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Q:  Should you create a separate group to provide 'premier level' support?
 
Complete Question
We're trying to decide how to provide the "expert" level of service that our channel partners are requesting of us. These partners have a higher level of technical expertise than our typical end-user customers (we provide support to both). They don't like going through our 'front line'...they just want to talk to the senior techs. Also, they may be working at a customer site and need immediate assistance. So they can't wait for an expert to call them back hours later. These channel partners are asking us to set up a separate group of senior techs and dedicate them to the channel. It sounds like a good idea, but what would be the management challenges of doing that?
 
First of all, I want to say that some companies do exactly what you are considering and they are able to make it work well. So it's not unreasonable to consider that model. However, separating the channel calls (or any category of calls for that matter) and dedicating a separate group to those calls will definitely increase your support costs. It may also be more difficult to meet your service level targets. It's important to understand the potential cost or service impact of the change before you decide.
 
The challenge, simply stated, will be to balance performance and the cost of that performance. What I mean by the 'balance' issue is what I've often described as the 'teeter-totter' of service level versus staff utilization. You can't raise one without lowering the other (unless you change average handle time...and that's a different discussion). The larger the support group (and the volume of work they handle), the easier it is to balance those two factors. Small groups, on the other hand, with low call volume and/or long handle times are particularly susceptible to the phenomenon. It is very difficult to provide consistent service and still achieve reasonable levels of staff utilization. So, you will either end up with long hold times (slow response times) or very low staff utilization...and possibly both. Low staff utilization translates to increased costs.
 
It is very important to understand that splitting off a small support group doesn't just mean you have one small expensive group (the new one). You've reduced the size of the original group and that means their performance will suffer as well. By siphoning off some calls and routing them to the new group, you reduce the staffing necessary (and justified) in the original group. The original group is now smaller and handling a lower volume...so it suffers the same challenges (but probably to a lesser degree)!
 
Essentially you have created a "sorting model" (see my book for more details) and, in a sorting model, it takes more staff overall to deliver the same level of service. When you increase the number of queues/groups, it is impossible to deliver the same level of service with the same level of effort or staffing. By increasing the required staffing, but not the workload (we're just re-allocating it, right?) ...you decrease overall staff utilization. It's this decreased utilization that results in the need to increase headcount and therefore increases your costs. So, understand that's what you're doing and estimate the overall operating increase before you finalize your decision.