HDI Support Center Director Instructors Guide

HDI® Support Center Director release 3.1.0

INSTRUCTOR GUIDE

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HDI Support Center Director Certification Training

Instructor Guide

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AcknowledgementsMany thanks to the following people and companies for their time and assistance in the release of the HDI Support Center Director (HDI-SCD) courseware:

• Ingrid Bradford, Sr. Instructional Designer, HDI

• Rick Joslin, Executive Director of Certi�cation & Training, HDI

• Randy Celaya, President, �e Coaching Bridge

• John Custy, Founder & Principal Consultant, JPC Group

• Pete McGarahan, President, McGarahan and Associates

• Rae Ann Bruno, President, Business Solutions Training, Inc.

• Virginia Scuderi, President, Competitive Advantage, Inc.

• Jim Bolton, President, Propoint Solutions Inc.

• Luiz Couto, General Manager, HDI Brazil

• Tatsumi Yamashita, Chief Executive O�cer, HDI Japan

Version 3.1 Copyright © 2012 UBM, LLC All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.

ISBN: 978-1-57125-020-9

HDI 121 S. Tejon Street • Suite 1100 Colorado Springs, CO • 80903 • US US and Canada: (800) 248-5667 www.�inkHDI.com

HDI assumes no liability for error or omission.

No part of this publication may be reproduced without the consent of HDI, with the exception of trade publications reporting on the data. In such cases, credit must be given to HDI.

HDI is a registered trademark of UBM, LLC. HDI is a part of UBM TechWeb, a division of UBM, LLC.

Portions of this document include information based on the ITIL and IT Infrastructure Library publications of the UK O�ce of Government Commerce. ITIL is a registered community trademark of the O�ce of Government Commerce, and is registered in the US Patent and Trademark O�ce.

Portions of this document include information based on the Knowledge-Centered Support publications of the Consortium for Service Innovation. KCS is a registered service mark of the Consortium for Service Innovation.

All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners.

Copyright © 2013 ITpreneurs. All rights reserved.

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Welcome to HDI®.Thank you for selecting HDI for your professional development needs. By participating in this course, you will learn knowledge and skills based on the IT service and technical support industry’s best practices, frameworks, and methodologies with the guidance of industry experts and practitioners from the HDI community. HDI is the world’s largest membership association for IT service and technical support professionals and the premier certification body for the industry. This course has also been designed to assist you in preparing for the related HDI certification exam.

Why is industry certification important? It demonstrates that you—and your staff—are equipped with the knowledge and skills required to provide best-in-class support. Achieving HDI certification speaks to your personal commitment to excellence and your desire for continual growth. I challenge you to get HDI Certified and to promote yourself as a certified support professional.

HDI’s membership association is built by industry professionals like you. Guided by an international panel of industry experts and practitioners, HDI is the leading resource for support center emerging trends and best practices. HDI offers a vast repository of resources to our members. Through our online community, you can connect with your peers and industry experts, access publications and information to help you with your support center processes and goals. If you are not a member, I personally invite you to join our community.

If you have suggestions on how to improve our offerings, or if you would like to become an active member in our community, please call us at 1-800-248-5667.

Best of luck in your journey to support excellence!

Regards,

Rick Joslin, HDI Executive Director of Certification and Training

WELCOME Letter

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TABLE Contentsof

Introduction

Section 1: Getting Started ..................................I-2 Section 2: Your Learning Experience .................I-6 Section 3: About HDI .......................................I-8

Unit 1: Executive Leadership

Section 1: �e Role of a Leader ........................ 1-2 Section 2: �e Emotionally Intelligent Leader .. 1-7 Section 3: Support Center Maturity.................1-12 Section 4: Managing as a Business .................. 1-20 Section 5: Best Practices and Frameworks ...... 1-22 Unit Summary ................................................ 1-28

Unit 2: Business Planning & Strategy

Section 1: Building the Strategy ........................ 2-2 Section 2: SWOT .............................................2-6 Section 3: IT Financial Management ................ 2-9 Section 4: Cost, Value & ROI......................... 2-25 Section 5: Service Level Management ............. 2-33 Unit Summary ................................................ 2-38

Unit 3: Support Center Processes

Section 1: Best Practices for Support ................. 3-2

Section 2: IT Service Management ...................3-4

Section 3: Service Operations Phase .................3-8

Section 4: Service Design Phase ....................... 3-16

Section 5: Service Transition Phase .................. 3-20 Section 6: Total Quality Management ............. 3-26

Section 7: Knowledge Management ................. 3-28 Unit Summary .................................................3-34

Unit 4: Tools & Technology

Section 1: Support Center Technology .............. 4-2 Section 2: Determining Technology Needs .... 4-12 Section 3: Managing Vendor Relationships .... 4-23 Unit Summary ................................................ 4-26

Unit 5: Metrics & Quality Assurance

Section 1: Operational Metrics ......................... 5-2 Section 2: Baselining & Benchmarking ............ 5-7 Section 3: Performance Reporting .................. 5-10 Section 4: Continuous Improvement .............. 5-24 Unit Summary ................................................ 5-31

Unit 6: People Management

Section 1: Sourcing Strategies ........................... 6-2 Section 2: Workforce Management ...................6-6 Section 3: Team Building ............................... 6-17 Unit Summary ................................................ 6-24

Unit 7: Organizational Development

Section 1: Managing Organizational Change ... 7-2 Section 2: Global Awareness & Diversity .......... 7-8 Section 3: Service Ethics ..................................7-10 Unit Summary .................................................7-12

Unit 8: Marketing the Support Center

Section 1: Promoting Value .............................. 8-2 Section 2: Successful Marketing .......................8-6 Unit Summary ................................................ 8-13

Unit 9: Creating a Business Case

Section 1: �e Purpose of a Business Case ........ 9-2 Section 2: �e Anatomy of a Business Case ......9-4 Section 3: Presenting the Business Case .......... 9-13 Unit Summary ................................................ 9-16

Conclusion ...................................................... C-1

Appendices

Appendix A: HDI-SCD Standard .....................A-2 Appendix B: Exam Preparation .....................A-106 Appendix C: Practice Test .............................A-109 Appendix D: Additional Resources ............... A-110 Appendix E: Glossary of Terms..................... A-116

Appendix F: Bibliography .............................A-128

Release Note

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Contents

Section 1: Getting Started ................................................................................ 2 Section 2: Maximizing Your Learning Experience ............................................ 5 Section 3: About HDI ...................................................................................... 7

INTROduction

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Instructor Notes

Section 1: Getting Started

Approximate time for Introduction = 30-45 minutes

• Highlight the course objectives

• Explain the classroom course materials

• Provide an overview of the course agenda, times for scheduled breaks, and ending times

• Use the “Parking Lot” to capture questions and issues that are not directly related to the course materials, or which will require additional time to discuss. General guidelines are listed in the Instructor Resources.

Introductions

Use the introduction format in the courseware, one of your own, or one listed in the Instructor’s Packet.

Make a deliberate effort to gauge the course particpants’ expectations and record them on a whiteboard or flipchart for future reference.

Ask the participants what they hope to learn or gain from this course. Questions may include, “How will people notice a change in you?” or “How will these changes affect your performance and your desktop support team’s performance?”

H D I S u p p o r t C e n t e r D i r e c t o r ( H D I - S C D )

C o p y r i g h t © 2 0 1 2 H D I , V e r s i o n 3 . 1

Intro-2

INTROduction

Section 1: Getting Started

Course ObjectivesWelcome to the HDI Support Center Director (HDI-SCD) course. This three-day course is designed for experienced support center managers, directors, and other management positions directly responsible for providing strategic leadership for the support organization. This course is designed to show support center leaders how to use their knowledge and communication skills to align their department with organizational goals; operate under constraints such as budget, resources, and increased expectations; as well as discover techniques to help them market the support center to upper management.

This HDI Support Center Director course will provide you with the foundation you need to develop your skills as a support center leader. This course will show you how to demonstrate a greater return on investment (ROI), develop and maintain formal procedures for increased productivity and consistency, implement methodologies to improve First Contact Resolution, manage customer perceptions, and build strong relationships with your teams.


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I n t r o d u c t i o n


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After completing this course, you will be able to:

• Align support strategies with business goals and objectives

• Quantify the value of the support center

• Lead the support organization effectively

• Build IT policies and goals that advance your business

• Assess your support center’s maturity and develop a strategy for improving

• Identify strategies for continuous improvement

• Practice the IT Financial Management principles of budgeting, accounting, and charging

• Explain cost versus value

• Examine techniques for sourcing, motivating, and retaining your teams

• Identify strategies for professional development and succession planning

• Describe methods for managing vendors and creating a solid RFP

• Explain how the ITIL processes benefit your support center

Course MaterialsYou are responsible for reading all of the materials you receive as part of this course. The course materials include:

• ParticipantWorkbook—This course manual is yours to write in or highlight as needed for future reference.

