Author: Andres Sanchez
Publisher: CA Press Apress (www.apress.com)
Published: January 2010
Print ISBN 13: 978-1-4302-2547-8
Print format: Soft cover, 260 pages
Prices: $39.99 (eBook version: $27.99). Note: once you purchase a copy of the printed version of the book, you then become eligible to buy an eBook version for $10.
Succeeding in a Technical Support Role
In order to become successful in technical support, you need to not only develop a particular mindset; you also have to equip yourself with a unique set of technical skills to support that mindset. The book, "Technical Support Essentials: Advice You Can Use to Succeed in Technical Support" can be of enormous assistance in achieving both of these objectives. But it is also the sort of book that can be read by more people than just those IT professionals who are looking to pursue a career in technical support or who are already fully engaged in such a role. For instance, both IT managers and the supervisors of tech support units are encouraged to scan through the book so that they can, at least, hone in on the sorts of characteristics that they should be looking for in the technical support people that they hire, or on whom they rely so heavily on a daily basis.
The book's author is Andres Sanchez, currently a Support Delivery Manager, and who has been engaged in technical support, of some form or other, in the almost twenty years of his IT career. As reported in the book, such experience has allowed him to see "the technical support field from different angles and with different customer mindsets." As a result of that experience, his book is full of practical ideas, gleaned from, as he states, having "answered thousands of calls, closed thousands of issues, handled many upset customers, satisfied many customers, ticked off a few more, learned dozens of technologies, mentored a few colleagues, learned from many others, had my failures and successes, and still longed for more."
For any busy IT professional, the manner in which the content of "Technical Support Essentials: Advice You Can Use to Succeed in Technical Support" has been laid out makes it easier to read than a lot of other IT books. That's because the book is, in fact, made up of a collection of short articles, some of which are just one or two paragraphs in length. That means you can pick up the book and quickly read an article that interests you instead of idling away whilst waiting for a report to print out, a telephone call to come through or maybe while commuting to or from work. These articles have been organized into four major subject areas, with the titles as follows:
1. Advice for dealing with yourself and your work
2. Working with others
3. The support organization
4. Working with customers
Sanchez readily acknowledges that the advice about the technical support work role he provides in the opening part of his book is both subjective and personal in nature. He has done that deliberately because, as he says, his "intention is to make a personal connection with you and your work. The application of the advice and ideas are up to you individually and the material's intention is to give you some perspective on the preferred and most efficient approaches." Examples of topics discussed in this part of the book include the value of technical support work; how to pick an area of technical specialization (and the benefits to be gained by doing so); the current status of the technical support profession; how to become an above average performer; and how to recognize opportunities.
On that last point, Sanchez believes that "opportunity is one of those things that depend greatly on the eye of the beholder." He maintains that "there are opportunities for all types of things, but it all depends upon what is important to you. For some people it may be a job promotion, more money, a new project, or some other form of career advancement. For other people it may be a way to do work that is more significant or to fulfill an innate interest, goal, or a lifelong dream."
It's common for people in technical support to either work as part of a technical support group, or alternatively, with maybe just one other technical support colleague. The ability of successfully being able to working with others in technical support is the focus of the second part of the book. For instance, from a group perspective, Sanchez presents three main characteristics or traits that must be developed and then maintained if the support group is to enjoy ongoing success. They are cohesiveness, collaboration, and sympathy. Sanchez defines cohesiveness as referring to the "unification and camaraderie of the individuals." He emphasizes that "there must be solidarity within the group because without it, none of the other measures of success are possible. The question is whether the group members see each other as necessary to the success of the group and to what extent." A strong indicator of poor cohesiveness is where one or more members of a group prefer to strike out on their own and perform the support work according to their own standards and techniques and not to those agreed to by the group. And in some cases too, a lack of strong cohesion could be indicated by group members failing to get along socially.
As regards collaboration, it is true that it can often be exhibited in different ways, but Sanchez sums it up succinctly when he says that collaboration "generally deals with the individuals making an effort beyond their own workload to mutually help each other in times of need." Of course, it is imperative that an appropriate level of balance be reached so that "some individuals provide help in some situations then receive it in other situations."
The last group characteristic to be strived for is a healthy level of sympathy. Sanchez breaks it down into three components: 1) each group member being genuinely interested in other group members and the role that they are performing; 2) consideration as to the needs and wants of other group members; or in other words, showing respect to fellow team members; and 3) empathy, so that team members at least try to understand, and be compassionate, about the difficulties and challenges facing their work colleagues.
The third part of "Technical Support Essentials: Advice You Can Use to Succeed in Technical Support" discusses the structure of, and the processes involved in, support organizations. A diverse amount of information is presented ranging from support management, the different types of support structure, and the various types of processes and practices to be found in support organizations. One of the three chapters in this part of the book investigates support roles and behaviors, and very few readers of his book are likely to disagree with Sanchez's statement that "the topic of support management could fill a whole book and much more." Just some examples of the sorts of management type topics covered here include the role of support managers, systems theory, recognition and management support strategy.
The fourth and final part of the book is, I believe, the most important part of the book, and one which should be regarded as mandatory reading for all tech support personnel. The reason is straightforward as it looks in depth at how technical support personnel should interact with their customers and clients. One approach that Sanchez puts forward as a possibility is the use of a hierarchical approach to customer service which has been broken down into the following six steps:
1. Meet the customer's needs
2. Address the customer's requirements
3. Accommodate the customer's requests
4. Respect the customer's wishes
5. Consider the customer's suggestions
6. Reshape the customer's unrealistic demands
Sanchez is a staunch proponent of this hierarchical approach so much so that he unreservedly claims that its six steps "work for any type of support model and customer service goals. They never negate a customer anything and do not antagonize a customer in any way. The customer service hierarchy is a meaningful approach to handling customer interactions in a proactive manner that adapts the support person's conduct toward the customer depending on the customer's conduct in the situation. In effect, this hierarchy constitutes an adaptive approach to customer service."
When you start to read "Technical Support Essentials: Advice You Can Use to Succeed in Technical Support" it soon becomes obvious that the book's author, Andres Sanchez, loves his profession, but more importantly, just how vital effective technical support is to any company or organization. And because of Sanchez's undoubted enthusiasm for delivering high quality support, plus his tips, advice and practical insights into the different aspects of support, which means readers of his book too can learn how to succeed in a technical support role.