Jury Orders Seagate to Pay $1.9M to Former Employee
A federal jury this month awarded awarded a former Seagate Technology engineer $1.9 million, in a wrongful employment case. Chandramouli Vaidyanathan had sought $2.7 million in damages, contending that he had to uproot his family to take a job at Seagate's Advanced technology Group facility in Minnesota for a job that didn't exist. The basis for the case is a Minnesota statute that makes it illegal to induce "any person to change from any place in any state, territory or country to any place in this state to work in any branch of labor through or by means of knowingly false representations."
Source: CIO Magazine
Knowlagent Releases Knowlagent 8.5
Knowlagent, an agent productivity solution for the world's 10 million call center agents, announced the release of Knowlagent 8.5, a software upgrade designed to further reduce shrinkage in the call center by dramatically expanding the types of off-phone activities delivered to agents during call volume downtime. Knowlagent's patented RightTime technology identifies pockets of downtime in call volume and directs agents to the corresponding system to complete the assigned task. These tasks might include projects, paperwork, call research, emails, and knowledge base reviews, in addition to training and coaching.
The top ten enterprise IT trends for 2011
Security, cloud services and sustainability will be three of the most important trends in enterprise IT in 2011, according to Ovum.
The independent technology analyst has named its top ten trends for the coming year, which also include mobility, data management and data centre transformation. Business analytics, collaboration, IT financial management and context-aware computing also make the list.
- Security
Security continues to be high on the IT agenda as the number of threats to businesses increases rapidly.
- Data management
Data management will be a key area due to the sheer volumes now passing through enterprises.
- Business analytics
The technologies' ability to improve decision-making, identify new business opportunities, maximize cost savings and detect inefficiencies is driving its importance for organizations.
- Mobility
In IT management, the mobility challenge in 2011 will be to embrace the new technology while developing a strategy that maintains a balance between user preference and productivity and corporate security and compliance.
- Data center transformation
The role of the data center is witnessing a dramatic shift as the cloud computing era heralds a new dawn in the delivery of IT services in 2011.
- Cloud services
Cloud computing will continue to grow steadily in 2011. Ovum believes that it is no longer a question of whether or not enterprises will use cloud computing, they already are. However, it is still early days for both providers and CIOs, who will grapple to take
advantage in 2011.
- Collaboration
To cater for changes in work practices, an integrated approach to collaboration is needed which includes social networking and video conferencing.
- Sustainability
New opportunities will continue to emerge in 2011 which allow organizations to work in a more environmentally-friendly way.
- IT financial management
The CIO should talk the language of business and put in place better IT financial management in 2011.
- Context-aware computing
In 2011, CIOs should be looking to instrumentation, metering and wireless technologies to play a significant role in providing the context which can lead to automated business processes and increased productivity.
More...
$8.6 Billion per Year Wasted on Inefficient Software Licensing Practices
1E, a software and services company that improves IT efficiency, released new research outlining major trends in software management and distribution entitled: Help Desk Efficiency Report.
The Help Desk Efficiency report found that three-quarters of respondents have unused software on their PCs -- averaging three to six applications per user. A leading industry analyst firm estimates that 22 percent of all IT spending is on software, which is $726 billion annually worldwide. Knowing that a single piece of software can cost upwards of several hundred dollars with licensing and support, these findings indicate that a significant percentage of IT software spending is currently being wasted.
While industry analyst firms estimate that IT departments spend on average $12,000 per user per year, more than one-third of respondents to the Help Desk Efficiency Report say they are receiving little or no value from the money their IT department spends on them.
New software requests are a common occurrence, with more than one-half of respondents requesting one or more software applications in the last 12 months. Disturbingly, 62 percent of users have waited up to a week or longer to receive their requested software. This data shows that the impact on user productivity is clearly too great.
Slow and inconsistent delivery of new software is not by chance. The research indicates that the process for requesting new software is fragmented and manual -- with 73 percent of users still initiating requests by phone or email. 1E estimates that deploying user self-service tools to automate software requests could collectively save organizations $8.6 billion per year in IT help desk costs.