• Activities—Discussions and activities are part of the course to reinforce learning objectives and concepts.

• SlidePresentation—Instructors may present slides that are not in this manual. Taking notes is strongly encouraged.


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Instructor Notes

Site Logistics

• Orient the students to the logistics and locations of key places

• Give suggestions and/or directions for lunch (if applicable)

• Provide logistical information (e.g., locations of restrooms, phones, break rooms, and vending areas)

Online Student Resources

Mention the online student resources to class participants to find additional templates, white papers, and information.

Section 2: Maximize Your Learning Experience

Discuss the need for course participants to study the certification standard in order to prepare for the certification exam.

Discuss participants’ responsibilities and the objective of learning activities.



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INTROduction

Course AgendaThis course has been designed to cover material from general to specific. The following represents a typical agenda for the course. The instructor may modify the agenda to suit the individual needs of the class.

DayOne

IntroductionUnit 1—Executive LeadershipUnit 2—Business Planning & StrategyUnit 3—Support Center Processes

DayTwo

Unit 4—Tools & TechnologyUnit 5—Metrics and Quality AssuranceUnit 6—People Management

DayThree

Unit 7—Organizational DevelopmentUnit 8—Marketing the Support CenterUnit 9—Creating a Business CaseConclusion


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IntroductionsBe prepared to share the following information about yourself with the class:

• Name and company

• Brief description of your current position

• Your expectations from this course

Site LogisticsTake a moment to note a few important details about the training facility, including the locations of restrooms, reception areas, telephone and data ports, and eating places. Your instructor will explain the basic logistical details of the course, including:

• Instructor’s name and contact information

• Daily start, finish, and break times

• “Parking Lot” for questions and ideas

• Facility restrictions on food and drinks in the training room

• Confidentiality of information in classroom discussions

Online Student ResourcesAdditional resources are available for download from the online student resources. To access the online student resources, login to http://www.thinkhdi.com/students and type in the password iris.


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Instructor Notes

Personal Action Plan

Encourage course participants to use the Personal Action Plan provided at the end of each unit. Participants will record specific ways that they can apply what they have learned in each unit to their job as a manager.

Section 3: About HDI

Point out that certification is a personal investment in their career, not just for their organizations. Certification is a seal of approval that validates them as a support professional. It goes where they go, so participants should be encouraged to follow through and take the certification exam after completing the course.



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INTROduction

Section 2: Maximizing Your Learning ExperienceThis course alone does not prepare you for the certification exam—you must also study the HDI Support Center Director (HDI-SCD) Standard document. The certification exam for this course is based on the HDI-SCD Standard. In this course, your instructor will highlight and cover the majority of the topics in the standard and the key concepts that are critical to your job, as well as provide you with a safe learning environment to practice important concepts and ask questions.

As you prepare for the certification exam, review the information you learned in this class and, most importantly, review and study the HDI-SCD Standard. In Appendix A of this coursebook is the HDI Support Center Director Standard. The last column in the standard provides the page number where the competency is discussed within the unit. If a page number is not listed next to the competency, then it is not discussed in the course. You are responsible for reviewing and learning all of the competencies in the standard in order to prepare for the certification exam. If you have a question about a competency not covered in this course, please see your instructor during a break or send your instructor a message.


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Your ResponsibilityYou will optimize your time here by applying yourself to, and being responsible for, mastering concepts presented in this course. Please be prepared to:

• Attend all classes

• Participate fully

• Take risks

• Take notes

• Ask questions

• Share your experiences

• Enjoy yourself

Note: As a courtesy to others, please set pagers, cell phones, and other electronic devices to silent/manner mode. Time will be provided at breaks to allow you to check for messages.

Learning ActivitiesThis course is designed to build skills and help you prepare for the HDI Support Center Director certification exam. The experience you bring to this class is greatly valued, and we encourage your participation in presenting your challenges, successes, and ideas. It is critical that you understand and are able to apply the concepts presented in this course. Lectures, discussions, activities, and role-plays are designed to be an essential part of the course. These activities help make the course fun and will assist you in getting the most out of your learning experience.


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Instructor Notes

HDI Support Center Certification

The HDI Support Center Certification program is based on best practices and open standards developed by expert practitioners across the industry. By being a part of this group, you can ensure your progress toward being a best-in-class support center. The HDI Support Center Certification provides a framework for profitability, quality of operations, customer satisfaction, and strategic planning.



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INTROduction

Personal Action PlanUse the Personal Action Plan at the end of each unit to integrate what you have learned in the course with your organization’s top priorities and strategies. As you take notes during this course, consider writing the page number and a short description on your plan to make future reference easier. When you return to work, review and execute your plan using the knowledge and skills you have learned.

HomeworkAfter today’s session, read the HDI Support Center Director Standard presented in Appendix A in the back of this manual. You will need to study the standard before taking the certification exam.

Course EvaluationAt the end of the course, all participants are encouraged to complete a course evaluation. The purpose of the evaluation is to determine strengths and identify areas for improvement. Your candid comments and feedback are greatly appreciated. Please complete and return your evaluation to your instructor at the end of the course.


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HDI Continuing Certification ProgramHDI professional certifications are globally recognized credentials distinguishing technical support professionals within specified roles. Some HDI certifications require support professionals to continue their professional development to maintain this recognition.

HDI Certifications with Expiration

Management and supervisory level certifications are valid for three years. In order to maintain certification, individuals are required to demonstrate their commitment to continued learning. The following HDI certifications are subject to this requirement:

• HDI Support Center Director (HDI-SCD)

• HDI Support Center Manager (HDI-SCM)

• HDI Desktop Support Manager (HDI-DSM)

• HDI Support Center Team Lead (HDI-SCTL)

HDI Certification for Life

Analyst level and process focused certifications are recognized for life as they are foundational credentials. These include:

• HDI Support Center Analyst (HDI-SCA)

• HDI Desktop Support Technician (HDI-DST)

• HDI Customer Service Representative (HDI-CSR)

• Knowledge-Centered Support Principles (KCS)

The KCS certification is based on a specific version of the KCS Practices Guide published by the Consortium for Service Innovation. This certification represents a person’s knowledge related to that version. Other certifications available through HDI are awarded by various certification providers and are subject to the policies of the respective providers.

Terms of the HDI Certification Policy

Effective January 1, 2013, all new HDI-SCD, HDI-SCM, HDI-DSM, and HDI-SCTL certifications will be valid for three years from the date that the individual earned the certification. Each individual must earn and report 60 professional development units (PDUs) over a three year period. If the individual does not apply for and satisfy the requirements of the continued learning requirements, their certification will expire.

To learn more about the HDI Continuing Certification Program, visit the HDI website at www.thinkHDI.com/certification.


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Instructor Notes



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INTROduction

Section 3: About HDIHDI is the leading professional association and certification body for technical service and support professionals. Facilitating collaboration and networking, HDI hosts industry conferences and events, produces comprehensive publications and research, and connects solution providers with practitioners, while certifying and training thousands of professionals each year. HDI serves a community of over 110,000 members, followers, customers, solution providers, and contributors throughout the service industry, supporting sixty local chapters across North America. Guided by an international panel of industry experts and practitioners, HDI is the community’s premiere resource for best practices and emerging trends.

HDI Certification ProgramsHDI awards certifications to individuals and support centers. HDI certification programs include objectives and criteria for various levels of individual certification and site certification. HDI individual certification exams are based on open international standards developed and maintained by the HDI International Certification Standards Committee, which is made up support industry practitioners, experts and active members of the HDI community from across the world. Our training programs are developed to reinforce the information in the standard and to provide skills building for a variety of experience levels.


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HDI Customer Service Representative (HDI-CSR)

This course is recommended for front-line staff in the support center environment who are dedicated to providing outstanding levels of customer service and support. Course participants will be introduced to valuable information and everyday solutions for addressing the attitudes, behaviors, and relationships between customers and the support team. This one-day course will assist participants in preparing for the HDI Customer Service Representative certification exam.

HDI Support Center Analyst (HDI-SCA)

This course focuses on support center processes, tools, and problem-solving techniques, while examining the skills needed for excellent customer support. Using real-world scenarios, analysts learn skills to manage the relationships between customers and their support team, thus improving individual performance and the overall efficiency of the entire support organization. This two-day course will assist participants in preparing for the HDI Support Center Analyst certification exam.

