Since one of the key goals of Service Management is to
ensure the customer has exceptional customer service, we need to make sure that
the way we provide services through request fulfilment is top shelf.
You may be thinking to yourself right now where your
teams excel and where they falter in regards to providing that service through
your service desk. The question is how accurate are those assumptions? While
you may have metrics that show how well
you are doing, do you really have a good grasp on how well you provide service?
For the most part, generally speaking, we are talking
about the speed of service delivery and the quality of the service provided. So
I will talk about those.
Speed
Increasingly as time goes on there will be an increased
expectation the rate at which we deliver services. What was good last year may
not be good now. Let’s assume that you have been providing service to your
customers the same way for many years without complaint. While you believe the
rate at which you provide this service is acceptable, without quantifying it
you may be doing you and your customers a disservice over a period of time.
Think about it in these terms, many studies indicate that
customers want their requests completed, questions answered and problems solved
as quickly as possible. In the past a 24 hour turnaround may have been
acceptable, now as many as one third of modern consumers (those who utilize
Twitter and Facebook) want action in some form in 4 hours or less. In addition
customers expect a variety of ways to engage with those who provide services to
facilitate this. They are looking for phone, email, and various social media
outlets in order to accommodate this. Having some form of self service
available will further improve your ability to further ensure the speed at
which we are able to respond to customers. In fact many customers now expect it.
For example, have knowledge records available for common questions. Also ensure
you have automated workflows to account for standard requests.
I mentioned before the rate of service is not the only
consideration. The ability to provide top quality service also requires the
need for some personal communication. Where the automation ends there will be
needs to have someone “walk me through it.”
Quality
Being able to provide a personal touch for your customer
requests allows you not only to address what the automation does not but it
gives you the opportunity to informally poll your customer base while they you
are helping them. Identifying why they are calling may help you to streamline the
self service options you currently provide. It will also give you a chance to
see what your customers are doing and potentially gaining some insight into
their future business needs. Gathering this informal information may help your
team to identify areas where you can improve.
Ultimately, despite what your “numbers” say you should regularly
be reviewing your ability to provide request fulfilment through as many angles
as possible to ensure that your customer experience is an excellent one. The
analogy is the frog in the boiling water. If a frog is in a pot warm water and
you gradually turn the heat up to the boiling point the frog may not realize
until it’s too late. Talk to your customers to continually improve your
service.
Labels: Request Fulfillment, Service Management