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Chapter 7:Business Skills for Technical ProfessionalsA Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk ProfessionalThird Edition

ObjectivesIn this chapter students will learn:How to acquire and use business skills in the workplaceHow to use business skills to identify and justify improvement opportunities How to use presentation skills to communicateAdvanced business skills for technical professionals A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Business Skills for Technical ProfessionalsTechnical professionals are increasingly being challenged to ensure that a companys technology enables its employees and customers to achieve their business goalsTo do this, technical professionals must acquire business skillsBusiness skills are the skills people need to work successfully in the business world, such as:The ability to understand and speak the language of businessThe ability to analyze business problems and identify improvement opportunitiesA Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Acquiring and Using Business Skills in the Workplace

Some business skills are useful and increasingly required for a number of reasons:The business world is extremely competitiveTrends such as automation and outsourcing mean that companies have fewer job positionsPeople who have a mix of skillsincluding business, technical, soft, and self-management skillscreate the greatest opportunities for themselves A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Acquiring and Using Business Skills in the Workplace (continued)

Some business skills are particularly relevant to technical professionalsThese skills are useful regardless of the profession you enterYou can acquire some business skills by simply observing and inquiring about the activities that occur where you workYour business skills will also grow as you acquire education and experience A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Acquiring and Using Business Skills in the Workplace (continued)

A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Acquiring and Using Business Skills in the Workplace (continued)

Customer serviceSkills such as understanding the importance of meeting customers needs and knowing how to manage their expectationsProcess managementThe need for people who have experience developing, documenting, and continuously improving processes is increasingListening and communicationTwo of the most basic skills needed in todays fast-paced business world

A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Acquiring and Using Business Skills in the Workplace (continued)

WritingAn increasingly important business skill because an ever greater number of communications occur via technologies such as the Internet, e-mail, IM, and chat Problem solvingImperative skills in the support industry and valued regardless of a persons profession Financial managementThe need for these skills increases as technical professionals advance to team leader or supervisory positions A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Acquiring and Using Business Skills in the Workplace (continued)

Making presentationsAn important business skill because presentations are an accepted and effective way to communicate information and gain acceptance for ideas Project managementAn understanding of concepts makes it possible for a person to be effective whether he or she is a member of a project team or responsible for planning and managing a project Conflict managementAn important skill, particularly when working in a team setting An excellent life skill that can be improved with practice Time managementA critical business skills that makes it possible to feel job satisfaction and avoid stress and burnoutAn excellent life skill that can be improved with practice

A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Acquiring and Using Business Skills in the Workplace (continued)

Basic business skills can be learned on-the-job, through self-study, or in the classroomListening, communication, writingThese and other skills are relatively universal and can be used regardless of a persons chosen professionCustomer service, problem solving, project management, conflict management, time managementSkills such as financial management and human resources management are also important and become even more important as people advance in their careers A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Acquiring and Using Business Skills in the Workplace (continued)

The business skills required for a service desk job vary based on:The industry in which the company is engagedThe job category The specific skills a company requires are determined by the companys job descriptionMost employers do not expect technical professionals to have fully developed business skills when they first join the workforceSome basic knowledge, such as service industry knowledge, and a willingness to learn are viewed as a positive. Some companies also desire industry knowledge, or business skills that are unique to the industry or profession the service desk supportsA Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Acquiring and Using Business Skills in the Workplace (continued)

Managers are increasingly requiring technical professionals who want to advance in their careers to hone and use business skillsPeople applying for service desk management positions are also expected to have more advanced business skills and experience Developing and demonstrating business skills is an effective way to differentiate yourself from the competition and increase your opportunities If you are looking to advance your career, business skills are essentialA Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Acquiring and Using Business Skills in the Workplace (continued)