HDI Desktop Support Technician (HDI-DST)

This course is designed specifically for IT professionals who provide support at the customer’s work location or home office. It focuses on support processes that improve overall support operations and the customer’s experience. This two-day course will assist participants in preparing for the HDI Desktop Support Technician certification exam.

HDI Support Center Team Lead (HDI-SCTL)

This course is designed specifically for support center analysts, team leads, and supervisors that require fundamental management and leadership skills due to current or future increased responsibilities. This skills-building and certification course focuses on best practices for support center operations and how to effectively coach and lead a team. This two-day course will prepare current and future team leads for excellence in their changing roles and assist them in preparing for the HDI Support Center Team Lead certification examination.

HDI Support Center Manager (HDI-SCM)

This course is designed for help desk and support center supervisors, team leads, and managers who are responsible for day-to-day operations and have three to five years of experience. Successful support center managers must effectively manage relationships throughout their organization, while marketing the value of the support operation to the executive team. Knowing how to build and deliver on service level agreements, managing the strategic and tactical aspects of the support center, and building and retaining great teams are what set apart the best managers and leaders. In addition to skills building, this three-day course will assist participants in preparing for the HDI Support Center Manager certification exam.


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INTROduction

HDI Desktop Support Manager (HDI-DSM)

This course is designed for desktop support supervisors, team leads, and managers who are responsible for day-to-day desktop support and services and have three to five years of experience. Successful desktop support managers must effectively manage relationships throughout their organization. Knowing how to build and deliver on service level agreements and operational level agreements, managing the strategic and tactical aspects of desktop support, and building and retaining great teams are what set apart the best managers and leaders. In addition to skills building, this three-day course will assist participants in preparing for the HDI Desktop Support Manager certification exam.

HDI Support Center Director (HDI-SCD)

This course is designed for experienced support center managers, directors, and other management positions directly responsible for providing strategic leadership for the support organization. This course is designed to show support center leadership how to use their knowledge and communication skills to align their department with organizational goals; operate under constraints such as budget, resources, and increased expectations; and discover techniques to help market the value of the support center to upper management. This three-day course will assist participants in preparing for the HDI Support Center Director certification exam.


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HDI Knowledge Management Foundations: KCS Principles

This course is designed for IT support professionals who are responsible for service improvements. Course participants will learn a set of practical steps for capturing, storing, and successfully reusing mission-critical knowledge that will shift your support center from a call-centric model to a knowledge-oriented one. This three-day course will assist participants in preparing for the Knowledge Centered Support Principles certification exam.

HDI Support Center Certification

The HDI Support Center Certification program provides the only globally recognized certification created specifically for support centers. The certification is an award that recognizes a support center’s commitment to excellence, efficiency, and service quality. The certification is based on the HDI Support Center Standard, an industry standard developed by an international standards committee comprised of more than 25 practitioners and experts from around the world. The standard was designed to conform to existing international quality standards, such as the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM). It provides a framework for successful leadership, strategic planning, people management, resource and technology optimization, and service delivery that is designed to produce performance and satisfaction results. The standard is organized into eight categories representing five enablers and three results. Each category contains activities with four levels of maturity. In order to qualify as an HDI-Certified Support Center, a center must successfully complete the audit requirements and achieve minimum maturity-level scores in each category and overall as defined by the HDI International Certification Standards Committee.

For a complete list of certification objectives for each certification course, please visit us at www.ThinkHDI.com.


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INTROduction

HDI Membership Provides Unmatched ValueHDI membership brings you a value of belonging to a community bigger than yourself. Including discounts on the HDI Annual Conference & Expo, special events, training and certification, access to industry reports and publications, networking opportunities, online discussion forums, webinars, and more, HDI membership provides you and your organization with innumerable benefits and incredible value.

Here’s just a small sampling of what’s included in an HDI membership:

LocalChapterMembership

Network with professionals in your area when you participate in local chapter meetings and events. There are more than sixty local chapters located throughout the United States and Canada.

SupportWorldMagazine

HDI’s award-winning, service and support industry-leading magazine focuses on the latest strategies, best practices, people management, technologies, tools, and techniques in its six annual issues.

HDIIndustryInsidereNewsletter

Distributed bi-weekly to more than 45,000 subscribers, every issue of HDI Industry Insider contains crucial information on trends and developments, as well as tips and information to keep you up to speed in this ever-changing industry.


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SupportCenterPractices&SalarySurveyReport

This essential report for any support manager contains comprehensive research data gathered from support organizations around the world. Providing a first-hand insight on the industry, department structure, personnel, service request profiles, practices, and tools, it takes an in-depth look at compensation levels for the support profession and provides analysis and trending over several years, making it an especially invaluable tool for managers preparing budgets and forecasts.

DesktopSupportPractices&SalarySurveyReport

HDI is pleased to announce that in addition to our traditional Support Center Practices & Salary Survey, we’ve expanded our research efforts to focus on the desktop support community. The HDI Desktop Support Practices & Salary Report provides insight into current processes, technologies, metrics, staffing models, and salaries within desktop support.

HDISupportCenterSelf-Evaluation

The HDI Support Center Self-Evaluation is an online tool that enables you to compare your support center against the HDI Support Center Standard and learn what your rating might be during an HDI Support Center Certification audit. This tool is available free to HDI members with a gold membership or higher.

WhitePapers

Read about the latest practices and processes in the industry or become an integral part of the white paper library and share your knowledge through articles, templates, case studies, presentations, and research findings. The HDI white paper library offers information on a wide variety of topics, including SLAs, global support, processes, surveys, and more.

HDIConnect

HDIConnect.com is your direct line to the HDI community. Read and comment on blogs from industry experts and your peers, post questions to the message boards, and get feedback on your current projects or challenges.

Please Note: Membership deliverables vary depending on membership package.

We invite you to join the world’s largest network of technical service and support professionals. To join, call 1.800.248.5667 or visit www.ThinkHDI.com/Join


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Instructor Notes



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INTROduction

HDI is a Member of the IT Certification Council (ITCC)As a member of the IT Certification Council (ITCC), HDI is committed to enhancing the value of certifications for employers, professionals, and IT certification providers. The ITCC, a consortium of industry leaders focused on IT certifications, has recognized the need for a qualified workforce to support the world’s technology needs and is committed to growing professional certifications. The ITCC is a resource for employers, government officials, academia, and individuals seeking information about the many benefits of IT certification. The council establishes industry best practices, markets the value of certification and exam security, and addresses other certification issues.

A partial list of ITCC members includes Certiport, Cisco, Citrix Systems, Inc., EXIN International, HDI, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Kaplan, Linux Professional Institute (LPI), Microsoft, Novell, Prometric, and Pearson VUE—all of whom are recognized industry leaders in IT certifications.

ITCC is developing an international standard for testing ethics and a means for employers to verify that professionals hold the IT certifications they claim on their resumes and transcripts. HDI is proud to be a member of ITCC, collectively we enhance the IT industry.


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Unit 1: Executive LeadershipLearning ObjectivesBy the end of this unit, you will be able to:

• Explain the role of the support center in the organization

• Describe the value of the support center to the organization

• Describe the difference between management and leadership

• Identify the characteristics of effective leaders

• Identify ways to reach optimized levels of support

• Explain how to provide strategic direction to the support center

• Define Emotional Intelligence

• Explain why Emotional Intelligence is important in an organization.

• Identify the three major components of Emotional Intelligence

• Explain the benefits of adopting industry best practices and frameworks

• Describe how managing the support center as a business can promote value for the support center

• Identify ways to stay informed about industry trends and best practices

Unit Agenda Section 1: The Role of a Leader ......................................................................1-2 Section 2: The Emotionally Intelligent Leader ................................................1-7 Section 3: The HDI Support Center Maturity Model ...................................1-12 Section 4: Manage the Support Center as a Business ....................................1-20 Section 5: Industry Best Practices and Frameworks ......................................1-22 Conclusion ...................................................................................................1-28

UNITOne


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Instructor Notes

Approximate time for this Unit = 2 hours

Discuss: Someone you consider a leader.

Ask: What have you learned from him/her that you have put into practice?



1-2

UNITOne

Section 1: The Role of a LeaderIn today’s support center, support has grown from a transaction-based service with little input from customers to a proactive, integrated, and highly valued company asset. Users are seen as customers, and new and advanced telephony and service management systems have resulted in advances in customer service and the establishment of standardized processes and procedures.

Today’s support centers are critical to the health and performance of an organization, and are increasingly seen as: the core of an organization’s technical proficiency; the barometer for the organization’s attitude towards customers, employees, and partners; and the hub for communication throughout the organization. The support center is a functional unit with specialized resources and capabilities.

