Tuesday 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM — Engaging Your People: Your Customers' (and Your!) Most Important Asset
Tuesday 2:30 PM - 3:30 PM — Professional Development: Selling Your Ideas
Tuesday 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM — Women in Services: Profiles of Success
Tuesday 11:30 AM - 12:30 PMLocation: Jamaica A
- The importance of the 3R's: Reward, Recognition, and Retention
- The KPI impacts of harnessing "engaged employees" to maximize the service experience
- The importance of end-to-end employee development processes and tools to maximize effectiveness and sustain momentum
Why You Need to Attend This Session:
Come learn how EMC has leveraged key reward and recognition programs, employee development, process innovation, and change management practices in their journey to drive exemplary customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, and bottom-line financial contributions within the business.
Presentation Abstract:
This session will focus on people, the technical support organization's most important asset as a direct customer-loyalty enabler. It will cover key management and leadership techniques, reward and recognition, and processes and applied systems and tools that have been used at EMC to drive exemplary results, as recognized by the achievement of winning the SSPA Best Support Staff Practices award.
About Craig Bernero:
Craig Bernero is global senior director and general manager for EMC Corporation’s Technical Support Content Management and Archiving Software and Solutions organization. His team has direct delivery responsibility for content management applications, compliance, e-mail archiving, interactive media, and other technologies that enable customers to handle end-to-end management of unstructured document and file types. Craig has over 18 years of experience in the high-technology field, 10 with EMC, including both pre and post customer-facing roles. Prior to EMC he worked in service capacities at Parametric Technology Corporation and as a senior implementation specialist for a startup system integrator. Craig began his career as a CIM engineer within the R&D group at GE Aircraft Engine. He holds a BS in manufacturing engineering from Boston University, and is currently working on his MBA from Northeastern University with dual specialization in international business and innovation/entrepreneurship.
About Michael Charest:
Michael Charest is the Americas and APJK director of Premium Technical Support for the Content Management and Archiving Organization at EMC. His team is responsible for providing designated support to EMC's top-tier customers in the CM&A space. Mike has over 14 years of experience in the high-technology field, five with EMC, working in various pre- and post-sales support and services positions. Prior to EMC he worked at Axeda Corporation, where he ran their global technical support operations. Michael began his career as a technical support engineer at Electronic Book Technologies. He holds a BS in computer science and is also a graduate of the Wharton Aresty Institute of Executive Education program.
Tuesday 2:30 PM - 3:30 PMLocation: Jamaica A
- How to effectively communicate key techniques, strategies, and approaches when presenting your ideas to senior management and business leaders
- 3-5 key lessons learned by top business leaders
- Specific advice from over 15 top business leaders how they have succeeded in their careers
Why You Need to Attend This Session:
How many times in your career, have you been able to hear first hand specific tips on how to effectively sell your ideas to all levels within your company from over 15 top leaders in our field. Roslyn had a rare opportunity to interview some of our top woman leaders and found out what makes them tick! You are going to walk away from this session with a couple ideas that could make the difference in your next communication.
Presentation Abstract:
We are all sales people regardless of our role in our corporation and no matter how much experience and knowledge I think you would agree we can always benefit from learning from others in our field. Roslyn Jones, Vice President of Global Education Services for Informatica Corporation has personally interviewed some of the top Services leaders from Cisco, HP, salesforce.com, BMC, and more to find out what they have learned in their many years in the business world. Roslyn has taken this assignment very seriously and is excited to share trends and unique examples to help us effectively communicate at all levels.
About Roslyn Jones:
Roslyn Jones is vice president of Global Education Services at Informatica Corporation where she is responsible for global strategy, sales, development and delivery solutions for Informatica customers and partners. She has more than 25 years in the Education Industry and is extremely passionate about all aspects of education and training. She has worked for Apple Computer, Amdahl Corporation, VERITAS Software, Salesforce.com and has hardware and software experience and background. She has played a key role in all aspects of education and started from the bottom up (instructor, course developer, sales manager, Regional Manager, and Director and VP).
