As the VP of Member Programs at the SSPA, I have the privilege of interacting with dozens of technology companies and learning about the challenges and initiatives they have underway to improve and optimize their support operations. Not surprisingly, the issues and goals are often very similar; how can we improve our CSAT scores while reducing total expenses? What are the latest innovations in support technology? How do we get better customer usage of self-service capabilities? And more recently, how do I effectively manage my technical support resources in remote and emerging markets?
As more and more companies begin to globalize their support businesses, they are seeking new sources of technical talent who can provide needed coverage and deliver a great customer experience. Yet the challenges of establishing operations in emerging markets like India and China are substantial, and many companies struggle to achieve the full potential of reduced costs and streamlined operations that are the allure of offshoring and outsourcing strategies. One of the greatest challenges organizations face is managing the front-line staff they employ to represent their companies to customers and provide quality technical support.
To help address this challenge, the SSPA has chartered a new working committee to establish best practices and shared industry resources that can be used to help streamline and reduce the risks of establishing operations in emerging markets. We have assembled a high-powered team of support leaders from around the world who together are looking at the best ways to attract, develop, engage and retain support staff, looking initially at India and China. The team is privileged to be chaired by Dheeraj Prasad, a support executive for Microsoft based in Bangalore who brings not only local understanding of the challenges being faced broadly by our industry, but a passion for technical support and an ability to engage peers to support the committee’s efforts that has produced very impressive results in a short period of time. I invite you to share your thoughts on this topic and join the committee as we endeavor to create a toolset of best practices, frameworks and resources that can be used by SSPA members worldwide to help ensure the success of establishing and running support operations in emerging markets.
Trisha Bright, VP Member Programs, SSPA
