How do you align your customer service technology with your company's vision?

Value Stream Map session but start backwards for each service. Define your customer. Then look at the steps to get or support a service to a customer. Now look at the issues and create a board to review what has to be done to actively keep your stream following. Learn the right way to VSM and manage that session. Also learn Obeya which is the best collaboration at all levels practice I've ever used in my 53 years in IT.

In my opinion.... The alignment of customer service technology with a company's vision is a crucial aspect of business success. It's not just about having the right tools, but also about creating a culture that values customer satisfaction and continuous improvement. Remember, technology is a tool, but it's the human touch that makes the difference.

This is a great starting point to work from. You don't know where you're going or what you need to change unless you know where you are. Include your customers and employees in the the process. There's no better feedback than from the horses mouth.

Evaluate your existing technology by identifying tools used, features in place, integrations linked, strengths, and weaknesses. If you have data available, analyze customer feedback from surveys, reviews, and support interactions. Measure performance metrics by tracking key indicators like resolution time, first call resolution rate, repeat call rate, satisfaction ratings, and cost-efficiency

Consider this...what would the best in the world look like?! Map out the process from start to finish, with the customer experience at the forefront every step of the way. The tech in my opinion should be used to enhance the customer experience, and not be used as a cost saving exercise. If it can do both, great, but if not, customer experience has to come first.

Assessing the current state of your customer service technology is a vital first step. It's about understanding where you are now to chart a path to where you want to be. One of the biggest mistakes that even the most successful people make is exploring their own weakness. Don't shy away from recognizing weaknesses - they are opportunities for growth and improvement.

As a manager, articulate the customer service vision by aligning it with company values and goals. Identify priority areas and target specific improvements to enhance customer experience. Define success metrics and establish clear benchmarks and frameworks to measure progress.

Defining your desired state is essentially setting your vision. What do you want to achieve? How do you want to make your customers feel? Your vision should be a beacon guiding all your actions. When everything is aligned, it becomes a roadmap that takes you to your desired destination.

This is the area where vision, strategy, and execution of a technical roadmap typical fail. Most organizations have an aspirational vision for where they want technology to take them and the consumers of their products and services. Mature organizations typically look at their tech landscape strategically, identifying and procuring the best solutions within specific constraints to achieve those aspirational objectives. Where things tend to fall apart, however, is in execution. Some of these failings include: *Chasing shiny new toys *Poor implementations *Bad tech architecture *Inadequate support capabilities *Low adoption / organizational change *Internal politics Solutions can support the vision and the strategy, yet still fail.

Prioritize your technology needs. What needs to be resolved, attended to, or improved to attain the vision and goals? Then create an implementation plan that breaks down initiatives and tasks into manageable actions. Allocate and manage the resources for budgets, personnel, and timelines for the implementation and training after selecting the tools, features, and systems that confirm the vision

Setting smart goals and accompany that with change management steps mainly tnrough communication so everyone is onboard and believes in the new directions

Planning your roadmap is about setting clear, achievable goals and outlining the steps to get there. Remember, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Be clear and honest in your communications. Why are the changes being made, how does this aim to improve things from a customer and business perspective, when are the changes being made, what can be expected from a positive point of view. Be accountable when things don't go to plan, let people know who the project lead is, who needs to be contacted if things aren't working, and make it easy for people to know how to contact and feedback any issues.

Roll out technology solutions, and introduce the new tools and features strategically while preventing major disruption of work and efficiency. Provide comprehensive training to ensure that employees are proficient in using the new technology. Always monitor the progress and make adjustments where and when necessary

Implementing changes requires courage and resilience. It's about taking action, involving all stakeholders, and being ready to adapt as you go along. Remember, the path to success is not always a straight line.

There is nothing more powerful than self realization. To achieve this, implement Customer Experience test in your process. Drink your own wine, find ways to test how is your customer service experience, using your own technology and work towards any improvement areas identified.

Sometimes the customer journey is structured around the technology, clients can be asked for the same data multiple times or the conversation flow is scattered. It can be highly beneficial to the client experience to map the journey, adjust systems to ensure this is slick and makes sense. The key output of this can be increased satisfaction, as well as efficiencies in handling time. Creating opportunities for win-wins on both side.