| Introduction | | | | support person needs to be knowledeable of his role |
| A solid team of technology support individuals is | | | | and responsibilities in order to resolve the issue |
| important to a companies success and reputation for | | | | quickly. |
| several reasons. The technology support staff is | | | | The technology support employee must also be |
| often the consumers first and last impression of a | | | | curteous, patient and professional at all times. |
| company. That is a huge responsibility to the | | | | Remember, more often than not, the technology |
| technology support team memebers. In dealing with | | | | support call coming from a customer is because your |
| technology support a consumer builds an immediate | | | | companys product has failed and let them down so |
| opinion about the products and brands sold by a | | | | they are frustrated and perhaps angry. The |
| company. Consumers also develop an idea of how | | | | technology support team member must be able to |
| imprtant they are as customers to a company. The | | | | work through this respectfully in order to diffuse the |
| most significant reason that a consumer calls the | | | | situation. |
| technology support department of a company in the | | | | Personalites |
| first place is because they spent their hard earned | | | | Another element in building an effective technology |
| money on a product that is no longer operating as it | | | | support team is the consideration of the individual |
| should. In general, this let down of sorts creates | | | | personalities of the team members. A team leader or |
| dissatisfaction in the consumer and so the technology | | | | management putting the team together needs to |
| support individual begins at a disadvantage. | | | | able to read people and decide what impact those |
| The first thing one needs to do in beginning to build | | | | team members may have on a team. Do the |
| an effective technology support staff is to get | | | | individual work well in a team environment? Do they |
| stakeholder buy in. By that I mean high level | | | | handle peer critisism well? Are their work efforts and |
| management and or executives within the company. | | | | goals in line with the good of the team as a whole or |
| Based on my ownexperience, most companies, | | | | are they self seeking? These are critical questions |
| American based companies that is, do not view | | | | that a manager needs to consider if he or she is to |
| technology support as significant because there is no | | | | build a team that will work well together for an |
| direct impact on sales. However, from my vantage | | | | extended period. If there is a significantly high rate of |
| point, I am firm in the idea that poor technology | | | | turnover on a team then training becomes an issue. |
| support over time will have an immense affect to | | | | Conclusion |
| sales and under mine brand marketing initiatives. With | | | | In my own experience in dealing with a technology |
| this in mind, we need to facilitate a bottom up | | | | support team as a consumer, it is important to me |
| understanding that there is in fact a correlation | | | | that the technology support person be sensitive to |
| between technology support and sales to get | | | | my particular problem. As recent as this passed week |
| upper level buy in. | | | | I had to call tech support for a network access issue |
| Documentation | | | | with a company that I deal with regularly. I simply |
| Documentation of technology support issues, | | | | wanted to know why it was that I could send and |
| responses and fixes is key in developing a well | | | | receive emails from my personal email account using |
| funtioning technology support team. It is preferable | | | | Microsoft Outlook without error at home, work and |
| to have a computerized trouble ticket system in | | | | public access points; but I could not do so when |
| place with a database backend to aid in resolving | | | | connected to this one particular network. This was a |
| consumer issues. This way the resolutions for the | | | | network, which I spend a good deal of time on and it |
| most frequent consumer problems are easily | | | | is a problem that I have to wait until I get home |
| accessible. In addition, an effective computer | | | | before I can send emails. |
| response system should provide a trouble tree like | | | | I suspected that it was a network security issue and |
| work flow. This allows the technology support team | | | | that port 25, the outgoing mail server SMTP port; |
| member to walk through a series of steps with the | | | | was closed to students. Instead of giving me an |
| customer in deducing the cause and nature of the | | | | answer, the technology support staff member first |
| problem. | | | | tried to push the responsibility off onto my ISP. |
| The absence of some form of computerized | | | | When I explained to her that I am the ISP and that I |
| technology support system creates a scenario where | | | | have a business which supplies web and email hosting |
| technology support team members could potentially | | | | services she seemed frustrated. After a brief |
| wind up solving the same or similar consumer | | | | discussion she indicated that I needed to contact |
| complaints over and over again. This is not condusive | | | | Microsoft technology support and have them fix the |
| to any company regardless of its size because any | | | | issue. I explained to her that it is not a Microsoft |
| duplication of effort costs money. Another method | | | | issue because the software operates as expected |
| of documentation is just as is indicated, physical | | | | on every network except theirs. Further I told her I |
| documents or refence cards that are maintained by | | | | had been setting up email clients since 1995 and this |
| the technology support staff. | | | | was not the problem. |
| Communications | | | | Finally the technology support person placed me on |
| When searching for candidates to fill a role on a | | | | hold for more that 20 minutes and I began to feel |
| technology support team, one of the most important | | | | like I had been hung out to dry and so I eventually |
| capabililites is to select a candidate who has excellent | | | | just hung up the phone because time was being |
| communication skills. As I stated earlier in this | | | | wasted. This is a potentially volitile situation because |
| document, your technology support staff are often | | | | had this been a consumer who was frustrated, they |
| the only representation that customers have of a | | | | may have hung up the phone even more frustrated. |
| company. It is important that the hiring manager | | | | These non-resolutions can severely impact brand |
| selects a candidate who listens and understands the | | | | popularity and sales over that duration of time. |
| customers complaint or issue. Also that technology | | | | |