Commissioned by 1E and conducted by Vanson Bourne, an independent research company, the report includes responses from 1,000 business users across the United States and United Kingdom.
More...
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White Paper: 2010 Service and Support Metrics Survey Results
This new SupportIndustry.com white paper explores the top 6 industry trends based on results from the 2010 Service and Support Metrics Survey.
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- Where social media fits in the service and support landscape
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| What it Takes to Boost Low Morale
Hit by deep layoffs over the past few years, some workplaces look as if they are populated by the walking dead. Many survivors feel overwhelmed just keeping the existing systems running, and there's nothing new or exciting on the horizon to look forward to.What's a manager to do?
Full Article...
Are companies silencing rather than servicing their customers?
The medium for securing customer service attention has changed, but I have to wonder: are companies really listening to their customers? In the old days of 12 years ago, if you were slighted you would call, send a letter, or even an email form and then a coupon would show up days later. Today, the good thing about social media is that it gives customers a voice. It gives us an arena in which to express thoughts and feelings about brands and, if we allow them to, it gives brands an arena in which to engage with us. But there still exists a significant list of companies that are using the old silencing model.
Full Article...
IT Workers: How to Be More Productive
Are you plagued by interruptions, just as you get into the zone on an important project? Too many loud goings-on in the office? You are far from alone, according to a new survey from the IT Job Board. The Board asked what makes for a productive IT employee, and what office environments minimize performance and effectiveness. The surrounding workplace and the people within it are listed as top productivity killers, so it's not surprising that most IT professionals consider their peak performance time to be in the morning hours. IT workers also benefit greatly from concrete, clear instructions from supervisors with respect to project needs.
Full Article...
Seven Strategy Questions: A Simple Approach for Better Execution
Business leaders can't develop and execute effective strategy without first gathering the right information, says Harvard Business School professor Robert Simons. In his new book, Seven Strategy Questions: A Simple Approach for Better Execution, Simons explains how managers can identify holes in their planning processes and make smart choices. Here's an excerpt outlining the seven questions every manager should ask.
Full Article...
Avoid First-Impression Mistakes
Poor first impressions are avoidable. I'm amazed by some of the really unfortunate mistakes that people make during important first meetings, whether it's a job interview, an important pitch, or other high stakes first-time business encounters. The secret to avoiding these mistakes is to spend time preparing before the meeting. This article presents some common sense things to do before any meeting.
Full Article...
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 Seven Strategy Questions: A Simple Approach for Better Execution
by Robert Simons
To stay ahead of the pack, you must translate your organization's competitive strategy into day-to-day actions that will enable your company to win in the marketplace. This means channeling resources into the right efforts, striking a balance between innovation and control, and getting everyone pulling in the same direction.
How to accomplish all this? Continually ask the right questions, advises Harvard Business School professor Robert Simons. By posing these provocative questions, you identify critical gaps in your strategy execution processes, focus on the most important choices you must make, and understand what's at stake in each one.
For more information, or to order your copy...
More books can
be found in the RecognizeServiceExcellence.com Required Reading
section: http://www.recognizeserviceexcellence.com
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| Free Research on the Service and Support Industry
Are you looking for the latest research available (for free!) on the service and support industry? Then check out the research section of SupportIndustry.com. Some of the current offerings available to members are:
- Research Insight: Average Speed to Answer, Wait Time and Handle Time
- 2010 Service and Leadership Trends in Customer Support
- Research Insight: Effectively Measuring Customer Loyalty
- Research Insight: Cost Per Contact (Phone & E-Mail)
- Research Insight: First Contact Resolution
- 2009 Service and Support Metrics Survey
All of these reports can be accessed by clicking here...
White Paper: Best Practices for Coaching Your Support Team to Handle Anything
This white paper provides a step-by-step game plan for solving your support agents' worst nightmares, based on the author's experience in successfully "turning around" support performance, as well as current research in the psychology of how we communicate with people. In the process, you will learn how specific, procedural skills -- both for how your agents respond to customers, and how you coach your team -- can change everything about how your interact with customers, in a way that will impact both your support metrics and your bottom line.
Get the full white paper here!
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