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Arkadin Global Conferencing

How to EnterCompany: Arkadin Global Conferencing,New York, NY
Entry Submitted By: McCormick PR
Company Description: Arkadin is a global Collaboration Service Provider, offering audio, web and video conferencing solutions. Founded in 2001 in Paris, Arkadin has 46 operating centres in 27 countries throughout Asia, Europe, Middle East, Africa and North America, offering a full suite of remote collaboration solutions. Arkadin's global HQ is in Paris. Its North American operations are based in New York.
Nomination Category: Customer Service Awards Department Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Customer Service Department of the Year - Telecommunications

Nomination Title: Arkadin Global Conferencing

Tell the story about what this nominated department achieved since the beginning of July 2010 (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

Upon launching the Paris-based Collaboration Service Provider (CSP) in 2001,
Arkadin’s co-founders set to differentiate through exceptional customer
service at the local level. The strategy paid off. They are now present in
45 cities in 27 countries and one of the largest and fastest growing CSPs
globally.

Recently, Arkadin set to expand in North America, building sales and customer
support teams in key markets. Rapid demand for their audio and conferencing
services challenged Arkadin’s customer service team to maintain high levels of
satisfaction. With the economic uncertainties, staffing didn’t keep pace with
growth so the team needed to do more with fewer resources.

To ensure the most efficient use of resources in meeting their goals, the
Client Care team surveyed customers and the sales department to determine
attitudes about their quality and service. The data was crucial for developing
the department’s strategy and measuring progress.

During the 2010/2011 period, organizational and process improvements drove
higher customer service levels that resulted in significantly greater
retention levels and lower churn – key drivers for growth. Key initiatives:

• Created account reviews for Account Services Team to measure performance and
find new revenue opportunities. This nimble 4-person team saw call volumes
double since July 2010. Without any staff increases the 4-person team handled
over 80,000 queries and were successful in significantly improving customer
support metrics while exceeding revenue goals. Details below:

** Exceeded targets for client revenue growth by 107%.

** Reduced call wait times by 20% to an average of 13.5 seconds.

** Increased new account provisioning by 17%. Client satisfaction scores
showed nearly 100% of respondents were extremely satisfied with their service,
up from 85% in the prior period.

** Drove consistently higher satisfaction scores for Web Events
(webcasts) servicing. In spite of the rising technical complexity of new
webcast offerings and significantly higher sales volumes, the team’s customer
satisfaction score was 100% in July and August 2011 compared to 90% in
February 2011.

• Opened a sales office in Montreal to handle surging growth in Canada, which
is now 15% of inquiries.

• Streamlined remote support operations. Having struggled to find high
caliber French language technical talent in Canada, all North American support
operations were consolidated in Columbus, Ohio, saving on recruitment and
training costs.

• Introduced a Service Relationship Manager (SRM) for a dedicated single point
of contact to subscribed customers. SRMs are tasked with cultivating highly
personalized service by developing an in-depth understanding of customer
needs. The SRM has frequent contact with customers, proactively notifying them
of anything that may impact the service they receive.

• Created an Incident and Quality Analyst, a level 2 support role for
troubleshooting technical issues. This person works cross-functionally with
customers, internal Operations, sales, and Client Care teams to resolve
customer issues quickly and efficiently. Excellent skills are a core
requirement for handling 50+ support needs monthly, building a trusting and
supportive relationship with clients.

List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:


Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader(s) of the nominated customer service organization:

Eric Sorenson is Director of Client Care, responsible for delivering excellent
local support for Arkadin’s North American operations. Client Care is core to
Arkadin’s philosophy and a clear differentiator in the marketplace.

Eric’s leadership, strategic initiatives and team building have resulted in
extremely high quality of service metrics for the Client Care team. His team
has often reached 100% client satisfaction metrics.

His prior experience managing multiple support functions for a large US
Internet Service Provider equipped him well. Over 11 years, he built service
teams globally that improved efficiencies while enhancing the level of
customer support.