\nFinally,there is the issue of centralized versus decentralized support. This can actually take two\ndifferent forms. In some cases, you may have a central support organization and field\nrepresentatives who solve customer problems on-site. This is different from an organization that has\nmultiple support centers where the analysts do not go to the customer\u2019s site. Even with an internal\nhelp desk, either of these models is possible. In fact, depending on your organization and its\nsupport needs, you could have a mixture of these.<\/p>
For example, I worked in one company with\na few-dozen branch offices spread out across the country and throughout the world. The larger\noffices had their own support staff (maybe just one or two people). For the most part, they acted\nalmost completely independent of the central support organization. The smaller offices got all of\ntheir support from either the headquarters or one of these larger branch offices, depending on the\nsize and location of the branch office. <\/p>
If the support required someone to be on-site, what\nwas done also varied from office to office. Those offices that were within a couple of hours driving\ndistance from either the company headquarters or one of larger branch offices got their support from\nthat office. Those offices that were farther away got their support from a local computer supplier\nor some other local source.<\/p>
In some cases, the users may demand it. In that same company\nthat I just discussed, there were cases where the branch manager did not want someone from the\noutside to solve his problem, but rather someone from the headquarters. Obviously, if you\u2019re working\nin the fee-based support system and the customer is willing to pay, there is nothing wrong with\nsending an analyst to the remote location.<\/p>
There are two important things to consider with\nfield-based support. First, how does the field rep get access to the same tools that the others\nhave? Recording information into your problem database may be as simple as writing down the\nspecifics and in recording it on the rep\u2019s return. But what about your solutions database? How do\nfield analysts get access to that? If your solutions database is stored as accessible from Web\npages, it could be made available across the Internet (maybe requiring a password). <\/p>
The\nnext issue is the whole logistics of field-based support. You\u2019re going to have to deal with\ntransportation, accommodations, and communication between the field analyst and headquarters. This\nis not simply a matter of giving the analyst a mobile phone so that he or she can contact\nheadquarters whenever necessary. It includes such mundane things as whether or not someone is\naccessible by phone. If the time zone difference between the central support office and the branch\noffice is large enough, the overlap of working hours can be extremely small or may be even\nnonexistent. <\/p>
For example, if your headquarters is on the East Coast of the United States\nand your field analyst is in Malaysia, there is a 12-hour difference between the two. There is\ngenerally no overlap at all for normal workday. What does the field analyst do if he or she needs\ninformation from headquarters? Email is not necessarily good, because in the best case, you first\nget your answer the next morning. Often this is unacceptable.<\/p>
Solutions to these kinds of\nproblems are not easy. In this case, you either accept the time delay or expect that someone either\nstart earlier or work longer in order that there be sufficient overlap between two locations.<\/p>\n
If all the support is centralized, there is no fear of having incompatible procedures or\nsoftware. However, I feel that the administrative burden is greater in this case. First, you need to\nensure that communication works much more effectively, not only communication between the remote\noffices and the central office, but within the help desk itself. If changes are made in the remote\noffice, everyone needs to be made aware of them. This can be a problem when you work for a\nmultinational corporation where there is no common language.<\/p>
The central office would also\nhave the responsibility to establish and coordinate standards, not just for the help desk, but all\ncomputer system-related functions. This includes network protocols, database systems, email, and so\non. The advantage is that there is one single place to call for all <\/i>computer-related\nproblems. It is therefore easier to coordinate the service that you provide. There will probably be\nfewer staff members, as you do not need experts at every site.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Finally,there is the issue of centralized versus decentralized support. This can actually take two different forms. In some cases, you may have a central support organization and field representatives who solve customer problems on-site. This is different from an organization … Continue reading