Today, the role of the support center in the organization is to:

• Serve as the single-point-of-contact (SPOC) for end users and the business

• Deal with all incidents and service requests

• Execute the Incident Management and Request Fulfillment processes (which will be discussed later in this course)

• Communicate with users in terms of providing information, advice, and guidance


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U n i t 1 : E x e c u t i v e L e a d e r s h i p


1-3

The support center must clearly communicate its role and responsibilities to the customer, as well as understand and provide for the technical support needs of its customers. Customer satisfaction is a key performance indicator (KPI) for the support center today. Key performance indicators are clearly defined goals and objectives that are well documented, easily measurable, and critical to the success of the support center. From these goals and objectives, the support center can clearly communicate its purpose and role to its customers.

The value of the support center to the organization is realized in:

• Improved customer service satisfaction

• Increased accessibility through a single point of contact (SPOC)

• Improved teamwork and communication

• A proactive approach to service provisioning

• Reduced negative impact on the business through Incident, Request, and Access Management processes

• Improved usage of IT support resources and increased productivity of business personnel

The role of the support center continues to evolve in most organizations. The scope of support center services will continue to increase as new programs, intended to contain costs and improve customer satisfaction, are implemented. To meet these new challenges, support centers will need to reinvent themselves—with the help of strong and effective leadership.

Leadership

Discuss: Think of someone you consider a great leader. This could be someone in your personal life, such as a teacher, coach, manager, friend, or parent. This may be a well-known celebrity or political leader. How does this person effectively demonstrate leadership skills?

It is through leadership that you, as the support center director, will make a difference in the evolution of your support center. Support center leaders must guide their support operation to meet the needs of the business and apply their strengths and expertise to other areas of the business.

Leadership is creating direction according to the mission and vision of the support center. Leadership activities include coaching, driving organizational change, and setting goals and objectives. Management is executing the organization’s direction and goals effectively. Management activities include measuring customer satisfaction, monitoring team performance, enforcing the rules of the organization, and planning daily tasks and activities. Both leadership and management are required in order for the support center operation to run effectively.

Effective leadership in the support center means the ability to direct people and manage resources to drive organizational goals. Leaders motivate and inspire their teams with the appropriate training, technology, and processes necessary to meet their goals. As a leader for your support center, you are responsible for enabling and equipping your team to perform at its highest potential. The support center director must identify ways to reach new levels of performance, as well as provide strategic direction.


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Characteristics of an Effective Leader

See Instructor Packet for additional discussion topics.



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Reach Optimized Level of Performance Provide Strategic Direction

• Using recognized organizational models and techniques to identify ways to improve performance

− D.I.C.E. (Duration, Integrity, Commitment, Effort)

− Knowing-Doing Gap − Six Sigma − Kaizen

• Review and analyze past successes to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT)

• Implement continuous improvement programs

• Develop programs that reward initiative

• Set high goals that are realistic and achievable

• Benchmark key performance indicators (KPIs) against those of similar organizations

• Make strategic decisions based on the goals and objectives of the organization

• Align IT services to business processes

• Work on the organization as opposed to working in the organization

• Challenge the status quo when appropriate

• Be innovative/creative in planning and problem-solving


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Characteristics of an Effective LeaderAs a leader, you will be challenged to maintain quality and control, while inspiring, motivating, and striving for continuous improvement at all levels. Qualities of an effective leader are below.

Execute Vision and Strategy

Leaders know how to successfully execute plans and create organizational alignment. They are able to make decisions even when they may be unpopular (e.g., decisions about managing deliverables, budgets, and results). Communicating your vision gets others involved in the creation of it, which allows your management team to buy-in and participate in all aspects of your business. In doing so, you create a broad spectrum of understanding “why” things are the way they are.

Communicate Well and Often

Leaders understand the power of communication, to maintain a positive perspective, as well as delegate effectively. Leaders ask open-ended questions, practice several types of listening skills, and respond with tools of empowerment. According to John C. Maxwell, author of more than twenty books on leadership, communication is one of the twenty-one indispensable qualities of a leader. Communication is essential to effective leadership. A leader must know how to share knowledge and ideas in a way that creates urgency and inspires enthusiasm in others.

Influence, Motivate, and Lead Others

Leaders know how to influence, inspire and motivate others to do more than they think they can do. That influence begins with encouragement as well as recognition. Leaders motivate and inspire others with the appropriate training, technology, and processes necessary to meet the goals.

Your most powerful influence tool is personal power, which incorporates your attitude, emotional intelligence, growth and relationships. Get to know the people around you and what is important to them. In doing this, you will gain the basis of understanding what they need and how to react to them in times of conflict. Understand that humans are motivated two different ways; intrinsically and extrinsically.

“We now have the science to prove that when people need to produce results in a creative, problem-solving environment; and the solution, if it exists at all, is surprising and non-obvious. Extrinsic motivators like the “carrot or the stick” do not work! In fact, the larger the financial reward offered, the lower the productivity. True motivation comes from your team’s ability to have autonomy, mastery, and a sense of purpose.”

(Daniel Pink, TED Global 2009)


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Section 2: The Emotional Intelligent Leader

Download detailed lesson plan activity, Extraordinary and Hurtful Leaders, from the Certified Instructors Resource Web page.



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Practice Integrity and Service Ethics

Leaders recognize that they must set examples of honesty, consistency, and commitment in their endeavors and relationships. They practice and encourage fairness. Working through organizational change and working with employees and customers from other cultures will have significant impact on business integrity and service ethics. These topics will be discussed in more detail later in the course.

Initiate Growth in Self and Others

Leaders believe that in order to get where they want to be tomorrow, they must be actively becoming today. Stephen Covey, author of Principle-Centered Leadership, exhorts leaders to continually “sharpen the saw”; that is, find ways to exercise your mind and body outside of your daily work routine, in order to establish a fresh and sustainable energy source to draw upon to work more quickly and effortlessly.

Employ and Practice Emotional Intelligence

Emotionally intelligent leaders have the ability to connect with others to improve performance. They understand themselves and how their reactions impact others.


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Section 2: The Emotionally Intelligent Leader

Activity: ExtrAorDinAry AnD Hurtful lEADErs

Harvard conducted a study about people who were considered to be successful in their occupation. A high intelligence quotient (IQ) determined these people’s success only 8-9% of the time. The same results were true with those who had a higher educational level. The study revealed that the greatest determiner of success were people who had measured a high emotional intelligence (EQ). Their EQ determined their success 40% of the time. Our intelligence (IQ) stops growing at the age of sixteen, while emotional intelligence (EQ) can grow at any time we apply principles to do so.You can do this by:

• Participating in a 360 assessment of your strengths and weaknesses

• Incorporating an accountability partner or coach into your work day that can help you identify patterns of behavior that may need to change

• Keeping track of specific patterns that you fall into when reacting to difficult situations

Although there are many models of emotional intelligence, the definitions remain very similar. Emotional intelligence is:

• Having the ability to recognize and know what emotions you are feeling

• Managing your emotions so that they do not overwhelm situations and your thinking capabilities

• Being able to recognize the emotions that others are feeling

• Helping to manage other’s emotions so that they do not overwhelm situations and their thinking capabilities

• Having the ability to create sincere and authentic relationships that produce value and productivity

Focusing on building these abilities for yourself and for those within your support center will result in an increase in customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction and retention (thus lowering your costs), and an increase in creativity and morale within your organization, thus providing the organization with a competitive edge.

We no longer call the components of emotional intelligence “soft skills” as we now have the ability to measure these competencies, understanding their affects and how they effect our working relationships, therefore our ability to stay on task and perform.

The three major components of emotional intelligence are:

1.Self-awareness

2.Emotional Management

3.Emotional Connection


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UNITOneEach component expresses specific competencies that range from self-awareness, empathy, self-regard, optimism, and flexibility, to coaching others, consequential thinking, personal drive and more. To learn more about Emotional Intelligence and to understand the science behind it consider authors like Dan Goleman, David Rock, or Daniel Pink.

Self-awarenessSelf-awareness is the anchor of all emotional intelligence. It helps to provide a framework and foundation that other competencies grow upon. A good understanding of how your brain works will help you raise awareness of your own actions and how you impact those around you. In this case, it is important for you to understand what an emotional hijack is and how it affects you and those on your team.

An emotional hijack is a physical reaction to anything that can be a threat, whether real or imagined. Emotional hijacking occurs when the part of the brain that manages our emotions (the amygadala) takes over the part of the brain that is responsible for our thinking (the neocortex). Have you ever gotten triggered and 15 or 20 minutes later said to yourself “I should have said this or that…” yet during the encounter, you had no idea how to respond? Or just the opposite, “eweee…why did I say that?” A full-blown hijack can last up to 18 minutes. Recognize that you or the other person is hijacked with the following signals:

• A change in facial expression and/or body language.