Tuesday 4:30 PM - 5:30 PMLocation: Montego A
- Strategic career decisions these leading women made to enhance their skills and capabilities
- Actions these women took to overcome hurdles in their corporation and in their professional development
- How women service leaders are helping others in the industry develop their capability, visibility, and promotability
Why You Need to Attend This Session:
This session will give attendees a unique insight into the career paths and career decisions made by these women service leaders. Some of these professionals came up through the services ranks, while others are cross-discipline trained. Each has a distinctive and compelling story regarding services and advancement within their respective companies.
Presentation Abstract:
Ever wonder “what did that person do to become a leader in their company?” And then wonder “what are the critical things I need to do to develop my professional skills and visibility within my company and my industry?” Or “how do I meet other women leaders in services?” "Women in Services: Profiles of Success" features leading women in services who have achieved leadership positions with some of the industry’s leading companies. Sharing their success factors and the path they took is invaluable to others looking to expand their areas of responsibility and leadership within their organization. This panel also provides the unique opportunity for women in the industry to meet other women leaders.
About Diane Brundage:
Diane Brundage is the senior vice president, membership development for AFSMI, SSPA, and TPSA. In that capacity, she is responsible for all recruiting and retaining members as well as ensuring members take advantage of the various programs the Associations offer. Diane has over 25 years experience in service, sales and marketing in the technology sector. Prior positions include sales and marketing leadership for Rainmaker Systems, Inc., an outsource service focused on service contracts for technology companies as well general manager of Compaq Computer/Digital Equipment Corp.'s Customer Service Business Unit. She has an MBA from Loyola University of Chicago and a BS in finance from the University of Illinois.
About Mary Cay Kosten:
As vice president for Sun Microsystems' Global Customer Service organization, Mary Cay is responsible for delivering key strategic and operational services for Sun customers in over 160 countries. Prior to her current role, Mary Cay served as vice president of Customer Services-Americas, where she oversaw service delivery in the U.S., Canada, and Latin America. Mary Cay is a 2008 recipient of the Denver Business Journal's Outstanding Women in Business (High-Tech and Telecommunications) award and a 2006 recipient of the Silicon Valley YWCA Tribute to Women and Industry (TWIN) award. Mary Cay holds a MS in systems management and a BS in marketing.
About Patricia Rash:
Biography coming soon!
About Charlotte Baker:
Charlotte Baker co-founded Digital Hands in 2001 to provide onshore IT outsourcing through managed and professional services. Digital Hands provides its partners with private-label, custom service support for IT infrastructure and end-user help desk requirements. Prior to Digital Hands, Baker co-founded 2nd Century Communications, a competitive local exchange carrier. During her tenure, she worked to secure four capital rounds totaling $155 million. Baker's career has included strategic planning, product management, and sales at Intermedia, Microsoft, Raymond James, and GTE. She received an MBA from Darden and a BS in commerce with dual concentrations in management information systems and marketing from the University of Virginia.
Judith Platz brings 15 years of experience driving customer satisfaction for complex global accounts to Approva. Prior to Approva, she spent six years at Oracle in a number of critical customer service positions. Platz led a team at Oracle that developed and implemented customer confidence programs focused on increasing customer satisfaction and retention for highly complex global accounts. Platz also brings significant systems integration and operations experience to Approva. Prior to her tenure at Oracle, Platz worked at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) where she supervised support operations across three continents and developed and implemented information technology standards to achieve quality improvements. Platz also has extensive experience in computerized learning in both the public and commercial sectors. Platz is a member of the Service and Support Professionals Association Small Medium Business Advisory Board. The SSPA SMB Advisory Board members give the association insight and guidance on programs to help SMB members navigate the numerous challenges they face.
About Carolyn Pineda:
Carolyn Pineda is currently vice president of services at Intergraph, where her focus is on establishing methodologies, service metrics, service packaging, and fixed-price offerings. One of her goals at Intergraph is to evolve the organization from services for point solutions to integrated enterprise solutions. Carolyn joined the company six months ago from the airline industry, where she spent 16 years at Sabre establishing their first service organization. Pineda started her career as a programmer, but found that she liked working with customers in addition to shaping organizations and establishing service components. Carolyn is also responsible for founding the nonprofit Empowering Women as Leaders, which gives women ages 23 and above the opportunity to get a college degree. The organization pairs the women it supports with professional women as mentors.
