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Celebrate Customer IT Companies Still Bleeding Money, Despite Recession
Service In Style Back in the golden days of IT, can be made. The TechRepublic ways IT can make cost-savings,
Companies and organisations when companies had plenty of report identifi es 10 ways in including how to fi nd great
throughout the UK are money to throw around, it didn’t which IT departments might be hardware deals without the wait
being urged to celebrate matter so much if there was a letting precious budget slip right and also ensure your training
the importance of excellent little wastage here and there, through their fi ngers. “Some budget is money well spent.
customer service by taking part says a new report, ‘IT Budgets: of these may seem to be just Belt tightening, buckling
in National Customer Service How To Waste Money’ from common sense,” says the report, down, trimming the fat, coming
Week – 5-11 October. TechRepublic. “but there are organisations out to terms with reality...none of
Employers in all sectors - Today, however, money is there right now that are wasting these activities sound enjoyable.
from the largest business to the tight and there aren’t that money in all these ways.” But now we’re operating
corner shop and local authority many pounds or euros to spare. If you aren’t sure how your businesses during a recession,
- see the week, organised by the Which means, of course, that company’s IT department might there’s never been a better time
Institute of Customer Service, IT departments need to take a be throwing money down the to take a cold, hard look at the
as an ideal time to recognise good, hard look at where the drain, the report contains some facts and fi nd out where IT is
the efforts and achievements money is going and where cuts interesting insights into the bleeding money.
of those working in customer
service activities. Essex Basks In Its Very Own Heat Wave
In the past, these activities Basildon District Council,
have included job swaps responsible for some 129,000
between management and staff, electoral residents in the areas
fancy dress or food-themed around Basildon, Billericay
days, talent shows and inviting and Wickford, has purchased
customers to nominate their 18 licences of FrontRange
customer service champion Solutions’ HEAT 9 helpdesk
within an organisation. solution and HEAT Self Service.
“People are working hard, Supporting around 1,000 users
particularly in the current employed at 65 sites across the
recession, and National district, the council is aiming to desk staff will also be able to
Customer Service Week offers increase service desk effi ciencies, break queries down into specific
the perfect opportunity to meet service level targets and needs and process queries more
recognise individuals’ talent, start working towards the effectively. This should all help
commitment and achievements,” ITInfrastructure Library (ITIL). to deliver better response times,
says Jo Causon, chief executive “We have been considering enabling the council to meet
of the Institute. “It’s important ITIL for a little while, but it’s very and exceed its service level
that we all realise how, diffi cult to get into,” said the targets. In the future, we’re keen
by working together and council’s senior network support to move this software further
focusing on our customers, technician, Ricky Hughes. “We afield into other departments
we can make a difference for realised that, by looking at the as we can see the advantages
them, our colleagues and service desk area, this could it can bring to the whole
our organisations. This week potentially be our starting point. organisation.,” adds Hughes.
provides organisations with an We selected FrontRange HEAT 9, Steve Feeney, UK sales
ideal platform to demonstrate because it gives us the ability to director at FrontRange Solutions,
to their customers that they are take the service desk forward in a comments: “HEAT’s ability to log
totally focused on the service more strategic manner.” customer interactions quickly and
they offer them.” Having rolled out the solution effi ciently will enable the council
through the IT department, the to easily reach its service level
council is expecting the service targets. By using the reporting
desk to be significantly more and management tools, it will
efficient. Customers will be also be able to provide better
able to log incidents from their visibility to end users, as well as
desktop, rather than queuing on enabling analysis of the data
the phone. Using the reporting and proactive responses to any
and management tools, service trends.”
august.september | 2009 www.supportworld.co.uk
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