Helpware CX

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner of a single person consulting firm that provides business strategy services relating to digital transformation and business transformation, which includes executive level coaching as well as project management and strategy development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Helpware?

As a single person firm with a broad spectrum of services much of our work is bespoke and I needed help with my back office administration and internal support services such as web design and presentation development as well as the delivery of client services. This scope has grown as my Helpware team (I hired one person, but have three working with me on a regular basis, not including the staff augmentation specialists that we bring on board, such as graphic designers) has proven itself.

What were your goals for this project?

Simply my goal was to off-load work that I do not need to perform myself, but this has transformed into building my whole business around their support. I can focus on building my business and not performing the back-office activities. The goal has transformed from supporting my business to generating value for my clients through this partnership.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I evaluated several vendors and based upon cost to value ratio, I felt this was the best option. What blew me away was that I was talking with the customer success manager and not a sales team. I always hated being handed off from sales to account management. In talking with the head of Customer Success, I was able to have my questions about business processes addressed in the initial conversation.

Describe the project in detail.

They have help me design and build my complete new brand design and collateral. Also working on our social media campaigns and larger marketing strategy. We did this while also formalizing the process and will be rolling out a digital agency solution to our clients as a result. Along with other critical partnering tactics I am building my business around their support. They are open to working with me and really understand that as I grow, they will grow, too.

What was the team composition?

We have an associate assigned to us, plus a customer success manager and a project manager. I am in touch with the head of customer success as well on a regular basis, and we all work together. While only the single resource I have contracted is dedicated to me, I have full access to the other two resources as project requirements require. Additionally, as we need resource, we bring them on board on a gig basis.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

I have been able to re-brand and build marketing materials as well as develop new services to bring to market. The current goals have obviously expanded in scope from the original, but that is due to the level of support and capability of my Helpware team.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

As I mentioned there are multiple levels of oversight with the ability for constant feedback.. Helpware has their own project tools, into which I have full visibility and in fact am held accountable by the team when I need to be. We are truly a team.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I can ask for assistance and if they can provide it they will. I had a need for a client and I did not have the time to fit it into my schedule, and My Team was able to pull someone in to help out so we could secure the gig. I won, Helpware won, and most importantly, my client won! They are responsive and attentive. They understand how to make this work.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There are always areas for improvement, but when I bring up my concerns they are addressed immediately, which is the key. Obstacles are a part of life, the question is what we do with them. My Team understands what to do with them and we work together to make sure we get it done.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of investment banking at a financial services company. We’re in the healthcare services space.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Helpware?

My company didn’t have enough time or resources to do market research or financial analysis. We were looking for a company to provide outsourced workforce solutions. Our main goals were to dive into sectors quickly, react to conversations in our line of work, and pivot on the areas that would be new to our focus. We hoped to instill the processes and knowledge of the US healthcare space upon this outsourcing partner. We also needed help with platform and CRM administration, as those are not core competencies of ours.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

My team finds sectors that we want to drill down into so that we can understand operators and themes within that space. We provide an overall directive to Helpware’s research team. Two parties within that team have financial backgrounds, and they do deep dives into sectors mostly within the US healthcare market. They research the players and drivers within any of the industries or themes we ask them to. Helpware also administers our CRM.

What is the team composition?

We’ve had several points of contact, from the management level down to people we’re in contact with daily and who we now consider part of our company. We engage with upper-level management, managers, and then the actual employees that are part of our everyday team.

How did you come to work with Helpware?

My company had previously used a remote workforce when we were growing and wanted to look at ways of augmenting our staff while keeping the engine running 24 hours a day. I can’t recall exactly how we came upon Helpware, but it was through researching the remote workforce space. 

We had a pretty thorough vetting process and ultimately selected Helpware. We started with one group on the research side, expanded that group, and then added the CRM administration function as well. 

How much have you invested with them?

We probably spend around $60,000–$70,000 annually.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our work together began over two years ago, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

I would say the success has been on all fronts. When we began the engagement, we weren’t sure how well that an operation in Kiev, Ukraine would understand the US healthcare space; however, we’ve evolved in such a way that today, they can take a topic and research it without any handholding. 

We envisioned being one group, and we’ve achieved that. We’re constantly working together and thinking of ways that we can expand the relationship. For instance, we approached them about CRM administration, which isn’t a core competency of ours but is very important to our business. We asked if they’d be able to find a candidate who could teach us best uses and practices, and they were able to. Helpware helps us in areas we don’t know much about. It’s been a beneficial relationship.

How did Helpware perform from a project management standpoint?

I mostly oversee the CRM administration side, while my team’s analysts are in daily communication with the research group. We use email, phone, Slack, and Zoom to communicate. We try to stay connected with teleconferencing. I have bi-weekly calls with managers and upper-level management. 