• Vocal tones become very loud, too soft, or diction can become staccato in form.

• A person having trouble focusing on the conversation.

• The default behavior of an emotional hijack is evident in a fight, flight, or freeze response.


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A hijack can be seen in four stages:

1.A trigger–an event that, correctly or symbolically, is perceived as a threat.

2.A strong emotion.

3.An automatic reaction–one that you regret later, after the feelings pass. This reaction is usually inappropriate to the situation and often has a negative effect on you, the other person, or performance.

4.Feelings of regret about your reaction. This is the default behavior of fight, flight, or freeze.

As a support center director, recognize the importance of your intention versus the impact you have on others. Your words, body language, and decisions may have an impact that you did not intend them to have, thus creating a difficult space to progress with the authentic communication needed to resolve situations. Your impact may hinder a project from reaching its full potential. If you find that there is a disconnect with your team, stop and clarify your intention, making sure that everyone involved clearly understands and is not offended emotionally by what they “thought” you meant.

Emotional ManagementEmotional Management requires that Self-awareness be practiced and that strategies are learned to keep the more challenging emotions in check. It is the ability to recognize emotions in others thru body language, tone, and facial expressions and then help the other person manage their more challenging emotions in order to move forward within a situation.

To apply self management:

• Use an accountability partner to keep you on track

• Ask more questions when a difficult situation presents itself

• Make sure that you do not have meetings when you are either hungry or tired

To apply emotional management to others:

• Learn to see what others are truly feeling

• Aid others by listening attentively to their needs and emotions

• Ask them how they would resolve situations, rather than telling them what they should do

Coaching your core team in the area of Emotional Management, you will want to:

• Coach in a neutral location, sit beside them rather than across from them

• Listen to ALL sides of a situation before making a judgment

• Involve the other parties in creating a solution that benefits all

• Manage the situation as soon as possible without letting too much time pass

• Be authentic and responsive

• Use empathy and active listening to hear beyond what is being said with words


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Emotional ConnectionOne of the most effective ways to create a performing team and watch your productivity grow is to create connections with your people. That means spending time with them and learning about who they are, not just what they do. Empathetically listen to your people and engage them in the problem-solving that needs to happen within your support center.

Creating Emotional Connections with your staff and others will allow you to:

• See a change in how people approach and communicate with you

• See an increase in productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness

• Create a team that has synergy and concern about everything that happens within the team

The emotionally intelligent leader is one who rises above the rest. Their teams work like a well-oiled machine, outperforming and engaged. It has been said that people generally do not leave organizations, people leave people. Be the leader that you always wanted to follow.


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Activity: intEntion vs. impAct

Every action you take or don’t take sends a message. Think about the last ten e-mails, memos, phone calls and verbal instructions that you gave to any of your employees. In the left hand column write down your intent of each message. In the middle column write down how the message could have been perceived that is different from your intention. In the last column write down what you can do to improve.

Message Impact Do DifferentlySent Bill an e-mail to remind him about the staff meeting.

I don’t trust him to remember.

He doesn’t have to be responsible for his own schedule.

The staff meeting is important.

I am being helpful.

I am enabling his disorganization.

Ask Bill to send me a reminder.


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Section 3: The HDI Support Center Maturity Model

This information is part of an HDI White Paper published in 2003. It is designed to present a guideline for support centers desiring to improve the value they provide to their overall organization.



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Section 3: The HDI Support Center Maturity ModelThe HDI Support Center Maturity Model provides guidance to support organizations as they evolve. It represents the progression of the typical internal IT support organization (and most external support organizations) from being tactical to becoming strategic. The model examines four focus areas of support: people, process, technology, and vision. The maturity model can act as an assessment tool and enable you to develop a vision of the future state and a plan for getting there. The HDI Strategic Advisory Board defined the four levels of support center maturity as:

The four levels are described on the next pages. The full details of the model are on the HDI website. The HDI Support Center Maturity Model can be used by support organizations to evaluate where they are today and to develop a vision of where they want to be.


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Each maturity level can be seen as a recognizable stage in the support center’s evolution and is defined by characteristics that provide incremental value. No two organizations mature in exactly the same way, however, and as such, your support organization may be demonstrating more than one maturity phase at once.1 The following pages describe each level of support center maturity.

Level 1 – ReactiveReactive support organizations focus on the operational level and are highly labor-driven. They may not have been in existence very long, and are commonly open only during standard business hours (8:00 am to 5:00 pm). They probably have not developed “tiers” of support within the support organization and, as such, “generalists” are taking all calls. As a result, the first call resolution rate is low, and the percent of incidents that have to be “dispatched” or “assigned” to other departments is high. Generally, these organizations utilize a simple telephony or e-mail infrastructure, and the work environment can be rather chaotic.

Bottom Line: The support function is beginning to form and customers have someone to contact. While the service is basic and the cost per call may be high, the organization has recognized the value of building a support organization, and may see a return on customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Level 2 – ProactiveAfter an organization has been in existence for some time, it becomes more proactive than reactive. Proactive organizations develop sound business and operational plans and actively put these plans into effect. They implement technologies to boost efficiency and control —such as incident management systems—and work toward implementing best practices for their support processes. In this way, they become better tactically, but also strategic in nature.

Proactive centers have extended their support hours to better meet the needs of their customers. Their staff is involved in professional communities to develop skills and aptitude (e.g., HDI and HDI’s local chapters). They have developed service level agreements with their customers, operational level agreements and underpinning contracts with support partners to accurately set and maintain expectations. They understand that by building a knowledge base of quality solutions, they can improve service and lower costs. They do not wait for customers to complain; rather they proactively conduct regular surveys and encourage customer feedback. They likely have implemented good asset management to track location and version numbers, and may have implemented automated software distribution tools. While they may not have complete support center performance reports, they have begun to track and report a number of key support center metrics.

Bottom Line: The proactive support center represents a significant advance in value over the reactive organization, as it is much more efficient and effective in anticipating and addressing the needs of its customers. Support at this level is a respected function; many of the necessary tools are in place, and great strides have been taken to implement best practices. At this level the support center has a good understanding of the types of incidents that are being reported, but may not be able to provide sophisticated or integrated feedback to the development group, procurement, or the business unit heads that they serve. There is a limited level of integration between change, release, and problem management at this phase.

1For more information on “The Maturity Model for the Support Industry,” see the white paper on the HDI website, www.thinkhdi.com.


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Instructor Notes

Level 3—Customer-Centric

Ask, “What are some traps/pitfalls that you can fall into?



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Level 3 – Customer-CentricThe customer-centric support organization is totally focused on meeting the needs of the customer. It consistently provides them with service when and how they want it. This organization offers a single point of contact (SPOC) for all customer interactions and documents all customer interaction for quality analysis, backed by product and service improvements. Proper staff planning maximizes the chance for the right resources to be available, when and where they are needed. Customers can report incidents via multiple channels (e.g., phone, e-mail, chat, etc.).

The support organization understands the cost of services by incident type, customer group, and channel of support. In the case of internal support centers, this allows the customer to better understand the cost of service, an important facet if chargeback is involved. External support centers are able to more accurately assess the costs of delivering support—by channel, and by customer type or grouping, which enables them to better manage and minimize costs. Customer-centric support organizations consider vendors to be their partners, and overall support center performance metrics are in-depth and broadly communicated.

Bottom Line: Customer-centric support is an excellent level at which to perform and one which many support centers have achieved, at least in part. The customer is “king” and the entire support team has one objective: satisfying the customer. Such organizations are models of excellence and often represent models that others would like to emulate. By providing a variety of ways for customers to obtain support, and creating a valuable partnership with the customers it serves, the customer-centric support center allows the entire organization to operate more efficiently and effectively.


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However there is one danger: at times a customer-centric organization can go too far in satisfying some customers, by delivering service and support outside the boundaries of organizational policy. The highest level of achievement for a support center is one in which high quality service and support is delivered consistently, within the guidelines of the organization, helping to realize not only high customer satisfaction, but optimum organizational performance as well.

Level 4 – Business-CentricThe business-centric organization is a strategic support center. It knows the value of the customer, but understands that support values must align with business objectives. At this stage of maturity, the support team has established a business relationship with its key stakeholders within the customer groups they serve. Support leaders understand the business of the customers they serve and how support impacts organizational productivity. Likewise, the business units served have an understanding of the costs and benefits of various support options and how they can work with support to improve overall organizational productivity. The support organization provides performance reports that detail how support impacts organizational performance. The support function is fully integrated into the business infrastructure of the organization, and support processes are fully automated.

