Manager Technical Support

Nikita Blair (C) 214-***-**** **********@*****.*** Plano, Texas

Sr Service Desk & Technical Support Manager

Specializing in Team Management, Training & Development, and Customer Resolutions

Highly experienced Technical Support Manager with over 20+ years of experience supervising teams of up to 40+ technical support representatives, recognized for consistently delivering excellent services to customers, delivering new training models, and creating process improvements. Delivers a focus on the integrated customer experience, coaching teams on best practices for customer satisfaction. Acknowledged as an individual who has built effective service delivery procedures and solutions to meet changing business challenges. An effective, process-oriented team manager that understands the mission critical focus to provide measurable results.

Team Management • Technical Support • Vendor Relationships • Training / Development • Work Flow Management

Production Support • Helpdesk Management • Process Improvements • Metrics • Performance Improvements

Project Management • Ticket Escalations / Resolutions • Onsite and Offsite Team Management • ITIL

Career Highlights

Team Management: Supervised up to 17+ people in 24/7 Operation center environment, supporting a variety of technical requirements including POS software, iTunes support, Production support, Network and Server monitoring.

Training / Development: Conceived, developed, and implemented new cross-departmental training programs, addressing key issues and maintaining 90%+ customer resolution rate while increasing team communications.

Vendor Relationships: Managed a vendor relationship with IBM regarding billing for time and material calls. Collaborated to save the company over $105,000 dollars per quarter in billing costs from IBM.

Professional Overview

Senior Manager, IT Infrastructure Support ê Epsilon August 2015 – August 2016

Responsible for management, supervision, and organization of the Operations Management functional area to provide operational support of systems and services in order to meet or exceed agreed services levels. Ensured that the Operations Center is operating with the Incident Management, Capacity Management, and Request Fulfillment processes. This includes key services areas of Event Management and Operation Center Support.

Selected Contributions:

Oversee operational activities and services and proactively identifies and implement service improvements within the Operation Center.

Provides leadership and counsel to Operations staff to develop and meet goals and strategies.

Develops internal processes and procedures to enhance operational effectiveness based on industry best practices creating and maintaining and operational center of excellence.

Ensure all incidents and request are processed using documented processes and adhere to SLA/OLA obtainment.

Provides service reports on network operation performance, capacity, and quality with proactive improvements recommendations.

Ensure service continuity plans are compatible with operational delivery center operations. Ensure that plans are tested on a regular basis.

Review and analyze all Operations management tool sets for best of bread environmental event management.

Dealt with several initiatives that impacted multiple LOBs

Production Support Manager / Situation Manager ê JC Penney Company January 2014 – March 2015

Planned, developed, and disseminated recommendations and action plans to address improvement/training opportunities within the Production Support department. Established work flows for teams and provided recommendations for process improvements. Engaged and fostered a team-driven atmosphere across various business sectors including: Application Development, Production Support Network, Production Support Server, and Production Support Store System.

Selected Contributions:

Successfully minimized business impacts to the business and/or customers through proactively and preemptively addressing issues of concern. Interfaced and communicated with senior management, setting up bridge calls to ensure all required teams were engaged and ready.

Implemented a cross-departmental training program that reduced the number of escalated tickets by 10+/month.

Achieved a 92% customer resolution rate, maintaining and/or exceeding this departmental core metrics.

Sent hourly notifications to senior management and to business stakeholders.

Led discussion on the bridge call to ensure a quick/speedy resolution and assisted in monitoring high tickets to help avoid tickets from becoming critical situations the would result in major impacts to the business or customers.

Managed key project and made recommendations on how to reduce costs by attempting more in-house. Set up training to minimize the number of tickets open for vendor service.

Service Desk Liaison Manager (contractor)ê CompuCom Systems, Inc. August 2013 – November 2013

Directed, executed, and implemented the setup for the new outsourced Associa service desk to CompuCom Systems service desk in order to support Associa’s level one calls. Interviewed agents, scheduled planning based on potential business needs, and prepared documentation. Selected Contributions:

Delivered staff training to impart key business / tech support best practices and improve employee efficiency.

