Johannesburg, 17 Jun 2004
Fujitsu Services is to transfer its internal help-desk operation from the UK to its South African subsidiary, ICL.
This will augment Fujitsu`s 22 European help-desks serving customers around the world. A South African team is currently being trained in Fujitsu`s help-desk Sense and Respond approach, and will be on offer to South African customers from April.
`Sense and Respond` has won Fujitsu the 2003 Call Centre National Business Award, the IIR Service Desk Award for 2003 and the NabarroNathanson Technology Industry Award for the Most Innovative Use of Technology in a Project.
It is a new management approach to help-desks that has proven results in cost cutting and increasing customer service levels and satisfaction.
ICL managing director Elvin de Kock explains: "Getting really good at fixing large numbers of blown tyres every day is a pointless exercise if the whole road needs resurfacing. Most help-desks spend most of their time on what we call `failure demand` instead of value demand. Sense and Respond provides a more intelligent help-desk operation."
Sense and Respond requires operators to categorise and group what seem to be simple problems that should not generate endless calls from the same users every day, and thereby eliminate the root cause. Complex problems that require expert resolution should also be resolved by the operator directly rather than be passed on for attention.
"We believe a successful help-desk deals with fewer, not more calls, and is staffed by competent operators who spend more time on each call with the objective of genuinely assisting the caller," says De Kock.
The help-desk will initially comprise 50 seats and expand to over 200 seats. "We see enormous benefits both to ICL and our customers in implementing what is by far the most significant move in the South African help-desk industry to date," he adds.
De Kock believes the move to ICL demonstrates the confidence Fujitsu has in SA capabilities.
"It is a major coup for us in SA and indicates that we are recognised as being on a par in terms of service delivery as the rest of the world," he explains.