Bringing the Chickens Home to Roost

Bringing the Chickens Home to Roost

James CowieGlobal S-Business Director

February 2006

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Real-time Intelligence

Citect is the World’s Largest Independent Industrial Automation Software Company…

Founded in 1973

Listed on Australian Stock Exchange in 1997 (CTL)

8% share of growing SCADA / HMI market

70% share in Australia

20% share in Asia-Pacific

100,000+ licenses sold

Debt free and profitable

Emerging player in global MES market

Strong professional services capabilities

Expanding support & training annuity revenues

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Citect Corporation

A top 5 Australian multinational technology company

Work with >85% of leading Australian manufacturers

Global partners distributing products in >50 countries

HQ in Sydney, Australia

Offices in Australia, USA, Europe, China Singapore, NZ, Middle East & Africa

http://www.citect.com

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…with a strong presence in 14 industry verticals…

Metals

Mining & Minerals Processing

Pulp & Paper

Food & Beverage

Manufacturing

Automotive

Energy Transmission & Distribution

Water & Wastewater

Pharmaceutical

Petrochemical

Telecommunication

Power Generation

Building Automation

Facilities Management

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…and a strong blue-chip client base which is…

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Major Decision Point

Vision:

Create a Support

Centre of

Excellence

Raise support quality

Establish Support Philosophy

Establish models & standards

Adopt Business Structure

Introduce standardization

Reduce Support Cost

Deliver consistent support

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Citect Support Pre-Consolidation

We had 48 support staff & 150+ Partners supporting 100,000 licenses / 6,500 customers

Customer calls taken by phone, sent to voicemail, logged via email & response poor

Customer satisfaction not as good as desired

Support a liability providing inconsistent service

Support morale was low

Support organization viewed as a place to send problem staff & a place to get away from

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Pre-Centralization

SydneyJohannesburg

Netherlands

Atlanta JapanChina

UK

France

Germany

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S-Business Improvement

The problem: Needed quantum improvement

Solutions: Global Customer Support Centre & SCP

Benefits: Quality, consistent, cost-effective support

Advice for others: Have a vision and follow it!

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The Core Areas of Focus

People

Standards

PlaceCustomers

TechnologyProcesses

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Approach

Build vision

Identify existing practices

List Best Practice

Create new modelsCustomer handlingPeopleProcessesPlaceTechnologyStandards

Do Business Case

Create Project Plan

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Incorporated Hierarchy of Customer Needs

Choice of ChannelsChoice of Channels

Fast AccessFast Access

Accurate AnswerAccurate Answer

PartnerPartner

AdviceAdvice

UniqueUnique

Anton’s Hierarchy of Caller NeedsAnton’s Hierarchy of Caller Needs

Know MeKnow Me

Follow-UpFollow-Up

Source: Dr Jon Anton

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Customer Communications

Customer Communication StrategyCustomer Communication Strategy

Clear Communications about Change

Provide customers details on using Support

Local Sales staff promote Central Support

Address any incorrect perceptions

Incorporate Culture requirements

Regular scheduled Conference Calls

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Structure of Global support team

Global S-Business Director

Educational Services Manager

Technical Services Manager

S-Business Marketing Specialist

Global Customer Support Centre

Manager

Geo-based S-Business Directors

Shift 1

Shift 2

Shift 3 Geo-based Trainers &

CATCs

35 Engineers

7 Technical Specialists

Geo-based Platinum Support

Specialists Shift 4

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Best Practice in Customer Support

