3 Network Administrators, Administrative Computing (ERP), Instructional Technology Specialists Primarily works with & supports the level 2 technicians, faculty, & staff Faculty/staff frequently bypass Levels 1 & 2 by going directly to their favorite Level 3 person

Level 1 Help Desk Support HoursSMTWTFS12am

4am

8am

Noon

4pm

8pm

Walk-in, Phone, & Web Support86 hours/weekHelp Desk Closed82 hours/week8Currently hours of operation are the same for walk-in, phone, and web-based supportLevel 1 is either completely open or completely closedOpen for 86 hours per week Monday through Thursday from 8am to 10pmFriday from 8am to 7pmSaturday from 8am to 5pmAnd Sunday from noon to 10pm

Closed for 82 hours per week completely closed on college holidays - including the day before and after Thanksgiving- and the Friday, Saturday, and Monday surrounding EasterTheses are prime times for students to study and faculty to grade assignments

At many institutions students and faculty want 24x7 support along with immediate problem resolution- becoming more critical as the Mount enters the On-line education market- need to compete and meet growing student and faculty expectations

Looking for cost effective options to provide web-based and phone support after hours - round-the-clock

Im going to switch gears for a few moments - to introduce a relatively new non-profit organization based in Cincinnati, Ohio

Education at Work

Focus on providing Call Center Services

They hire only college studentsstarting at $9/hour opportunity to earn additional $6,000 per year in tuition assistance

Founded by the leadership team that built the U.S.s largest for-profit call center company - Convergys, which is also based in Cincinnati

Education at Work plans- are to employ 5,000 students in Cincinnati region & to expand to 120,000+ students nationally

9Education at Work

I want to share a 3 minute video

Created by Fox19 News

That does a very effective job of introducing Education at Work

10Passionate About:

As the Fox 19 Newscast indicated

Education at Work is Passionate About:Employing high-potential students and giving them the opportunity to earn money and tuition assistance to fund their education.Students learn excellent customer service skillsStudents are trained and supervised by professional call center managers

Education at Work is Passionate About:- Providing top quality service to their clients and their clients customers.- Providing U.S. based resources at offshore rates.- Investing in the development of our students and creating a talent pipeline for their client companies.

As mentioned in the video - when Education at Work is ready to expand; their second location will be close to the Mounts campus

Currently students from 9 Cincinnati area colleges and universities are employed by Education at Work

11Education at Work

This is a photo of Nate a Mount student who was among the first to earn a $6,000 scholarship from Education at WorkScholarship checks go directly to the institution and are applied to the students account

To receive scholarships, students must both remain employed at Education at Work for a 6 month periodAnd maintain a high grade point average

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Level 1 Help Desk Support HoursSMTWTFS12am

4am

8am

Noon

4pm

8pm

Walk-in, Phone, & Web Support86 hours/week82 hours/weekPhone & Web Support

Help Desk Closed

13If I may go back for a moment to the help desk calendar showing hours of operation

What I have really been searching for is - a cost effective solution That allows me to change the help desk

from being closed 82 hours per week to being open Round-the-Clock with phone and web support

Collaborative Call Center

For Higher Education

The Education at Work Collaborative Call Center Solution for Higher Education

Will provide Level 1 Call Center support by Extending service coverage to Round-the-ClockEmploying consistent quality service repsProviding consistent tracking of issuesOffering these services at a lower cost through a collaborative effort

Call center representatives will be college students who are able to relate to other college students and facultyThey will be trained to provide Excellent Customer ServiceAnd they will be supervised by professional call center managers

Call center representatives will also have general technical skillsThey will be knowledgeable in areas related to desktop, laptop and mobile computingThey will be trained on higher education administrative systems and learning management systems 14Collaborative Call Center Conceptual FrameworkInstitution specific knowledgeLevel 2 after-hours support proceduresMore technology standards = lower costMinimum of 3 call representatives/shift

Ive been working with Tim White, Vice President, Business Development - at Education at Work to develop the framework of a collaborative solution for higher education

A solution that includes call center representatives with:Knowledge about each institutions specific Learning Management System Administrative systemCampus data networks Level 1 issue tracking and resolution procedures

Procedures for Level 2 hand-off they will know when to contact Level 2 after hours and when not to contact Level 2 after hours

Education at Work has determined that . they will need to employ a minimum of 3 students per shiftAnd that this approach is technically feasible and practical to pursue further

If desired .. Education at Work is able to handle Level 1 call 24x715

14 Most Common IssuesReset PasswordsWireless Data AccessBlackboard LMSSoftware QuestionsAdministrative SystemsHardware ProblemsComputer Loan Request

Printing on CampusOff Campus AccessAccess to Shared DrivesMSJ email issuesClassroom Media IssueWired Network AccessTelephone Problems

16For the Mount

These represent the 14 areas that are most commonly addressed by Level 1 supportFrom Resetting Passwords to connecting to the campus wireless data network to hardware and software issues

Within each of these 14 areas- There are, of course, issues that Level 1 can resolveAnd issues that are beyond Level 1s expertise and that must be passed onto Level 2

Collaborative Call Center Reset PasswordsWireless Data AccessBlackboard LMSSoftware QuestionsAdministrative SystemsHardware ProblemsComputer Loan Request

Printing on CampusOff Campus AccessAccess to Shared DrivesMSJ email issuesClassroom Media SupportWired Network AccessTelephone Problems

Based on discussions with Education at Work and experience at the Mount

9 of the 14 common issues can be handles by the Education at Work Collaborative Call Center

The five issues that cannot be handles either require physical access on campus (such as computer loan requests and classroom media support)or are simply not needed after hours

Just like the on campus Level 1 help desk, issues beyond the scope of the Education at Work call center will need to be referred to Level 2

The Education at Work Call center will know when to call Level 2 after hours and when the issue can wait until the next business day

17Collaborative Call Center Next StepsNeed 20 institutions to participateCost: rough estimate: $1500-$2000/month More institutions = lower cost

At this point, a high level, conceptual Framework has been developed- More institutions are needed to join the conversation to develop this Framework into a true collaboration

Estimate that 20 institutions will need to be interested to complete the feasibility analysisCurrently have 4 institutions (all in Ohio) that have expressed varying levels of interest

If there are enough interested institutions - then the real conversation and real work can beginDetails of how the collaboration will be organized and function are still to be determinedWill be determined by the founding members of the collaboration

Very Rough Cost Estimates 3 employees per shift X $19 per hour X 82 hours Equates to roughly $1500 to $2000 per month per institutionBased on having around 20 institutions The more institutions that participate the lower the cost will be per institution

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Interested in Learning More?Complete the web form at:

www.msj.edu/educausecallcenter

keith_weber@msj.edu

EDUCAUSE 2013 Annual Conference19For more information please complete the short web form at

www.msj.edu/educausecallcenter

Please note the educausecallcenter is all lower case and it is all one word

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