This document discusses the benefits and challenges of insourcing help desk resources to other teams within an organization. The Kroger Support Center provides tier 1 and 2 technical support for over 330,000 employees and manages over 1 million contacts annually. The support center has achieved metrics like 88% of issues resolved on first contact. Insourcing help desk resources can reduce project costs versus outside contractors, improve collaboration, provide career development opportunities, and increase job satisfaction through variety. However, insourcing also presents challenges like ensuring organizational maturity, defining eligible candidates, managing supply and demand for resources, and anticipating positive turnover.

1. Understanding the Benefits & Managing the
Inherent Challenges
Leslie Brooks
Director, Kroger Support Center

2. About our Help Desk
• Provide tier 1 & 2 technical support for over 330,000
enterprise Associates.
• Provide 24x7 support, managing over 1 million inbound and
300,000 outbound contacts per year.
• Two locations – Blue Ash, Ohio and Portland, Oregon
• 200+ Associates
Measure Goal Result
Resolved (or Dispatched) on 1st Contact >=65%/calls 88.42%
Adjusted Abandoned Rate(ABA) <=5% 4.17%
Average Speed of Answer (ASA) <=60 sec 74 sec
Customer Satisfaction 97% >=Satisfied 97.36%
(Represents current period metrics and performance)

3. 2012 Key Kroger Support Center
Strategies
• Understanding the “Customer”
• Metrics – “What is Good Enough?”
• Service Planning – A Process for Managing
Incoming Work
• Understanding the Difference between “Help
Desk” and “Escalation Team” Resources
• A New Paradigm – Insourcing
• Associate Career Path Planning
• Preparing for Positive Turnover

4. Insourcing – A New Paradigm
How Valuable Are Your Resources?
• Contracting agencies can cost over $75/hour for
certain IT positions.
• Help Desk Associates cost far less.
• Help Desk Associates are experienced.
• They have worked with many of the tools utilized by
the escalation teams.
• They understand the “culture”.
• More quickly trained and contributing to the projects.
• They interface with the escalation teams daily.

5. Insourcing – A New Paradigm
How Can You Maximize the Value of
Your Resources?
• Set up your Help Desk as a “resource pool”
for other areas of the organization.
• Loan out your resources.
• Define the timeframe of the engagement.
• Reduced cost for the first x months of the
engagement (until concept is proven).
• Full cost for remaining term, enabling your
organization to backfill.

6. Insourcing – The Advantages
What Are The Benefits?
• Improved Collaboration
• Enables escalation teams visibility to the
true talent within your team.
• Results in better communication across
various levels of support.
• Imbedded resources bring valuable
knowledge back to the team.
• Significant knowledge and documentation
improvements.

7. Insourcing – The Advantages
What Are The Benefits?
• Associate Development/Satisfaction
• Gives your Associates a chance to “experience”
roles prior to applying for open positions.
• Enables the development of career path
planning for interested Associates.
• Increased variety = increased job satisfaction.
• Cost Savings
• Utilizing Help Desk Associates can significantly
reduce the costs of project rollouts.

8. Case Study – Telecomm VoIP
Initiative
• Engaged by Telecommunications team to
provide resources for a VoIP project.
• Two resources required.
• 18 month engagement.
• Contracting firm quoted $85/hr.
• Total Estimated Cost of Resources:
• KSC - $156,000
• Contracting Firm - $534,000
• Total Project Savings - $378,000!

9. Insourcing – The Challenges
• Maturity
• Your organization MUST properly prepare for
this initiative.
• Do not roll out without proper planning.
• Training
• Your organization MUST have robust and rapid
training processes.
• “Pitching”
• Be prepared to provide data to your leadership
on the impact of the program.

10. Insourcing – The Challenges
• Eligible Candidates
• Not everyone is a viable candidate for this type of
initiative.
• Select high performers who can represent the
organization well.
• Full-time vs. contractor resources should be used
to avoid legal issues.
• “Selling”
• Identify escalation teams with headcount needs
and present the concept.
• Sell by providing no or reduced costs for a set term.

11. Insourcing – The Challenges
• Supply vs. Demand
• Once the process is proven, demand WILL
exceed supply.
• Forecast the number of resources your
organization can afford to supply.
• Stick to it and prepare to increase headcount if the
concept proves viable for your organization!
• Turnover
• Expect higher POSITIVE turnover as the
Associate value is realized.

12. In Summary
Many Benefits Mitigate Risks
• Improves collaboration • Ensure organizational
with escalation teams maturity
• Contributes to further • Pitching/Selling
Associate development • Define Eligibility
• Increases Associate • Demand WILL exceed
satisfaction Supply
• Exposes career
• Positive turnover will
opportunities
increase
• Reduced cost of high-
value projects

13. Questions?

14. Thank you…
Leslie Brooks
Director, Kroger Support Center
linkedin.com/pub/leslie-brooks/0/955/b34