SELF SERVICE

EMAIL

WEB PORTAL

TELEPHONE

VIRTUAL ENGINEER

Knowledge-base and Customer History &

Case Management

Customer Champions and Platinum Support Specialists

Proactive Outbound Calls

AI / BI Tools

Multi Channel Mgment

Esc

Citect Partners &

Customers

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Tools & Technology

Capitalized of existing tools and technologies

Case Management System

Knowledge Base

Test Lab

Telephony & e-Mail

Reporting

Customer Interface

Tools

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Processes

Call Handling

Escalation

Staff Development

Knowledge Management

Support Management

Reporting

Contract Management

Performance Management

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How the Global CSC Works

Global S-Business Director

Technical Services Manager

Global Customer Support Centre

Manager

Geo-based S-Business Directors

Shift 1

Shift 2

Shift 3

Calls generated via either POTS (1-800 #), VoIP, Email, Web, Portal

Calls addressed by Engineers on shift and escalated following a

formal escalation process based on time

and severity

Geo S-Business Directors Manage

Customer Relationships in their Geo

Shift 4

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Place: The High Wire Balancing Act

Considered many options

Decided on GCSC

Picked Sydney as location

Identified area

Decided to “hot-desk”

Designed around limitations

Approvals took time

Crazy regulations (First Aid etc)

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Post Centralization

Sydney

JapanFrance

Germany

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Citect Support Post Phase 1 Consolidation

We have 42 support staff & 150+ Partners supporting 100,000 licenses / 6,500 customers

Customer calls taken predominantly by phone, or via email or web-portal & response sub 30 seconds

Customer satisfaction improving

Support has become a showcase providing consistent high quality service

Support morale is great and increasing daily

Support organization viewed as a place to be, with staff wanting to return or join

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People: the heart of success

Built on expanded existing team (less people overall)

Built model & justification

Recruited Globally for GCSC

Transferred interested & suitable staff

Recruited through:

Web-Site

Adverts in Australian papers

Universities

Inundated with recruiters

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People

Established new salary benchmark

Very selective:Specific backgrounds

Fluent English

Second language desirable

Business experience

Stuck to desired standards

Specialists employed

Huge volume of applicants

Many competitor staff keen to join us

New work contract

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Staffing considerations

Reviewed shift packageCareful market assessment of salariesMinimal relocation assistanceFlexible employment contract was vitalAssisted with internal work permitsDesigned specific advertisementsTight recruiting model

Position DescriptionScreening questionsTestsTeam interviewsFundamental skills essential

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Bringing New Team Online

Structured Induction ProgramMissed details cause grief

Action plan for each new engineerMentor and Buddy

Competency based training programIndividual training plans

Full Product TrainingTeam building including Cultural AwarenessProblem Solving skillsCustomer Relationship skillsS-Business ToolsProcedures and Business Rules

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Operations

If not resolved escalate to next level

Resolve, update & close CSR

Attempt problem resolution

Create CSR

Engineer

Senior Engineer / Specialist

Support Programmers

Field Specialist

Development

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Support Operations

English Language Support Center

Call Registration

Call Escalation

Call Resolution

Deliver standardized support services in English to all customers / partners

Real-time 7x24x365 Support with live engineer

Accountable for customer satisfaction

Engineers own all open CSRs regardless of escalation level

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Global CSC

Delivers consistent CSR handling

Built on solid ProcessesSingle point for Support contactLocal Language via PartnersFrench, German & Japanese exceptionsUse consistent processes & proceduresInstant access to real Engineers

Increased Customer Satisfaction

Increased Support Productivity

Decreased Support Cost

Increased Engineer Satisfaction

No local language Support issues

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Do Metrics Support Change?

Call Resolution

≈ 40% cases resolved at 1st GCSC contact

# of escalations decreased

Fewer repeat calls but more complex calls being resolved properly

Customer Satisfaction

Increased

Faster response and better 1st time fix

Looking at customer profitability

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Lessons Learnt

Pretty well everything has another side

Spend time getting the core team prepared

“Yes”, sometimes means something else

Lock down dates

Verify all data & details: or suffer

Don’t accept compromise

Global infrastructure is a myth

Be ready for anything

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Operational Lessons

World has big differences

Cultures: need to be considered

Languages: must be managed

Office Hours: where’s the coffee

Know your Time Zones: key to load balancing

Holidays: know them

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Questions?

Documents

Bringing the Chickens Home to Roost