How do you link technical support goals to organizational strategy?

1 Understand your organizational strategy

The first step to link technical support goals to organizational strategy is to understand what your organization wants to achieve and how it plans to get there. Your organizational strategy should define your vision, mission, values, objectives, and initiatives. You should be familiar with these elements and how they relate to your technical support function. For example, if your organization's vision is to be the leader in customer satisfaction, then your technical support goals should reflect that by focusing on quality, responsiveness, and feedback.

2 Identify your technical support metrics

The next step to link technical support goals to organizational strategy is to identify your technical support metrics. These are the indicators that measure your technical support performance and value. You should choose metrics that are relevant, reliable, and realistic. They should also align with your organizational objectives and initiatives. For example, if your organization's objective is to increase customer retention, then your technical support metrics should include customer satisfaction, loyalty, and churn. You should also define how you will collect, analyze, and report your metrics.

3 Set your technical support goals

The third step to link technical support goals to organizational strategy is to set your technical support goals. These are the specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound targets that you want to reach with your technical support function. You should base your goals on your technical support metrics and your organizational strategy. You should also involve your technical support team and stakeholders in setting and communicating your goals. For example, if your organization's initiative is to launch a new product, then your technical support goal could be to achieve a 90% first-call resolution rate for the new product within six months.

4 Implement your technical support plan

The fourth step to link technical support goals to organizational strategy is to implement your technical support plan. This is the action plan that outlines how you will achieve your technical support goals. It should include the tasks, resources, roles, and timelines that you need to execute your technical support activities. You should also monitor and evaluate your progress and performance regularly and adjust your plan as needed. For example, if your technical support plan involves training your staff on the new product, then you should track their completion, feedback, and results.

5 Review your technical support outcomes

The fifth step to link technical support goals to organizational strategy is to review your technical support outcomes. These are the results and impacts that you have achieved with your technical support function. You should compare your outcomes with your goals and metrics and assess your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. You should also share your outcomes with your technical support team and stakeholders and celebrate your successes and learn from your failures. For example, if your technical support outcome is to increase customer satisfaction by 10%, then you should recognize your team's efforts and identify areas for improvement.

6 Align your technical support strategy

The final step to link technical support goals to organizational strategy is to align your technical support strategy. This is the process of ensuring that your technical support function is consistent, coherent, and complementary with your organizational strategy. You should review and update your technical support strategy periodically and align it with any changes in your organizational strategy. You should also communicate and collaborate with other functions and departments to ensure that your technical support function supports and enhances your organization's overall performance and value. For example, if your organization's strategy changes to focus on innovation, then your technical support strategy should also adapt to foster creativity, experimentation, and feedback.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?