eSharings - DECEMBER 2005

Current insights, objective advice, and resources for service and support professionals, given in the spirit of sharing information.

In this Issue:

-- Sharing
-- Government Customer Support Conference and Expo (GCS 2006)
-- Explore Your Options
-- Resources
-- Subscription Information

SHARING (top)

Dear Friends,

The year 2005 presented unexpected events and astonishing outcomes for our company.  As most of you know, High Tech High Touch Solutions, Inc. acquired the Help Desk Professionals Conference and Expo and the Government Customer Support Conference and Expo.  We held the memorable Help Desk Professionals Conference in October at the beautiful Hotel del Coronado.  The Government Customer Support Conference will be held in June at the Sheraton Crystal City in Arlington, VA.

We were given the gift to receive extraordinary kindness and support from a group of particular people who gave their personal time and commitment, going above and beyond any expectations, to deliver a top notch Help Desk Conference and Expo.  This remarkable group of people from our industry, the 2005 HDP Board, volunteered to produce the entire event. It truly was "the people's conference", likely the only of it's kind in our industry to be delivered by a team giving their own time to produce.

Lisa Prendergast, our Director, expertly guided us to deliver this educational event.  We couldn't have done it without her.  Mary Kay Wegner co-chaired the conference and did an amazing amount of work to contribute to the event's overall success.  Andy Reeves, designed and built the entire technology infrastructure and managed all of our technology requirements.

The other exemplary team members included Annie Reimer, Bill Price, Brad Worthley, Brenda Iniguez, Christine Cameron, Daryl Covey, Dave Stockwell, Dru Phelps, Lisa Prendergast, Peter McGarahan, and Zoe Stamolis.  Brett Wegner, our photographer, captured the moments and memories in wonderful detail.  Check out the pictures here.  You might be in one of the hundreds of pictures taken.  Again, we could not have delivered an event of this magnitude without each one of them.

None of this would have been possible though without the people who worked so hard to provide educational and interactive presentations, the speakers. They were absolutely amazing. Our greatly appreciated sponsors. rounded out the event.

The HDP board, speakers and sponsors together delivered a high scoring event, with people saying the quality of our speakers were some of the best they ever had the privilege to learn from in such an intimate and personal setting.

We find it difficult to find the right words to effectively describe our appreciation fully for the work and personal commitment made by each one of these gifted, kind people and the companies who supported our efforts.

The Help Desk Professionals Conference and Expo in 2006 promises to deliver such superior results again in the Fall of 2006.  Please put it on your calendar now to join us.

Wishing you positive days and much success,

Ivy Meadors

P.S. We are currently accepting applications for the board of HDP 2006.  The GCS 2006 board has been filled.  We also encourage you to submit your proposals if you wish to be considered as a speaker for GCS 2006 or HDP 2006.

"Stop by our newly revised website and see all the new things we have added.  I know you will find a lot of useful information, have some fun, and find it worth the trip to visit us."

Government customer support conference and expo (top)

MARK YOUR CALENDAR NOW FOR JUNE 14-15, 2006

The 5th Annual Government Customer Support Conference and Expo 2006 (GCS)
June 14-15, 2006
Sheraton Crystal City in Arlington, VA
www.governmentconference.com

This one-of-a-kind conference is focused exclusively on city, state, and federal call centers and help desks. Attendees will benefit from practical, actionable information on strategy, vision, and execution from industry experts and their peers to use in their service and support groups.  This event offers comprehensive coverage in the major areas of service and support, with the primary emphasis on leadership and the people. 

Program details will be included in the next issue of eSharings and posted on our website at www.governmentconference.com.

Daryl Covey will Chair our event again this year.  He will also be running the Excellence Awards program for Customer Support organizations in the public sector.  Lisa Prendergast will be the Director of the conference.

If you want to be a part of GCS 2006, email us at solutions4u@hthts.com right away.

Interested sponsors can email us directly at GCS@hthts.com.

Explore Your Options  (top)

Gain Optimal Value from the Frontline

Hiring factors are key to how much success can be gained from the frontline.  Companies often hire people to work in call centers who will work for the lowest wages, put in long hours, work undesirable shifts, and accept not getting some of the extras like medical insurance, holiday pay, and pensions.

A means to gain optimal value from your call center is getting people to have a change in mindset, even when hired under these conditions.  A book that will offer some great ideas to encourage people to change their mindset to be fundamental to the business is "Sacred Cows Make the Best Burgers" by Robert Kriegel.  It's an excellent read and you can buy it now, if you desire.

• Be core to the business, not overhead

• Focus on solving business problems

• Every activity should contribute to the bottom line

• Eliminate unnecessary tasks

• Have a critical viewpoint

Some of the best ways to address the results from these hiring factors is to implement a formal mentoring program, help people with their personal development and growth, understand clearly what motivates each individual, provide lots of opportunities for training, and frequent communication.

The following section of resources should help you to address some of these considerations.  Remember, "it's all about the people."

Be sure to visit our booklist at http://www.hthts.com/booklist.htm for more resources.  Ivy's Slides include resources as well.  You will find them posted at http://www.hthts.com/slides.htm.

RESOURCES  (top)

We thought you would find the following resources that apply to "people" factors useful.

• http://www.newstatesman.com/200501010027

• http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Fite8.html

• http://www.potentialsmag.com/potentials/index.jsp

• http://www.generationwhy.com

• http://interview.monster.com/archives/attheinterview/

• http://www.cnr.berkeley.edu/ucce50/ag-labor/7labor/b003.htm

Please visit our website www.hthts.com for more resources and learn how we can work with you to build a world-class service and support center.

SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION (top)

We hope you enjoyed this edition of eSharings.  We welcome your ideas and contributions to our newsletter, published worldwide.  Please email us future topics you want to know more about, ask questions or share resources and ideas. Feel free to reprint this newsletter in its entirety with our copyright information intact.

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