Bottom Line: The business-centric support organization has developed the optimal method for evaluating support in terms of its overall value to the organization, as well as the most effective way of delivering that support. Key stakeholders realize the value it delivers, and the organization leverages the support center as a strategic asset to maximize overall organizational performance.

Understanding the HDI Support Center Maturity ModelHDI has developed this Support Center Maturity Model to serve as a tool for comparing one’s support organization to others in order to better measure its effectiveness and value, while providing a roadmap to move organizations from one level to the next.

Not all organizations will have exactly the same characteristics, but it is HDI’s hope that this model will serve as a guide for continuous evolution, improvement, and valuation of the support center and its vital role within the overall organization.


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Evaluating Your Support Center’s Maturity It is your responsibility as the support center director to lead the transformation from reacting to business needs to proactively identifying and eliminating problems that impact the business. To accomplish this goal, directors must work to align the support center with the business and the customers they support. Furthermore, this alignment must be evident to the customers in terms of scope of services, service level agreements, standard operating procedures, and training for support analysts—all focused on supporting the business.

The activity on the following page is designed to assist you in evaluating your support center maturity.


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Activity: HDi support cEntEr mAturity moDEl sElf AssEssmEnt

Directions:Check the boxes that best describe your support center environment.

Category Tactical StrategicReactive Proactive Customer-Centric Business-Centric

Objective � Call avoidance � Support center productivity

� Customer productivity

� Competitive advantage

StrategicSponsor � Support Center Manager

� Support Center Director

� C-Level Executive

� C-Level executive team

LaborIntensity � Volume driven � Dispatch focus � Chaotic

� Knowledge collection

� Expert routing

� Self-service � Partnering with vendors

� Integration of self-service and assisted service

� Right sourcing

SupportAvailability

� 8 AM - 5 PM coverage

� Extended hours � 24 x 7 support � 24 x 7 support

LaborFocus � Customers with problems

� Support Analysts

� Customer needs

� All stakeholders

IncidentResolution � Generalist

� Specialists � Escalation paths

� Team collaboration

� Shared ownership by all

ProcessIntensity � Chaotic � Manual processes

� Best practices � Knowledge collection

� Surveys � Measure support center efficiencies

� Workload planning

� Multi-channel support

� Chargeback � Quality Focus

� Vision Alignment

� Process Integration

ServiceLevelAgreements � None � IT based � Customer

based � Business aligned

Quality � No standards � IT based � Customer based

� Business aligned

ServiceManagement

� Basic logging � Incident management

� Service Level Management

� Business aligned

� Service Level Management


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Discussion: Staying Current

1. Answers will vary. Ask students for specific things they are doing to stay current. Ask how HDI is helping them stay current in those areas. (Name two things you are doing to stay current. Name three things that HDI provides that you use to stay current.)

2. Some answers include: Online community and resources, Practices & Salary Survey, newsletters, SupportWorld and other publications, forums, annual conference and events, etc.



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Measurements � Limited � Support center efficiencies

� Support center performance

� Aligned with business KPIs

TechnologyImplementations

� Basic telephony

� E-mail � Office applications

� Incident management

� Asset management

� Remote control

� Knowledge systems

� Self-Help

� Multi-channel incident reporting

� Integration � SLA reporting � Workforce management

� Fully auto-mated

� Personaliza-tion

� Productivity analysis

� Business impact reporting

ScopeofVision � Specialized

� Extended hours

� Outsourcing considered

� Single Point of Contact

� Partnering with vendors

� Customer ROI � Quality focus � Training & support alignment

� Business ROI � Vision Alignment

� Value integration

� Full organization analysis/feedback


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Marketing � Limited to None

� Heavy focus on support center staff behavior

� Promotes customer acceptance

� Leveraged for competitive advantage

Staying Current

Discuss: stAying currEnt

1.What are you doing to stay current?

2.How does HDI help professionals stay current?

You are responsible for staying current with industry trends and best practices so that you can properly lead the organization through maturity. You can gain valuable insight and expand your strategic perspective by attending industry-related events, seminars, training, and conferences. You can network with other executives and professionals at local industry association meetings, as well as take advantage of the latest industry news by subscribing to executive briefings and publications.

You also must demonstrate learning through practical application in daily support processes and practices, and proactively encourage your employees to acquire new knowledge and skills. Challenge and motivate your team to stay current on industry trends and best practices. For example, you might incorporate learning into professional development planning, and encourage team development activities, such as roundtable discussions and “lunch and learns.”


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Instructor Notes

Standard 2.5.3

It is important to manage the support center as a business because:

• IT services need to be aligned to business objectives and processes

• Customers need to understand costs as related to service requirements/requests

• Management needs to be able to speak the language of business to facilitate understanding of their needs

• The value of IT services provided must be greater than the cost of providing the services



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Section 4: Manage the Support Center as a BusinessCreating an environment for success goes beyond an assessment and setting direction. The support center director needs to be responsible for establishing the culture and environment and ensuring business alignment.

In today’s economic climate, companies are taking an extremely focused approach at reviewing their business model for profitability and value. In terms of support center services, this means asking yourself and your support teams a simple but profound question:

Do you run enterprise support as a business? What does it mean to run support as a business?

You are either adding to the profitability of the business or you are taking away from it. Support center professionals, managers, directors, and executives need to look beyond providing basic customer support services and technical support, considering the following questions:

• Are we adding value to the business?

• How do we know if we are adding value or not?

• What drivers will help our organizations provide value to enhance and protect the customer experience?

To understand the importance of the role of the support center, it is important to maintain a business focus by understanding the image of the support center, the organization’s company culture, and the business impact for each customer experience. These three components impact the value and perception of the support center.


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Business ImageThe support center, which encompasses all support, acts as a business unit within an organization providing a service for internal and external customers. Therefore, the image of the support center must always be one of professionalism and efficiency. With every interaction, the support center is projecting a perception and a business image to all of its customers.

Company CultureCulture sets companies apart from one another, and generally a unique sub-culture exists within every organization. Every support team must strive to recognize the differences between its culture and that of the company it supports.

Support center professionals need to blend the culture of support with the culture of the organization. This cultural blending begins by gaining an understanding of the nature of the company’s business and values. The support center must then make decisions based on the company’s culture. As the director, you are responsible for providing compassionate leadership and encouraging open and honest communication, which contribute to a healthy and positive workplace culture.

Business ImpactThe traditional support team focuses on supporting technology or customer transactions, but the mature support center is one that focuses on supporting the business as a whole, understanding the business impact of each customer transaction. When a support center professional interacts with a customer, the initial conversation should include the following questions:

“How is this incident impacting your ability to do your job?”

and “What is the time frame that we are up against?”

It is only through focusing on what is truly important to the survival and growth of the business that the support center is able to maximize its business value.

Take a moment and ask yourself the following questions about your support center, your business, and your customers:

• What business are you in?• Who are your customers?• Where does the revenue come from?• Who drives revenue in the company?• What are your company’s products and services?• Which products and services are the most profitable?• How can you best support the revenue streams?• What are the annual strategic business objectives?• Is your support strategy aligned with them?


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Instructor Notes

Section 4: Industry Best Practices and Frameworks

This is an introduction to well-known industry processes. Some of these will be covered in more detail later throughout the course.

Discuss:Askparticipants to name several industry best practices and/or frameworks that they know of. Capture responses on a flipchart and discuss the main focus, features, and benefits of each. Then use the content in Section 4 as a review of any they are not familiar with.

As you go through each of the best practices and frameworks, askparticipants, “How does this process apply to your support center? What value does it provide?”



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Section 5: Industry Best Practices and Frameworks

Discuss: What are some examples of industry best practices and frameworks?

After you understand the levels of support center maturity, and which level of maturity your organization exhibits, it is your challenge to develop the maturity in your organization. How do you move from one level of maturity to another? Implementing industry best practices and frameworks is one strategy for maturing your organization.

The term best practice generally refers to the best possible way of doing something.2 These best practices are designed to be a guide—a roadmap—for leaders to follow, based upon proven and quantifiable results. Just as understanding the Support Center Maturity Model will enable your organization to provide the best possible customer solutions, it is important for the support center to identify and understand industry best practices. This will enable you to:

• Ensure consistency in providing support to customers• Identify areas for improvement• Increase employee morale• Increase customer satisfaction• Demonstrate a commitment to quality

Following are some examples of support industry best practices and frameworks. Some of these, such as ITSM and ITIL, will be discussed in more detail later in the course.

2 Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Best_practice.


