Building and scaling a support team

Transcript

2. Jeff Gardner Director of Customer Support, Intercom @erskingardner
3. Building support
4. Scaling support
5. Why support
9. !"#$
11. Customer Support is a byproduct of building a business
12. Byproduct != Afterthought
15. Monthly conversations
16. Monthly conversations 204 - 7 per day
17. Monthly conversations 2014
18. Monthly conversations 2015
19. Monthly conversations 13,630 - 487 per day
20. Build
21. Define your support
24. Pricing matters
25. What’s your mission? i.e. Where are you going?
26. What are your values? i.e. How are you going to get there?
27. • Deliver WOW Through Service • Embrace and Drive Change • Create Fun and A Little Weirdness • Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded • Pursue Growth and Learning • Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication • Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit • Do More With Less • Be Passionate and Determined • Be Humble
28. • Deliver WOW Through Service • Embrace and Drive Change • Create Fun and A Little Weirdness • Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded • Pursue Growth and Learning • Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication • Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit • Do More With Less • Be Passionate and Determined • Be Humble
29. • Fanatical Support in all we do. • Results first, substance over flash. • Committed to Greatness • Full Disclosure and Transparency • Passion for our Work • Treat fellow Rackers like Friends and Family
30. • Fanatical Support in all we do. • Results first, substance over flash. • Committed to Greatness • Full Disclosure and Transparency • Passion for our Work • Treat fellow Rackers like Friends and Family
31. • Trustworthy • Loyal • Helpful • Courteous • Kind • Obedient • Cheerful • Thrifty • Brave • Clean • Revenant
32. • Trustworthy • Loyal • Helpful • Courteous • Kind • Obedient • Cheerful • Thrifty • Brave • Clean • Revenant
33. Our values
34. Our values • Be an owner
35. Our values • Be an owner • Thrive under pressure
36. Our values • Be an owner • Thrive under pressure • Connect personally with empathy
37. Our values • Be an owner • Thrive under pressure • Connect personally with empathy • Be proactive
38. Our values • Be an owner • Thrive under pressure • Connect personally with empathy • Be proactive • Be resourceful
39. Our values • Be an owner • Thrive under pressure • Connect personally with empathy • Be proactive • Be resourceful • Focus on fundamentals
40. Our values • Be an owner • Thrive under pressure • Connect personally with empathy • Be proactive • Be resourceful • Focus on fundamentals • Treat the problem, not the symptom
41. re:Build • Support should be the 2nd function that you nail after product. • Define your support • Pricing/COGS • Mission • Values
42. Scale
43. How to operate
44. Don’t be an alarmist ⏰
45. Do act as an umbrella ☔
46. Don’t just report issues ⚠
47. Do build social capital
48. Push hard, when needed
49. Do gather lots of data
51. Tracking feedback
52. Tracking feedback • Mutually exclusive,
 Collectively exhaustive
53. Tracking feedback • Mutually exclusive,
 Collectively exhaustive • Low mental overhead
54. Tracking feedback • Mutually exclusive,
 Collectively exhaustive • Low mental overhead • FAST!
55. Tracking feedback • Mutually exclusive,
 Collectively exhaustive • Low mental overhead • FAST! • Make it a game
57. Tracking bugs
58. Tracking bugs • The more technical your product, the more technical your support team should be.
59. Tracking bugs • The more technical your product, the more technical your support team should be. • Objective priority and frequency labels.
61. The benevolent double agent
62. Hiring
63. What to look for • Control quotient • Emotional intelligence (EQ) • Basic skills and behaviours • Advanced problem solving (IQ)
64. What to look for • Control quotient • Emotional intelligence (EQ) • Basic skills and behaviours • Advanced problem solving (IQ) 11.2% gain
65. What to look for • Control quotient • Emotional intelligence (EQ) • Basic skills and behaviours • Advanced problem solving (IQ) 11.2% gain 5.4% gain
66. What to look for • Control quotient • Emotional intelligence (EQ) • Basic skills and behaviours • Advanced problem solving (IQ) 11.2% gain 5.4% gain 5.1% gain
67. What to look for • Control quotient • Emotional intelligence (EQ) • Basic skills and behaviours • Advanced problem solving (IQ) 11.2% gain 5.4% gain 5.1% gain 3.6% gain
68. Control quotient
69. Control quotient • Resilient
70. Control quotient • Resilient • Able to handle high-pressure situations without becoming burned out
71. Control quotient • Resilient • Able to handle high-pressure situations without becoming burned out • Takes responsibility for own actions
72. Control quotient • Resilient • Able to handle high-pressure situations without becoming burned out • Takes responsibility for own actions • Responds well to constructive criticism by managers
73. Control quotient • Resilient • Able to handle high-pressure situations without becoming burned out • Takes responsibility for own actions • Responds well to constructive criticism by managers • Able to concentrate on tasks over extended periods of time
74. Control quotient • Resilient • Able to handle high-pressure situations without becoming burned out • Takes responsibility for own actions • Responds well to constructive criticism by managers • Able to concentrate on tasks over extended periods of time • Positive attitude in the face of hardship
75. Our hiring process
76. Our hiring process • Pre-screen via email
77. Our hiring process • Pre-screen via email • Phone screen
78. Our hiring process • Pre-screen via email • Phone screen • Second phone screen
79. Our hiring process • Pre-screen via email • Phone screen • Second phone screen • In-house interview or Phone interview
80. Our hiring process • Pre-screen via email • Phone screen • Second phone screen • In-house interview or Phone interview • De-brief
81. Grow your team
82. Grow your team • Expect that you’ll be hiring mostly junior people.
83. Grow your team • Expect that you’ll be hiring mostly junior people. • Ensure their career growth is front and center.
84. Grow your team • Expect that you’ll be hiring mostly junior people. • Ensure their career growth is front and center. • That often will mean leaving Support for another function.
85. Grow your team • Expect that you’ll be hiring mostly junior people. • Ensure their career growth is front and center. • That often will mean leaving Support for another function. • This is a good thing – they become support emissaries across the company.
86. re:Scale • Be a good citizen • Track feedback and bugs religiously • Build a team, using your values. • Help them grow. • Profit
87. Jeff Gardner Director of Customer Support, Intercom @erskingardner