An understanding of ethics is another increasingly important business skillEthics - The rules and standards that govern the conduct of a person or group of peopleEthical behavior is behavior that conforms to generally accepted or stated principles of right and wrongThe policies of a department or company dictate what is right and wrong behavior and may vary from one department or company to the nextA Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Understanding and Speaking the Language of BusinessThe term business has many meanings and encompasses a broad range of disciplinesBusiness - A commercial enterprise or establishmentHas profit as its chief aimThe term may also be used to describe a persons occupation, work, or tradeNonprofit A company established for charitable, educational, or humanitarian purposes rather than for making money; also known as not-for-profit The business skills required to work for nonprofit and for-profit companies are similarA Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Understanding and Speaking the Language of Business (continued)Learn about your company (or a company where you want to work)Its missionThe industry that it is inIts competitorsStudy the words that are used to describe your company, its mission, and its goalsA big picture perspective will help you understand why certain technologies or data are viewed as highly important (strategic), or why certain projects are viewed as essential to the business (mission critical) A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Understanding and Speaking the Language of Business (continued)IT and business alignment A process aimed at ensuring that information technologies support corporate goals and objectivesLearning about business in general, and your business more specifically, will help you as a technical professional determine ways technology can help your customers achieve their goalsTechnical professionals who understand business can:Help business people understand available technologies and how best to use themEnsure that new technologies, when introduced, offer real value to the business A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Using Business Skills to Identify and Justify Improvement OpportunitiesPeople working in a service desk hear day-in and day-out from customers who are having trouble using technologyThey have a unique opportunity to support the goals of business by working hard to:Eliminate or minimize the impact of business problemsIdentify improvement opportunities A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Using Data to Identify and Quantify Improvement Opportunities Service desk tools and technologies are useless if they do not provide and produce meaningful information Analysts play an important role by collecting data on a daily basis that becomes informationThis information is used to:Track outstanding incidents and service requestsMeasure analysts personal performanceMeasure the overall performance of the service deskMeasure customer satisfaction with the company Failing to record events and activities accurately and completely can have very negative results for the company, the service desk, and the service desk employeeA Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Using Data to Identify and Quantify Improvement Opportunities (continued)A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Using Data to Identify and Quantify Improvement Opportunities (continued)Forward-thinking companies use data to spot trends and discover the root cause of incidentsPeople working in a service desk can continuously capture the data and information needed to determine customers wants and needsSuccessful service desks design and implement processes and technologies that enable them to capture and use customer information efficientlyPeople interested in a support-industry career must learn how to interpret data and share and add value to information A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Performing Trend and Root Cause AnalysisPerforming Trend Analysis:Trend analysis - A methodical way of determining and, when possible, forecasting service trendsTrends can be positive or negativeTrend reports provide service desk management and staff the information needed to Formulate improvement plans Communicate achievements A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Performing Trend and Root Cause Analysis (continued)A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Performing Trend and Root Cause Analysis (continued)Trend analysis involves looking at a set of data and viewing it from different angles in an effort to identify a trend Trend reports make it possible to:Determine the most common and frequently occurring incidentsIdentify anomaliesAnomaly - A deviation or departure from the average or the norm A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Performing Trend and Root Cause Analysis (continued)A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Performing Trend and Root Cause Analysis (continued)A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Performing Trend and Root Cause Analysis (continued)Performing Root Cause Analysis:Used to determine why incidents are occurring so the company can take steps to prevent incidents in the futureDetermining the root cause:Takes timeRequires analysts to look beyond the obvious and seek an answer to the question, Why? Root cause is:Captured in a data field when problems are closedSupplied by the person who identified the solution Root cause is not always related specifically to hardware products or software systemsIt is often related to how people are implementing or using technologyA Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Performing Trend and Root Cause Analysis (continued)Trend and root cause analysis work hand-in-handThey can be used reactively or proactivelyRoot cause analysis is the more difficult of the two disciplinesCompanies that fail to capture and then eliminate root cause put themselves at risk for incidents to happen againThe fact that there is a solution in the knowledge base does not make it okay for a incident to recurUltimately, customers would prefer that incidents be prevented A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Communicating the Financial Benefits of Improvements Service desk managers are under pressure to:Demonstrate the value of service desk servicesJustify the funds and resources the team needs to deliver those servicesMembers of the service desk team must learn to:Justify and quantify the benefits of their ideas in financial terms Budget - The total sum of money allocated for a particular purpose (such as a project) or period of time (such as a year)Good budgeting ensures that the money does not run out before the goal is reached or the period ends A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Communicating the Financial Benefits of Improvements (continued)To justify improvement initiatives:State the expected benefits in the form of goalsExpress those goals as metricsMetrics typically assess characteristics such as:CostCustomer satisfactionEfficiencyEffectivenessEmployee satisfactionQuality