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IT GovernanceIT provides organizations with the essential management of information and resources in order to support, sustain, and grow their business. IT governance consists of the leadership, structures and processes which sustain an organization’s strategies and objectives, and address strategic alignment, performance measurement, risk management, value delivery and resource management.3

ITSMInformation Technology Service Management (ITSM) is focused on defining and controlling the processes that contribute to the overall quality of IT services. ITSM provides a means for measuring and evaluating the services that IT delivers to customers. The purpose of IT Service Management is to:

• Align support services with business objectives (strategic)• Provide a process-driven management approach to providing support services• Establish a means (tactical, operational and strategic) to achieve quality support services• Demonstrate support services as “added value” to the business

ITILAccording to ITIL®, “The IT Infrastructure Library is the most widely accepted approach to IT Service Management in the world. ITIL® provides a cohesive set of best practices, drawn from the public and private sectors internationally. It is supported by a comprehensive qualifications scheme, accredited training organizations, and implementation and assessment tools. The best practice processes promoted in ITIL® are supported by the British Standards Institution’s standard for IT Service Management (BS15000).”4

ITIL began in the UK, expanded throughout Europe and Canada, and is now being adopted in the United States, Japan, China, and other countries. High-performing organizations worldwide have adopted ITIL, as it improves their business alignment and contributes to the overall success of the organization. The Service Management section of ITIL is divided into two categories: Service Support and Service Delivery. These processes are covered in more detail in Unit 3.

ITIL-Based Operational MethodologiesA number of IT Service Management frameworks have been developed based on ITIL, including Hewlett-Packard’s HP ITSM Reference model, IBM’s IT Process Model, and the Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF). They provide “operational guidance that enables organizations to achieve mission-critical system reliability, availability, supportability, and manageability of core products and technologies.”5

3 From IT Governance Institute (http://www.itgi.org).4OGC IT Infrastructure Library, http://www.itil.co.uk/.5 From Microsoft TechNet, http://www.microsoft.com/technet/itsolutions/cits/mo/mof/default.mspx.


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UNITOne

ISO/IEC 20000The International Standards Organization (ISO) has developed this set of IT Service Management processes, based heavily upon the ITIL framework. The tools consist of the primary processes required for service delivery and resolution, such as Capacity Management, Service Level Management, Incident Management, Configuration Management, Change Management, and Service Continuity.6

Six SigmaSix Sigma® is a management methodology meant to drive process improvements in the manufacture of goods and services. The basic idea behind Six Sigma is to achieve product perfection by eliminating defects in the business processes that create the product. To reach Six Sigma, a process must yield no more than 3.4 errors per million chances at generating them. Near perfection is demanding, but not impossible. GE, for example, claims that it saved $8 billion in three years using this rigorous approach to quality control.7

ISO 9000ISO 9000 is a quality management system that outlines how organizations manage the processes of identifying exactly what it is they do, how they plan required resources (e.g., people, infrastructure, work environment, equipment, etc.), how they monitor their processes, and how they improve processes so as to meet the requirements and expectations of their customers.

6 For more information, see http://www.bs15000.org.uk.7Six Sigma is a registered trademark of Motorola, Inc. (http://www.isixsigma.com/library/content/c020816a.asp).


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Knowledge-Centered Support (KCS)Knowledge-Centered Support (KCS)SM was developed in 1992 by the Consortium for Service Innovation in the U.S. KCS is a knowledge management strategy for service and support organizations.8 Its objective is the collection, categorization, ongoing administration, dissemination, and use/re-use of knowledge in the incident resolution process. Knowledge-Centered Support is covered in more detail in Unit 3.

Total Quality Management (TQM) Total Quality Management (TQM) is a comprehensive and structured approach to organizational management that seeks to improve the quality of products and services through ongoing refinements in response to continuous feedback. The three components of TQM stand for:

• Total—quality involves everyone and all activities in the company

• Quality —conformance to customer requirements

• Management—quality can and must be managed9

TQM processes are divided into four sequential categories: plan, do, check, and act (the PDCA cycle). Also known as the Deming cycle, PDCA is a continuous step-by-step improvement plan, which will be discussed in more detail in Unit 3.

Capability Maturity Model (CMMI)According to the Carnegie Mellon® Software Engineering Institute (SEI), “the Capability Maturity Model® Integration (CMMI) is a process improvement approach that provides organizations with the essential elements of effective processes... CMMI helps integrate traditionally separate organizational functions, set process improvement goals and priorities, provide guidance for quality processes, and provide a point of reference for appraising current processes.”10 The CMMI framework consists of sixteen core process areas, and provides significant benefits, including improved schedule and budget predictability, improved cycle time, increased productivity, improved quality (as measured by defects), increased customer satisfaction, improved employee morale, increased return on investment, and decreased cost of quality.11

8 KCSSM is a registered service mark of the Consortium for Service Innovation (from http://www.serviceinnovation.org/ourwork/kcs.php). 9 From http://home.att.net/~iso9k1/tqm/tqm.html#Total%20Quality%20Management%20(TQM).10 Carnegie Mellon® Software Engineering Institute (SEI), http://www.sei.cmu.edu/cmmi/general/general.html.11Capability Maturity Model® Integration (CMMI®) Version 1.2 Overview, Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense © 2006

by Carnegie Mellon University. This material is approved for public release.


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Instructor Notes

Ask, “Why is it important to know and implement these best practices?”

Answer: “Leverage the experience of people that have gone before you. How do you know if a process is productive, effective, and efficient? We can serve our customers better when we utilize these best practices.”

Emphasize the relationship between best practices. For example, COBIT audits SOX, and ISO 20000 certification audits the effectiveness of ITIL.



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UNITOne

Process Maturity Framework (PMF)The Process Maturity Framework identifies five levels of organizational process maturity:

• Level 1: Initial—Inconsistent management• Level 2: Managed—Work unit management• Level 3: Standardized—Service management• Level 4: Predictable—Capability management• Level 5: Optimizing—Change management

The purpose of the Process Maturity Framework is to determine where and when to begin implementing ITIL processes to improve service delivery. The PMF works closely with continuous process improvement methodologies, such as CMMI.12

Sarbanes-OxleyThe Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 is a United States federal law passed in response to a number of major corporate and accounting scandals. The Act covers issues such as auditor independence, corporate governance and enhanced financial disclosure. Auditors have also looked to the IT Governance Institute’s COBIT for standards of measure in regard to IT processes. As the support center director, you are responsible for understanding the requirements defined within Sarbanes-Oxley as they apply to your organization.


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COBIT Issued by the IT Governance Institute, COBIT (Control Objectives for Information and related Technology)13 is increasingly accepted as a best practice for control over information, IT and related risks. Its guidance enables an enterprise to implement effective governance over IT that is pervasive and intrinsic throughout the enterprise. In particular, COBIT’s Management Guidelines contain a framework for responding to management’s need for control and measurability of IT by providing tools to assess and measure the enterprise’s IT capability for the thirty-four COBIT IT processes.

HDI Individual and Support Center CertificationHDI has developed a program of objectives and criteria for five levels of individual certification, as well as Support Center Certification. HDI’s individual certification tests are based on standards set by open-industry committees for the benefit of the support industry.

HDI’s Support Center Certification is the only open standards, globally recognized certification program created specifically for support centers. This certification program was thoughtfully developed by a standards committee comprised of more than 25 practitioner experts from around the world, and designed to build a framework for successful strategic planning, service delivery, technology optimization, and communication of business value propositions to executive management.

HDI’s Support Center Certification was developed to improve the effectiveness of the support organizations by providing industry standards that are recognized worldwide for demonstrating excellence, efficiency, and a commitment to quality.

Benefits of HDI Support Center Certification

• Provides organizations with achievement goals and methods to deliver world-class support • Helps align the support center with corporate business objectives • Increases customer satisfaction and opportunities for long-term retention • Enhances employee morale, therefore increasing productivity • Improves efficiencies and optimizes reporting capabilities

Discuss: inDustry BEst prActicEs AnD frAmEworks

1.Which of these best practices is your support organization currently implementing or considering?

2.What are the benefits of knowing and implementing these best practices?

12From “Overview of the Process Maturity Model,” by Dr. Bill Curtis (Sassin 4/14/04), http://www.saspin.org/Saspin_Apr2004_Curtis.pdf, and itSM Solutions, http://www.itsmsolutions.com/pmf.html.

13 COBIT® is a registered trademark of ISACA, Information Systems Audit and Control Association (www.isaca.org).


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Unit Summary

Review the learning objectives for this unit.

Unit Challenge:

Answers will vary.



