Total Contact Ownership
TCO matters to your customers – it should matter to you!
By Peter McGarahan
President, McGarahan & Associates
Delivers
Single Point of Contact enables Total Contact Ownership
Lev el 2
Specialist
Dev elopment
Team
Team AA
Customer A
Fax
Customer B
Team
TeamBB
Critical
Voice R esponse
Team
TeamCC
email , Internet
Customer C
Mission
Telephone
SWAT Tea m
SPOC
SPOC Help
HelpDesk
Desk
Generalists
Generalists
Building a culture of
ownership
and
accountability can be
achieved by implementing
methodologies
that
support the TCO concept.
A culture that promotes
exceptional
customer
care, instills ownership in
its
Help
Desk
professionals,
and
promotes
process
compliance,
will
contribute
to
the
achievement
of
the
ultimate goal satisfied
customers.
Team
TeamDD
Self-Service
Lev el 2
Specialist
LAN Mgmt.
Lev el 2
Specialist
NW Mgmt.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Level
Level33
Specialist
Specialist
Resources
Resources
Lev el 2
App
Specialists
75%
75%to
to80%
80%Resolution
Resolution
Customer service that meets or exceeds customers' expectations.
A customer-oriented environment that encourages customers to contact the Help
Desk for assistance.
A positive, ongoing relationship with knowledgeable people committed to
exceptional customer care.
Cost effective resolutions of customer issues.
Increased First Contact Resolution, since the professional who logs the
customer's issue knows he or she is ultimately accountable for resolving the
issue.
Continuous Help Desk professional and customer training through
documentation of each resolution.
A more accurate and thorough account of each issue.
Immediate, ‘live’ interaction during the resolution process.
Consistency in Help Desk processes and procedures.
Improved relationships between the Help Desk and other support resources.
Easier and more objective goal setting and measurement of an individual
professional's performance.
Page 1 of 4
©2005 Copyright McGarahan & Associates. All rights reserved.
Level
Level33
Specialist
Specialist
Resources
Resources
Lev el 2
Specialist
MF Expert
Practicing Total Contact Ownership will deliver numerous benefits including:
•
•
Level
Level33
Specialist
Specialist
Resources
Resources
•
Increased job satisfaction when professionals know they can take the credit for a
satisfied customer.
The impact of ownership and accountability is tremendous. The simple fact that the
quality of work improves once a person is given the responsibility and is held
accountable for completing a task is reason enough to implement TCO. But a primary
reason for implementing TCO is to ensure customer satisfaction and the ability to deliver
on promised service levels. All customers want to know that someone understands the
business impact of their issues, empathizes with their situations and will stick with them
until the issue is resolved. They don't want their problem to fall through the cracks, and
customers are frustrated by the run-around.
In addition to service levels being met, an effective TCO process facilitates performance
feedback to the manager and identifies development opportunities for the professional.
In addition, the Help Desk professional feels a sense of pride and ownership resulting
from a job well done. This pride helps boost the morale of the Help Desk team and acts
as a motivator for professionals.
Implementing TCO positively affects the overall operation of the Help Desk. Ownership
of an issue from entry through resolution promotes consistency in processes and
procedures. It results in a more thorough account of each issue, and all information is
captured in one central place, which can then be used by other professionals and
support groups.
"You Answer It; You Own It"
To realize the benefits from TCO, Help Desk professionals must first understand the
best practices for implementation. The basis of the methodologies of TCO can be
compared to the concept of “You break it; you buy it”. By responding to the call or
request, you own the problem, hence, ”You answer it; you own it” applies. The
professional is responsible, according to TCO methodology, for obtaining information
from the customer in an organized and professional manner and for continuing to pursue
the answer or resolution until the customer is satisfied. The process must be clearly
defined to demonstrate that information is flowing to and from the customer through one
source until customer satisfaction is achieved. If the issue is escalated to a support
resource outside the Help Desk or transferred to another professional at the Help Desk,
the definition must include this process as well.