A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Communicating the Financial Benefits of Improvements (continued)Some characteristics are tangible, or capable of being measured preciselyCost, efficiencyOther characteristics are intangible, or more difficult to measure preciselyCustomer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, qualityIntangible characteristics reflect perception and are therefore more subjective Both tangible and intangible goals are importantA Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Communicating the Financial Benefits of Improvements (continued)By establishing both tangible and intangible goals with goals such as quality and customer satisfaction as primary objectives, companies can achieve a balanced, customer-oriented result A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Communicating the Financial Benefits of Improvements (continued)Calculating a Labor Savings:Time is money - Labor often represents a companys single greatest expenseLabor and benefits usually represent 60% to 80% of a service desks overall costsSaving time, will in turn, save money To calculate an hourly rate:$39,046 / 2,080 = $18.77A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Communicating the Financial Benefits of Improvements (continued)A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Communicating the Financial Benefits of Improvements (continued)When calculating savings, accurate data are importantWhen actual data are not available, industry standard data (such as hourly rate) can be useful Cost per contact is a financial measure frequently used in the support industryCost per contact - The total cost of operating a service desk for a given time period (including salaries, benefits, facilities, and equipment) divided by the total number of contacts received during that period Contact volume - The total number of contacts received during a given period of time A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Communicating the Financial Benefits of Improvements (continued)A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Communicating the Financial Benefits of Improvements (continued)Cost per contact can be used to:Benchmark a service desks services against other service desks or the industry averageCompare the cost of operating a service desk to an external supplier (outsourcer) Benchmarking - The process of comparing the service desks performance metrics and practices to those of another service desk in an effort to identify improvement opportunitiesA Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Using Presentations to CommunicatePresentations are an important form of communication in todays business worldThey are used daily to:Convey informationPromote the benefits of ideas and opportunitiesWin approval for ideas and opportunitiesFor professionals, presentations are an important way to build credibilityThe ability to make presentations can greatly influence a persons standing in his or her company, community, and industry A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Using Presentations to Communicate (continued)The setting in which presentations are made may varyAudience members are being brought together for a reasonTheir approval is needed to move forward on a projectTheir input is needed to formulate an action planYou need to make them aware of something or teach them something There is a reason you are making the presentationYou are the expert!A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Using Presentations to Communicate (continued)Step 1: State your objectiveStep 2: Know your audienceStep 3: Design the presentationStep 4: Rehearse the presentationStep 5: Deliver the presentationStep 6: Learn from the experienceA Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Using Presentations to Communicate (continued)Step 1. State Your Objective:A clearly stated objective helps you:Determine whether a presentation is needed Focus your thoughts and the thoughts of your audience A single sentence should be all you needStep 2. Know Your Audience:This step greatly influences all future steps Determine what is important to your audience members Understand the background of your audience When in doubt, ask A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Using Presentations to Communicate (continued)Step 3. Design the Presentation:Designing a presentation is like writing a storyIt needs a beginning (introduction), middle (body), and end (closing)Begin with an outline Research your topic and collect facts that support your objective Develop visual aids that support and communicate your ideas Visual aids should not be your presentationAnticipate the questions your audience may ask and use visual aids to answer those questions A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Using Presentations to Communicate (continued)Step 4. Rehearse the Presentation:Make sure that you can cover your material in the time allottedMake sure that you leave time for questionsRehearsing is different than memorizingMemorize your introduction and closing They are critical to setting audience expectationsMemorize only the key points you want to make during the body of your presentation A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Using Presentations to Communicate (continued)Step 5. Deliver the Presentation:Be prepared, confident, and enthusiasticWhen time is a constraint, ask the audience to hold their questions until the endLadies and gentlemen, in the interest of time, please hold all of your questions until the endIf you run out of time for questions at the end, let the audience know that you will be happy to answer their questions offlineI'm sorry we ran out of time for questions. I am happy to stay and answer your questionsWhen possible, try to handle questions when asked A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Using Presentations to Communicate (continued)Step 6. Learn from the Experience:Most mistakes made when making presentations are the result of overlooking one of the steps previously discussedTake time after each presentation to evaluate your performance and determine how you can improveIf evaluations are provided, view the feedback you receive as constructive and figure out what you can do to improve Presentation skills are essential if you want to educate, inform, obtain information from, build consensus with, and communicate with othersThe more often you present and the more varied the setting, subject matter, and audience are, the more comfortable you become A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Advanced Business Skills for Technical ProfessionalsAdvanced business skills are critical skills for more senior technical professionalsManaging projectsConducting a cost benefit analysisCalculating ROIThe need for these skills may vary from company to companyAn understanding of these concepts will enable you to make the most of learning and growth opportunitiesTo excel at advanced business skills, technical professionals require a blend of formal training and experienceA Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Managing ProjectsPeople in a service desk are continuously exposed to projectsProject - A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or resultProjects can be small or quite largeLarge projects may require a business caseService desk professionals may:Complete projectsSupport the end product of a project Initiate projectsTechnical professionals must understand:Project management concepts and toolsThe roles that people play within a projectHow to work successfully on a project teamA Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Managing Projects (continued)Project management - The process of planning and managing a project All projects, regardless of their size, require some planning and have the following:A clearly defined scopeWell-defined deliverablesClearly defined acceptance criteriaAn established start dateAn established end pointScope An agreement between the customer of the project and the supplier about the projects end product and includes a description of the acceptance criteria to be used to evaluate the projects successAcceptance criteria - The conditions that must be met before the project deliverables are accepted A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Managing Projects (continued)For small projects, the project scope may be a request For larger projects, the project scope is typically defined by a project planning committee made up of project stakeholdersProject stakeholder - A person or group who is involved in or may be affected by project activitiesProject scope includes:Project overviewProject deliverablesProject objectivesConsiderations and concernsChange control plan