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UNITOne

Unit SummaryIn this unit, you learned to:

• Explain the role of the support center in the organization

• Describe the value of the support center to the organization

• Describe the difference between management and leadership

• Identify the characteristics of effective leaders

• Identify ways to reach optimized levels of support

• Explain how to provide strategic direction to the support center

• Define Emotional Intelligence

• Explain why Emotional Intelligence is important in an organization.

• Identify the three major components of Emotional Intelligence

• Explain the benefits of adopting industry best practices and frameworks

• Describe how managing the support center as a business can promote value for the support center

• Identify ways to stay informed about industry trends and best practices


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Unit Challenge1. Identify what your support center could do to move toward becoming more customer- or business-

centric, and the value from the actions you have identified. What is the current state of your support organization? What challenges do you face?

2. What qualities of an effective leader best describe you and why?

3. In what areas could you improve your leadership ability?


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Standard Review

Review the competencies covered in this unit.

Personal Action Plan

Provide course participants with five minutes to record a few action items on the next page.



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UNITOne

HDI Support Center Director StandardListed below are the standard competencies covered in this unit.

StandardNumber Competency

1.1.1 Explain how to demonstrate characteristics of an effective leader.

1.1.2 Identify ways to reach optimized levels of performance.

1.1.3 Explain how to provide strategic direction to the support center.

1.1.5 Describe the differences between management and leadership.

1.3.1 Define Emotional Intelligence.

1.3.2 Explain why Emotional Intelligence is important in an organization

1.3.3 Identify the three major components of Emotional Intelligence.

1.3.4 Describe emotional hijack.

1.3.5 Describe the four stages of an emotional hijack.

1.3.6 Recognize intention versus impact.

1.3.7 Identify ways to apply Self-awareness.


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StandardNumber Competency

1.3.8 Identify ways to apply Emotional Management to self and others.

1.3.9 Identify ways to coach Emotional Management in others.

1.3.10 Identify reasons to increase Emotional Connection competencies.

1.11.1 Identify ways to stay informed about industry trends and best practice.

1.11.2 Describe how to demonstrate learning through practical application in daily support processes and practices.

5.3.1 Describe the role of the support center in the organization.

5.3.2 Explain the value of the support center to the organization.


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UNITOne

Personal Action PlanReflect on the information presented in this unit, and take time to record what you found most beneficial and what specific action(s) you plan to take based on that information. Use the following key to complete the Personal Action Plan:

Priority: High Medium Low

Complexity: Hard Easy Don’t Know

Action: Research Implement Delegate Contact (person)

Action Item(s) Page # Priority Complexity Action Taken

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.


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Unit 2: Business Planning & StrategyLearning ObjectivesBy the end of this unit, you will be able to:

• Describe the strategic framework of the support organization

• Define the purpose of a vision statement

• Define the purpose of a mission statement

• Differentiate between goals, strategy, objectives, and tactics

• Describe Risk Management

• Describe how business alignment is achieved within the strategic framework

• Explain how to use a SWOT analysis

• Explain the objective of IT Financial Management

• Explain IT accounting, budgeting, and charging

• Calculate Return on Investment (ROI)

• Explain the purpose of Service Level Management

• Describe a service catalog

• Explain the purpose of a service level agreement (SLA), operational level agreement (OLA), and underpinning contract (UC)

Unit AgendaSection 1: Building the Support Center Strategy ................................................................ 2

Section 2: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats ........................................ 18

Section 3: IT Financial Management ............................................................................... 21

Section 4: Cost, Value, and Return on Investment (ROI) ................................................25

Section 5: Service Level Management (SLM) ................................................................... 33

Unit Summary .................................................................................................................38

UNITTwo

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Section 1: Strategic Planning

Successful support organizations have a well-articulated and clear strategy. It is important to align the strategy of the support center with the corporate strategy of the business.

A vision without a strategy is a hallucination.



UNITTwo

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Section 1: Building the Support Center Strategy

Developing Strategic PerspectiveThe primary role of the support center for any organization, whether it is delivering internal or external support is…

…to provide consistent, high-quality customer support that enables the customer and/or organization to continue performing at the highest possible level.

In order to carry out the strategic activities within the organization, the support center must have a vision and mission statement that are aligned with those of the organization as a whole. Strategic plans are then developed from the vision and mission statements. This enables the support center to position service and support offerings to increase productivity, improve customer satisfaction, and enhance business success.


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U n i t 2 : B u s i n e s s P l a n n i n g & S t r a t e g y


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Strategic PlanningIt is important to understand how to build your support organization, particularly if it is to become an integral part of the business. Building the support strategy to meet your business’s and customer’s needs comes from a foundational approach starting with the basics and continually refining and detailing how the support center will meet these needs together. All processes and procedures used to serve your customers are derived from this foundation. Strategic planning, which involves long-term planning, takes place at the highest levels in the organization, usually the executive team. It includes:

A strategic plan provides the framework and foundation for a business plan. Strategic plans look two to three years ahead, and include assessments of the business environment, how the support groups will meet the needs of the business, the technologies needed in the future, headcount, process improvement, etc. It typically addresses the following questions:

• Where are we now?• Where do we want to be?

From the strategic plan, a tactical plan is developed, which is a shorter-term plan that refines the strategic plan. It includes plans for staffing, training, infrastructure, and other resources. A tactical plan addresses the following questions:

• How are we going to get where we need to be (resources, budget, staffing)?• How will performance be measured?

Finally, operational plans, or day-to-day planning, focuses on the here and now. It is the execution of the tactical plans.


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Values

On the pyramid on the previous page, values are on the bottom, representing the foundation for your company. They govern all interactions within and outside of the company, and typically are the reason why your company/business does what it does.

Vision

Ask: “What are some other examples of great vision statements?”

Some examples include:

• Martin Luther King, Jr., “I have a dream.”

• Former U.S. President John F. Kennedy, “By the end of the decade, we will put a man on the moon.”



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ValuesValues reflect the core ideology of an organization—the deeply held values that do not change over time. Values typically answer the question, “How do we carry out our vision and mission?” Values serve as guiding principles that affect behavior, actions, decision making, and interpersonal interactions. The support center director must demonstrate a strong commitment to those values and reinforce the values throughout the organization. The values of the organization will also impact the vision, mission, goals, strategies, and objectives. The set of values defined for each organization is generally a list of five to ten values, such as:

• Teamwork• Loyalty• Respect• Consistency• Quality• Safety• Integrity• Innovation

The values of the organization help to define the corporate culture. When hiring staff, it is important to select people who reflect the corporate values. The corporate culture has an impact on staff retention and employee satisfaction. The values of the corporation also define the relationships that the organization has with employees, customers, suppliers, partners, and the community.1

1 For more information, see http://humanresources.about.com/cs/strategicplanning1/a/strategicplan_3.htm.


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U n i t 2 : B u s i n e s s P l a n n i n g & S t r a t e g y


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The key to ensuring that your value statements will be meaningful is to align them with your business, and review them frequently to ensure that they are still aligned. Many organizations use a code of ethics, or credo, to describe what they believe in. One example is Microsoft, which states, “Delivering on [our] mission requires a clearly defined set of values and tenets. Our company values are not new, but have recently been articulated to reinforce our new mission.”2 They list their corporate values as:

• Integrity and honesty

• Passion for customers, partners, and technology

• Open and respectful with others and dedicated to making others better

• Willingness to take on big challenges and see them through

• Self critical, questioning and committed to personal excellence and self improvement

• Accountable for commitments, results, and quality to customers, shareholders, partners and employees

VisionA vision statement is the view of the future state of the organization or department. It is an ideal picture of what the organization wants to become, as viewed by customers and employees. Vision statements, sometimes called “value propositions,” are based on the values of the organization. They should inspire pride, commitment, and a sense of belonging, as well as stretch capabilities and the self-image of the organization. A vision statement should answer the following questions:

• What makes your organization special?

• How do you want others to view your organization?

• What unites your organization with the rest of your company?

To develop a vision, you need to understand clearly the vision of the overall organization and the competencies of your team.

According to the Alliance for Nonprofit Management, “Like much of strategic planning, creating a vision begins with and relies heavily on intuition and dreaming.”3 You may brainstorm with your employees about what you want to accomplish in the future. Or you may hold a strategic planning meeting with your management team to discover your vision. The important thing to remember is that having a vision provides a powerful competitive and strategic advantage over organizations that operate without a vision.

2 Microsoft, “Who We Are,” http://members.microsoft.com/careers/mslife/whoweare/mission.mspx.3 Alliance for Nonprofit Management, http://www.allianceonline.org/FAQ/strategic_planning/what_s_in_vision_statement.faq.


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HDI Support Center Director Instructors Guide

Documents

Transcript of HDI Support Center Director Instructors Guide