The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/57001
case studies Service Squads Improve Customer Support by Nikhil Shah of SNR Denton In any large organization, managing IT- related issues in local offices is a daunting challenge, especially when new technologies are introduced every day. When you are one of the 25 largest legal service providers in the world with more than 60 offices in 43 countries and over 2,500 end users, the challenge is even greater. So how does a sophisticated global IS team overcome this challenge? The answer for our firm has been to implement "PC (People Care) Squads" — a client service initiative designed to facilitate technology problem resolution and user feedback through floor walks by our local technical support specialists. Answering the Call It all started when we advised our local technical support specialist in the East Coast region to conduct floor walks to improve communication with end users — find out what they really thought about the firm's technology and the IS department as a whole. The IS team did not have a clear understanding of perceptions and issues on the east coast because most team members were based in a different location. It was because of this exercise that we were able to find out that end users were continually experiencing weak wireless cellular signals. The technical support specialist took the information and passed it on to IS management during their bimonthly meeting. This prompted management to review the services provided by our wireless carrier, bringing us to a final solution of adding wireless carriers to our environment. Throughout this process, the technical support specialist continued to walk the floors to keep end users informed, making the first PC Squad a great success. An Expanding Crew We realized the impact of our PC Squads when we addressed concerns presented in one of our Southwest offices. This office typically reported myriad issues, and they felt that our central IS team was disconnected from their everyday challenges. Once we deployed PC Squads and created teams to follow up on critical issues, it showed users in that office that the firmwide IS team was there to support them. This Southwest office has turned around from being weary of the IS department to seeing the value we can bring and seeking involvement in new IS initiatives. Their feedback helped us improve IS service not only in their office but in all offices, as we took our lessons learned to fine-tune processes. After the achievements of these initial PC Squads, we decided to expand them to each of our U.S. offices. The IS staff in each office was extremely excited and took ownership of implementing this solution from the very beginning. They knew their input would help IS management see what challenges were being encountered in their offices on a daily basis. A Block in the Road As enthusiastic as IS management and local technical support specialists were about the PC Squad initiative, it was tough to explain the concept to our end users. To an end user, it seemed that IS may have been encroaching on their workspace or questioning the manner in which they worked. Some users even felt uncomfortable speaking about technology issues, and they didn't find the value in this new level of support. With the help of the local directors of administration, we were able to successfully pass on the message of the importance of PC Squads to our end-user community. We quickly put words into action by showing users that, by listening to their needs and requirements and following up with solutions, service was vastly improved. PC Squads proved that we're a trusted resource in providing great service to them and the firm's clients. 28 Peer to Peer