A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Managing Projects (continued)Project scope must be approved by the project sponsorProject sponsor - The person who has ultimate authority over the projectResponsible for ensuring that the project is aligned with the organization's business goalsNot typically involved in day-to-day activitiesProject manager - The person who leads the project team and is assigned the authority and responsibility for overseeing the project and meeting the projects objectivesA Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Managing Projects (continued)Project manager responsibilities include:Developing and maintaining a project planDirecting project activitiesCreating project status reportsPreparing and participating in project reviewsResolving project plan deviationsResolving and escalating to management, if necessary, issues that pertain to the projectAdministering project change controlA Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Managing Projects (continued)Project plan - A summary document that describes the project, its objectives, and how the objectives are to be achievedFor smaller projects, may consist of scheduling a change and documenting a simple To Do listFor larger projects, a more formal approach is takenWork breakdown structure (WBS) - A task-oriented breakdown of the work to be done The WBS is used to:Logically arrange the tasks to be completedDefine milestonesAssign resources to tasks, create schedules, estimate costs A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Managing Projects (continued)A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Managing Projects (continued)A critical project manager responsibility is communicating on a regular basis with all interested partiesProject status reports typically include :Accomplishments this periodAccomplishments planned next periodResources required next periodConsiderations and concernsAn updated project plan Ongoing communicationbefore, during, and after the projectis critical to a projects successFailing to communicate will almost always result in mismanaged expectations and dissatisfaction A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Managing Projects (continued)Technical professionals can learn about project management by:Observing how projects are runTrying to understand the keys to project management successBeing an active participant when working on a project teamIf you are interested in being a project manager:Take advantage of training that is offered where you workSeek out self-study opportunitiesAsk a seasoned project manager to serve as your mentorServe as a deputy, or assistant, to another project managerWith a better understanding of projects you can begin initiating projects aimed at implementing your ideas A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Conducting a Cost Benefit AnalysisCost benefit analysis A business calculation that compares the costs and benefits of two or more potential solutions to determine an optimum solution A cost benefit analysis can be simple or quite complexBecause of the time and skill required, the cost of performing a complex cost benefit analysis can be considerableCompanies typically offer guidelines that determine the level of detail requiredGuidelines consider factors such as the size, cost, and impact of the proposed solution A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Conducting a Cost Benefit Analysis (continued)In its simplest form, a cost benefit analysis uses only financial costs and financial benefitsFinancial costs may be:One time (nonrecurring)Ongoing (recurring)A more sophisticated approach to cost benefit analysis attempts to place a financial value on intangible costs and benefitsSome companies assign a numeric value to intangible benefitsIntangible benefits are important and must be taken into consideration