The process of Total Contact Ownership is based on the following principles:
•
•
•
Best-in-class support – giving excellent value to the customer and providing
exceptional customer care.
Consistent and effective interaction with customers in a respectful and positive
manner.
Notification to the customer about the resolution progress, a top priority within the
Total Contact Ownership process.
Page 2 of 4
©2005 Copyright McGarahan & Associates. All rights reserved.
•
•
•
Providing outstanding service to the customer throughout the process - the
customer enjoys an ongoing relationship with knowledgeable people who are
committed to ensuring their satisfaction.
Follow up, follow up, follow up - with the customer, as well as with all individuals
involved in the resolution process.
Agreement with Help Desk escalation and dispatch support resources for call
back times and frequency to ensure awareness of the status of the customer’s
issue
To benefit from TCO methodology, all support groups in the organization must work
together for the flow of meaningful information to the customer to occur.
Compliance with the methodologies that support TCO on an ongoing basis is essential.
Communication is a key element of the TCO process. Below is an illustration that shows
the contact flow of TCO. It indicates the customer initiating contact with the Help Desk
and the communication that the Help Desk is responsible for throughout the resolution
process. The end result is customer satisfaction.
Implementing Total Contact Ownership
To implement TCO successfully, these methodologies should be integrated with
the Help Desk processes:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Ensuring all support professionals understand the concept of TCO: that the Help
Desk professional who receives the initial contact from the customer is
responsible for customer satisfaction.
Monitoring customer service interaction and giving feedback to the professional
regarding compliance to TCO practice.
Measuring each professional's performance in resolving and closing the issue
Standardizing the opening call greeting, the technical call scripts that support
resolution and the collection of appropriate technical information.
Measuring the performance of Help Desk escalation resources, such as how
timely they respond to the Help Desk.
Implementing a consistent tracking process using a problem management tool
that allows the Help Desk to report on compliance of the process.
Customer progress notification within a predetermined timeframe if the issue is
not resolved on the first contact.
Responding to customer satisfaction feedback captured in surveys.
Successful implementation of the TCO methodology requires agreement from all support
resources. Involvement from all resources from the first stages of TCO development is
essential.
These additional actions are helpful in leveraging the benefits of TCO:
1. Assess the problem management system for the ability to track the necessary
information
Page 3 of 4
©2005 Copyright McGarahan & Associates. All rights reserved.
2. Assess the current performance standards and determine how the TCO
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
processes can be incorporated
Assess the knowledge base and whether it contains the technical and
procedural information to streamline the TCO process
Determine, collectively with all support groups, the appropriate response
timeframes for escalated issues
Document the processes that will be implemented and communicate these to
the Help Desk and support resources
Change the technology to flow with the processes
Communicate service levels and process changes to the customers to set
expectations
Measure success with the new TCO process and communicate these to the
Help Desk, support resources and customers
Include rewards for professionals practicing TCO in performance recognition
programs
Before you start a TCO process it is helpful to benchmark the current perspective of the
customer with a customer satisfaction survey. The benefits and necessary adjustments
in TCO will be apparent in subsequent surveys.
Total Contact Ownership is the core of the Help Desk support process and fosters an
environment that is customer focused and business impact driven. The Help Desk will
become more effective and efficient in its support of the business, the resolution
timeframe will decrease and ultimately customer satisfaction will increase.
Pete McGarahan is an accomplished, widely recognized expert in
delivering service and support value to a wide variety of clients for more
than 20 years. He blends his extensive knowledge of support industry
trends and directions, proven best practices, and business alignment
strategies to serve as both a thought leader and mentor for the support
community.
McGarahan & Associates is in the business of helping organizations achieve service and
support value. By applying extensive real world experiences, focus and industry best
practices, we deliver results focused on strategic alignment, support structure, service
level management, standard operating procedures, IT service management, staff
utilization and training, tool optimization, marketing to senior management and reporting.
Pete can be contacted at pete@mcgarahan.com or 714.694.1158.
Page 4 of 4
©2005 Copyright McGarahan & Associates. All rights reserved.