The customers are now aware of our continual efforts to improve and we reward our staff when they’re seen as outstanding performers through a cash bonus, dinner and a rugby game and just general public acknowledgement of their efforts.

We instituted a formalized hiring process that looks at technical as well as customer service skills. We developed standardized internal training procedures that all our service reps must complete. And we invested in monitoring tools that track and record call statistics, giving us baseline numbers to work off of. In addition, each customer is surveyed by an independent third-party after every interaction with our customer service team – the results of these surveys are sent to our entire management team each week.

Ultimately, however, it was the commitment company-wide that put the customers and their needs first that created the biggest difference. Everyone at Apptix – from executives to operations to technicians – takes customer service as the core tenant of his or her job responsibility.

Marcelo Gonzales
Director of Customer Service
Apptix

When hiring MSP professionals, especially at the entry level, we look for people that have general computer skills (we can train what they don’t know) but have soft skills. They need to keep the customer engaged while on the phone during a support call. The key to success on our helpdesk is putting the client at ease and solving the issue. No one likes dead air when on the phone.

One of our most successful hires was trying to break into IT and had limited professional IT exposure, but during each phase of his interview process (we have a process that includes both management and potential peers) people came out impressed with his ability to converse easily with people at all levels of our company. We took a chance even with his limited skills and within a month of hire he was handling most of his call load without supervision or the need to escalate most issues. Customer feedback was terrific.

So what do we look for when interviewing. I ask a simple question, one that usually tells you more than anything on their resume. What did you do before entering IT? Resumes usually only show what a person has done since entering into their desired profession. I want to know what you did before IT. Were you working through college? Washing dishes? Delivering pizza? Working retail? Nothing at all? Often what people did before entering the professional world will tell you a lot about how far above and beyond they will go in times of crisis and how they will treat the client during those events.

A bit long winded, but you hit on topic I believe strongly.

Brian

For us, as you said, it absolutely starts in the hiring process. We handle this in a few ways. One is just in the questions we ask. We focus a lot on how do you handle a client who is frustrated/confused/irritating, etc. We ask questions to see more how they approach it, and not so much what they actually say (did they take a moment to think about a difficult question, did they answer it with authority, did they make me feel confident they understood). When they give examples of past client interactions, we look to see how they are talking about the client – are they rude and arrogant? Or are they glad they could help someone?

We also have every serious candidate meet with a non-technical team member (often myself). I look for eye contact, smiling, being able to adjust their speech so a non-technical person can understand (without being condescending). No one makes it through the process without passing this part.

It’s hard to find that combo of personality and brains! But when we do find someone, they are beloved by clients and team members.

Rebecca Everding
http://www.motherG.com

We look carefully for this attitude in interviewing, and generally find it comes out in response to very basic questions like, “how do you handle a demanding client?” or “how do you explain a solution to a client (ie the problem is user error)?”, etc. We ask questions to see how they answer it, not what they say.

We also have candidates interview with a non-technical team member (often I do this, being in marketing). I look for eye contact, smiling, adjusting their speech so I understand their technical explanations (but not making me feel dumb), confidence, etc. No one moves on in the process who doesn’t pass this aspect. It’s as valued as technical know-how.

It can take a long time to find candidates who have personality AND brains – but when we find someone, wow are they a gem!

Rebecca Everding
http://www.motherG.com

Building a culture that supports service excellence starts with the hiring process, doesn’t it? Tech skills are valuable assets to have. But tech skills without passion for customer service can be downright dangerous, i.e. “I am the smartest IT guy and my customer is too dense to get it” syndrome. I am curious. How do you identify this passion for service in the hiring process?

P.S. I love the “Tech of the Quarter” Program. Who doesn’t like and appreciate peer recognition for above and beyond performance?

Great Stuff! This post not only hit home with me about measuring customer satisfaction, but that a simple plan or low-cost recognition can foster a culture that goes the extra mile assisting clients. The best performers on my staff approach every customer ticket with the thought “someone is unable to do their job effectively until I fix this problem”. That level of commitment is not lost on the customer and that alone can be the difference in retaining a client when a SLA is missed.
We learned while cash is always appreciated (we have a Tech of the Quarter bonus and programs for sales leads), a simple public acknowledgement of Job well done in the form of a companywide email or during a staff meeting can make a difference with many members of your team. When the staff is happy and is comfortable with the process in place, meeting SLA’s becomes commonplace.
Thanks for your insight!

Brian Doyle
http://www.fandotech.com

Great post! One of the best things to do is to tie compensation to customer satisfaction. If, at every level of a project team, there is some $$ tied to the customer’s satisfaction level, there is more attention to detail and more attention put towards making sure that the project is on track to meet the customers actual expectations rather than simply a engineering team executing a project plan in a vacuum.

Same with support desk customer satisfaction scores.

Right on Phil!!