A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Conducting a Cost Benefit Analysis (continued)Intangible benefits include:Better informationImproved communicationsImproved customer relationsIncreased customer satisfactionImproved employee moraleIncreased knowledgeMore accurate solutionsMore proactive serviceA Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Conducting a Cost Benefit Analysis (continued)The end result of a cost benefit analysis is the identification of the best solution to a business problem, given two or more proposed solutions It answers the questions:Which of the proposed solutions is the best solution?Is the proposed solution worth the cost?The key to whether a solution is worth the cost lies in the goals of the organizationEach company must decide what benefits (tangible and intangible) are worth to their organization A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Calculating Return on InvestmentReturn on investment (ROI) A business calculation that measures the total financial benefit derived from an investment and then compares it with the total cost of the projectROI = Net Benefits / Project Investment A simple ROI uses only financial costs and benefitsCalculating ROI can be much more complex as benefits can also be intangible Intangible benefits are important and must be taken into considerationROI typically states the return on investment in percentage terms. ROI% = Net Benefits / Project Investment X 100A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Calculating Return on Investment (continued)Some companies determine the time it takes to recover an investment when calculating ROI Payback period - The period of time over which the benefits of an investment are received Payback Period = Project Investment / Net Benefits X 12 Months Some companies establish guidelines relative to the use of payback period when making purchasing decisionsIf the payback period is less than six months, purchase the product immediatelyIf the payback period is greater than six months, consider the purchase in light of other budget expendituresIf the payback period is greater than one year, consider the purchase in a future budget A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Calculating Return on Investment (continued)ROI can be a complex and time-consuming calculation and is therefore typically reserved for larger technology investmentsIn its simplest form, however, ROI is a useful way to communicate the worth of even a small investmentROI answers the questions:What do I get back (in return) for the money I am being asked to spend (invest)? Is the return worth the investment?Calculating ROI becomes easier as you develop the skills needed to identify and communicate costs and benefits in financial terms A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Chapter SummaryWhether a person works for a small or large corporation, some business skills are useful and increasingly required Basic business skills can be learned on-the-job, through self-study, or in the classroomListening, communicating, writingThese and other skills are relatively universal and can be used regardless of a persons chosen professionCustomer service, process management, problem solving, project management, conflict management, time managementSkills such as financial management and human resource management are also important and become more important as people advance in their careers A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Chapter Summary (continued)People working in a service desk hear day-in and day-out from customers who are having trouble using technologyThey have a unique opportunity to support the goals of business by using what they learn to:Eliminate or minimize the impact of problemsIdentify improvement opportunitiesTo do this, technical professionals must learn to use:Data to identify and quantify improvement opportunitiesTechniques such as trend and root cause analysis A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Chapter Summary (continued)Presentations are an important form of communication in todays business worldThey are inevitable if you want to communicate your ideas and, more importantly, have those ideas accepted and acted uponMaking a presentation is not an exact science, but there are proven steps that can be taken to ensure successThe more often you present and the more varied the setting, subject matter, and audience, the more comfortable you will be A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Chapter Summary (continued)Advanced business skills are increasingly critical skills for more senior technical professionalsManaging projectsConducting a cost benefit analysisCalculating return on investment (ROI)The need for these skills may vary from company to companyA basic understanding of these concepts will enable you to make the most of learning and growth opportunitiesTo acquire these skills, some study, even self-study, is needed along with experience A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

Chapter Summary (continued)The business world has changed and technical professionals must change as wellBy acquiring and using business skills, technical professionals can:Expand their opportunitiesHave more control over their careerRather than always being told what to do and how to do it, technical professionals with business skills can:Propose new and better solutionsParticipate fully in bringing their ideas to life A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 3e*

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