Created, entered, and uploaded knowledge articles in the knowledge tool.

Directed a daily discovery meeting with client to review key metrics and identify discrepancies in clients’ knowledge transfer.

Director IT Service Desk ê Associa June 2010 – July 2013

Provide daily supervision and promote the development of 15 plus Technical Support Agent (6 onsite agents and 9 Network Administrators) remotely across the country. Managed, trained, and coached contractor-based Citrix Helpdesk team, developing strategies too covert the web based helpdesk into a direct dial-in for end users. Led outsourcing project, including creating graphs and cost-savings reports for the CIO to analyze and approve. Selected Contributions:

Led a team composed of both onsite employees and remote employees across the country. Created a service desk that took on more responsibilities, meeting and/or exceeding all SLA metrics.

Partnered with other departments to develop, prepare, and conduct formal training for new and existing service desk specialists.

Generated reports to track service, quality, employee performance, and productivity goals within the service desk team. Identified, researched, and troubleshooted performance challenges and deficits.

Coached and developed service desk staff based on monitoring and audit results.

Reviewed established work flows and provided recommendations for process improvements. Developed recommendations / action plans to address opportunities within quality and training department and leadership.

Volt Services: IT Call Center Manager ê iPhone Technical Center, Apple Inc. September 2008 – February 2010

Provided daily supervision and promoted the development of 48 Technical Support Agents for an Apples iTunes Call Center. Met overall monitoring goals while managing teams to deliver on performance goals while adhering to company policies and procedures. Hired, trained, and coached new team members. Selected Contributions:

Developed and implemented best practice methodologies to accelerate performance goals for 40+ staff.

Assisted in the performance of both HR and Administrative requirements.

Defined and delivered goals and expectations for direct reports; monitoring completion of training requirements and created a new internal training program for the contractors.

Measured and reported attainment of goals to leadership and stakeholders.

Manager IT Help Deskê Blockbuster Entertainment December 1985- August 2008

Supervised 50+ people (16 direct), in a 24/7 helpdesk supporting POS hardware/software in 5000+ retail locations. Developed, directed, and led technical team, supervisee team of technicians including: interviews/selection, development, coaching, motivating, rewarding, counseling, and corrective action in accordance with company culture and practices.

Selected Contributions:

Directed project management for call center implementation: developed and managed 8-member temporary call center supporting Customer Hiring Terminal replacement project for all retail locations. Developed metrics reporting for this project as well as ongoing departmental metrics. Delivered process and procedure creation for the internal SOP manual of the Retail Help Desk.

Developed a Q&A department to monitor, evaluate, and review 50+ analysts on a monthly basis.

Acted as a liaison between various IT departments and service vendors resolving service issues performed by outside vendors including Compaq, IBM, Datatec, Crosscom, Hewlett Packard and Tally.

Involved in an Speed-of-Service upgrade task force assigned to upgrade back office computer equipment in 2000+ retail locations in twelve weeks; supervised the project during late night installations.

Spent the first 7 years as an IT helpdesk technician. Troubleshooting computers, printers, electronic cash drawers, scanner guns, MicroVAX system and a host of other equipment.

Linebacker, Minnesota Vikings, National Football League July 1985- December 1985

Education & Professional Development

Bachelor of Science in Business Management

University of Texas at El Paso

Certificate for Management 101

Certificate for Coping with Difficult Customers

Certificate for Management skills for Managers and Supervisors

Certificate for Open VMS system and Network Management II

Certificate for Resolution and Confrontation Skills

Certification in ITIL Foundation

Technical Proficiencies

Service-Now, Remedy, CA Problem Management, Numara-Footprint, TCP/IP, Active Directory, Know-IT, Citrix

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