Growth in Technical Services and Electronics Manufacturing

An overview of the role of services in the U.S. economy can be found at USA Economy in Brief published by the U.S. State Department.

For the service/support industry, a significant observation on that page is "The most rapidly expanding sectors are financial services; professional, scientific, and technical services; durable goods manufacturing, especially computers and electronic products; real estate; and health care." I have added the emphasis.

Yesterday's Presentation: When downtime costs a million dollars per hour

At yesterday's PM PM SIG meeting, attendees discovered in detail how to plan and implement service/support for semiconductor capital equipment. The speaker, Mette Alasti, completed my Foothill College course this summer and I recommended him to PM PM SIG Program Chair. Mette has led development and global implementation of several semiconductor capital equipment and associated subsystems consistently delivering profitable and award=winning products. He holds a BSME, MSME and an EMBA from UCLA. Contact me for more information on this presentation as well as the PM PM SIG and the Foothill College class.

At last; Famed service/support education on-line

In Silicon Valley, we have been fortunate to have outstanding training for service/support management since 2003. That year, a group of highly experienced service/support executives created the Technical Support Management certificate program at San Jose State University's Professional Development Center (PDC). Later those classes were condensed into a single intense class at Foothill College. This class will be offered on-line this Fall. In addition to the skills needed in service/support (business planning, communications, decision-making, leadership, problem-solving, teamwork, troubleshooting), the class also includes substantial project management. At $110 for California residents and about $600 out-of-state, the class is a terrific bargain. See http://www.chalkinstitute.org/bizskills.html for more information.

Using Web 2.0 to Enhance the Customer Experience

Web-based support rests solidly on Web Services, the backbone architecture of Web 2.0.

Now a more in-the-face aspect of Web 2.0 has emerged as an exciting way to provide Customer and Technical Support. An excellent summary of best practices and well-worth the $6.50 price is "How to Profit from a Better Virtual Customer Environment" by Satish Nambisan and Priya Nambisan in the MIT Sloan Management Review.

Quoting from the Abstract: "The authors describe five customer roles in innovation and value cocreation: product conceptualizer, product designer, product tester, product support specialist and. product marketer." Descriptions are included of projects at BMW, Microsoft, Volvo, and other firms.

See http://sloanreview.mit.edu/smr/issue/2008/spring/13/#buy

East vs. West in Contact Centers

Attrition is a major problem in North American Contact Centers. Retention is a top priority. A group of employees from a New York call center visited centers in Japan and found a very different scenario. Although there are no bonuses and few parties and other perks, Japanese contact center workers often stay in the job for 25 years! The secret: a deep understanding of the purpose of the position. Helping customers is a venerated role and those who are selected are honored.

Instead of handing the next recruit a headset and a script, consider a month or more of training and rotational assignments that include learning about the entire organization and how customer support fits into the grand purpose and direction.

For the complete story, see Customer Relationship Management magazine August 2008 page 26.

Services are 80% of US Economy

Services are 80% of the US Economy and 64% of the world economy. That's twice the contribution to world wealth as products. The profound impact on individuals, families, companies and society may be comparable to the industrial revolution. Services are consumed and delivered simultaneously giving incomparable power to the front line workers who produce and deliver services directly to customers. The need for education and empowerment of these workers has never been greater.

Employee Power in Services Delivery

Unlike products that can be inspected and repaired, services are consumed as soon as they are produced. This places tremendous responsibility on the employees that provide the services. Organizations must select these employees very carefully and train them very thoroughly. More importantly, these employees must be trusted to treat customers with respect and TLC (tender loving care) rather than with TDC (thinly-disguised contempt).

Logistics: An Essential Skill in Many Fields

Field Service personnel know the critical importance of logistics knowledge and skill. This talent also serves in many other careers including disaster management, military operations, natural resources, transportation, and more.

This online master's degree in logistics management is a convenient route into the logistics field. See this site for other undergraduate and graduate opportunities.

Adding depth to a Service/Support career

Traditionally career advancement has meant climbing the management ladder. More recently attention has been given to adding breadth to a career by making lateral moves into other functions. This could mean moving from field service to repair center or contact center. Or it could moving out of service/support into sales, manufacturing, development or other area.

There is a third path for service/support careers: greater depth. Increasing knowledge and skill in the current job can make the manager more valuable to the current and future employers. Adding depth also makes a career more interesting and rewarding. Methods include completing classes, attending professional events, writing articles, giving industry presentations, and more. Think beyond the service-only parts of the position to human performance, financial savvy and other areas.

SAAS and Outsourcing Drive Services to New Heights

How did Services reach 64% of the world economy and 80% of the USA economy? Two contributing factors are Software as a Service (SAAS) and outsourcing. Purchased software is a product but SAAS is a service.

When marketing, legal work, business processing, and other functions are performed in a product company, they are part of the industrial percentage of the economy. When they are purchased from an outside firm (i.e. outsourced), they become part of the service economy.

SSPA Conference in Silicon Valley in Early May

The SSPA Best Practices Conference in Santa Clara, CA (Silicon Valley) May 4-6 provides a stellar cast of company executives and industry experts.

See http://www.thesspa.com/Conferences/SantaClara/index.asp

AFSMI members receive the lower member registration fee because of the merger of the organizations.

RFID glossary helpful for field service and repair centers

If you are using or considering RFID for your field service or repair center, bookmark this helpful RFID glossary. More than 100 terms are included. Both single-page scrolling and alphabetical scrolling are provided.

http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/208

Hire to reduce service/support attrition

Two ways to hire in order to reduce service/support staff attrition:

1. Hire from unusual talent pools. CNN Money advocates hiring older workers, including 80-year-olds, as well as handicapped and very young people. Eager to prove their worth, these employees will produce and remain loyal.
   
2. Recruit the friends of your current workers. Both the referring and the referred workers feel a sense of obligation and community and will remain in the support organization longer.

Also, providing training improves both productivity and retention.

Customer Care & Services Forum, June, Las Vegas

Customer Care & Services Forum, June 9-11, Las Vegas

The "Un-Conference" in a retreat format including campfire story-telling, GroupThink, Brainstorming and Goal-Setting Sessions

Executives and Managers from 11 Industries. Speakers from Southwest Airlines, Boost Mobile, Lockheed Martin, JPMorganChase, Hyundai, British Airways, Jockey International, Convergys and more. http://www.iirusa.com/ccsfretreat

Call for Speakers November in California

Customers First Conference
Disneyland, Anaheim, California
November 16-19, 2008

Call for Speakers Submission Deadline April 28, 2008
Contact Amanda Powers for more information:
Amanda_Powers@xmr3.com
Senior Conference Producer
Institute for International Research
Direct Line: 646.895.7332

Speakers receive a free conference registration worth up to $3000.

Online Discussion of Value-Based Services Pricing

Service/Support Executives and Managers gathered in Silicon Valley this past week to discuss Value-Based Services Pricing.

An online opportunity to join the discussion will be available at 7:30am Pacific Time on April 24. If you are a service/support manager, please visit my website at www.bigtent.info and request an invitation.

Welcome to Managing Service and Support

Welcome to Managing Service and Support, a weblog of best practices and events related to the challenges of leading and managing the $21T worldwide services market, an invisible industry larger than products!