About Susan McKay:
Susan McKay is the director of strategy and alliance development for EMC's $2-billion global services organization. Susan is responsible for EMC's services partnership strategy as well as providing cross-organizational direction and consultation in the development of market requirements, business plans, and solution roadmaps. She has been with EMC for seven years. Previously, she held a number of leadership positions in EMC's Telecom, Media & Entertainment field sales division. Prior to EMC she was vice president at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young's Telecom Media & Networks division. A technology industry veteran, Susan has held various sales, sales management, marketing, and business operations positions at AT&T, Unisys, and NCR.
About Jodi Schilling:
Jodi Schilling is currently the vice president of the America’s Customer Support Operations team within Hewlett Packard’s Imaging and Printing business. She is responsible for delivering customer support services across all of HP’s consumer products in Canada, the U.S., and Latin America. She also has responsibility for working with the commercial and enterprise service delivery organization in the Americas on behalf of the Imaging and Printing business. Jodi joined HP in 1985 and has held a variety of positions in finance, manufacturing, customer satisfaction, and quality, and most recently in the America’s operations team. She has been in various management positions for the last 18 years, including executive-level positions for the past eight years. Jodi holds a bachelors in business administration from Chadron State College.
About Roslyn Jones:
Roslyn Jones is vice president of Global Education Services at Informatica Corporation where she is responsible for global strategy, sales, development and delivery solutions for Informatica customers and partners. She has more than 25 years in the Education Industry and is extremely passionate about all aspects of education and training. She has worked for Apple Computer, Amdahl Corporation, VERITAS Software, Salesforce.com and has hardware and software experience and background. She has played a key role in all aspects of education and started from the bottom up (instructor, course developer, sales manager, Regional Manager, and Director and VP).
Wednesday 9:45 AM - 10:45 AMLocation: Montego C
- Why traditional performance reporting does not motivate agents
- What REALLY drives agent performance
- Real metrics reporting systems that deliver results
Why You Need to Attend This Session:
Headcount is the largest expense for support centers and typically accounts for 60% to 70% or more of budgets. In addition, the cost of staff turnover is phenomenal; there is the “hard cost” of hiring replacement staff and training them, as well as productivity loss in getting them “up to speed.” New developments have transformed staff motivation from art to science, and research has confirmed that 20% productivity improvement and 50% reduction in turnover can be achieved by support centers that utilize these key methodologies. Attend this session to learn how to achieve similar results.
Presentation Abstract:
Every organization has a few stars that out-perform everyone else. These people have positive attitudes, are highly motivated, and understand how to deliver great service. They are focused on the key objectives and require very little management. We all wish we had more people like them, right? What if we really could “clone” them? What if you could condition your agents―not unlike Pavlov's famous dog―to respond like those “model” agents? What if there was a way to have all your agents clamoring for their performance stats and anxious to meet expectations? What if you could increase overall performance by 20% or more? It may sound like wishful thinking, but this is no longer a dream. Research shows that the right combination of performance reporting, presented in the right way, can actually condition agents to want to perform better. This session will teach you how the right performance measurements, presented in the right way, that are tied to the right rewards will turn all your agents into top performers.
About Dave Brown:
Dave Brown is a management consultant, teacher, and author. He is the author of the book Optimizing Support Center Staffing and has written more than 40 articles and papers related to improving support operations. He has 20 years of technology management experience (including Amdahl, Adobe Systems, and Broderbund Software) and over 12 years experience as a management consultant and trainer. Dave is President of Support Center University, a training organization that specializes in management development for service organizations. As an independent management consultant, Dave works with selected clients to establish world-class service operations. Dave is an expert in staff modeling, process improvement, and change management.
About Melanie Lewis:
Melanie Lewis is the director of customer support for Sage SalesLogix and Sage FAS. Prior to joining Sage’s Scottsdale-based CRM solutions organization in 2005, she held roles in business and IT operations, strategic marketing, sales operations, and customer support with demand-and-supply solution provider JDA Software, Inc. She has more than 17 years of software industry experience and 10 years of accounting and operations experience in the financial sector.