We utilize a model where their analysts and administrators run the same schedule that we do. They’re six hours ahead of us, so we augment that. We’ve been tweaking that model to not only see what’s best for our group here in the US, but also what’s best for morale in Ukraine. That plan has evolved over time.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

What’s been impressive is their desire to become better and make us better. They’re always looking for improvements and ways to refine the process that we have or could have in place. We’re evolving together and have been since the inception of our relationship.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think so. I think they’d probably be harder on themselves than we would. This isn’t a stagnant relationship, where we go off for two weeks and then come back; Helpware is a part of our team on a daily basis, and we’re in constant contact. For what we were looking for in a partner, they’ve exceeded expectations. 

Any advice for potential customers?

Develop a game plan and be open to what motivates remote staff. Also, be upfront about what you’re looking for or what you think you’re looking for. Helpware has identified those areas for us.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

ONEHOPE Wine, Customer Service Manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Helpware?

Our company hired HelpWare to help us with overseas staffing.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goals were to partner with HelpWare to develop confident and knowledgable employees overseas. Our goal in selecting overseas employees is to provide longer hours of Customer Support as well as coverage over USA holidays.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

HelpWare was selected based on personal recommendation and online reviews.

Describe the project in detail.

We work with HelpWare on a weekly basis discussing how our employees are doing. We work on team standards as well as goals. HelpWare has trained the employees in English proficiency as well as overall effective communication.

What was the team composition?

We have had contact with a USA based employee, Trenton. He manages our contracts and performs HR responsibilities. We also have a project manager, Gama, based out of Manila. Gama leads our weekly meetings and serves as our primary point of contact. We also work with Yehor who works with our team in their office in Kiev. Yehor is the onsite manager for the team. Finally, we have had the privilege of working with Alex, one of the founds of the company.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Within 8 months of hiring three new employees, we have seen our team grow exponentially in efficiency and productivity. Our Missed Phone calls went from 60% to 2% and our First Email Response Time went from 15 hours to under an hour.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow has been so smooth! You would almost think that the employees were sitting across from me in my office rather than thousands of miles away overseas. Gama and Yehor have been effective and clear communicators as well as the actual employees.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I have been extremely impressed that HelpWare is constantly looking out for our company's best interest. If we have an employee who is sick or on vacation, they offer a back up employee. HelpWare also works around USA holidays and will even have the Kiev employees work during their own holidays if it benefits us. HelpWare is customer-focused and I am so glad we are their customer. Though, it feels like a wonderful partnership.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I think communication can always be worked on. Working with a team in three different countries and three different languages can be difficult but HelpWare is doing a great job.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a luxury candy company, both B2C and B2B. I'm the customer experience manager, so any customer complaints or anything customer-facing is under my jurisdiction. My team handles all customer interactions for the company, mostly through e-commerce, but occasionally for our retail stores as well.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Helpware?

We wanted extra customer service support for our busy holiday season, so we hired two reps to help with that. Because we're a candy company that focuses a lot on gifting, our busy season tends to fall around the holidays, starting in October and going through Mother's Day. We only have two internal reps, and they were having difficulty managing all of the customer requests we were receiving, over phone, email, and chat. The volume was extremely high, and customers were waiting longer than we would like them to in order to get a response. We thought that adding on the two extra reps would alleviate this issue.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to improve our response times for customers, while still providing them with exceptional service.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We had actually selected this vendor prior to when I started this role, but I believe the price was one of the biggest factors. We also wanted a company that would have a thorough but speedy onboarding process, in order to quickly prepare for the upcoming holiday season. We hadn't used a company like them in the past, but the co-founder of the company (who was overseeing the customer experience team at the time), as well as the finance team,  were involved in the selection process, in addition to the CX manager at the time.

Describe the project in detail.

We originally had two CX reps from Helpware, but our volume of requests greatly decreased after the major holidays, so we then dropped down to one CX rep. These reps originally had a set schedule that was the same every week, but we decided to change their schedule based on volumes around smaller holidays and weekends. Every week could be a bit different, and Helpware has been great at ensuring we got the flexibility we needed. As far as training, the CX team on my side worked with the Helpware team to develop a comprehensive training guide that they could distribute to their reps. We're billed on a monthly basis.

What was the team composition?

We work with a team of three people from Helpware in addition to the CX reps themselves. There's our account manager, who's based in the US, and then there are a couple of people on the outsourced side who speak with the rep directly and manage his operations. They’ve had some personnel changes over the course of our partnership. The account manager who spoke directly with us changed a couple of months ago, and the managers on the outsourced end have also changed a couple of times.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

It's really great to have weekend and early morning coverage, which we wouldn't have if we didn't work with Helpware. Additionally, although our volumes are currently lower, knowing that we have someone monitoring our emails allows us to work on other projects or things that might come up throughout the day. Also, if someone on our in-house team is on vacation or out of the office, it's great to know that we have the option to bring an additional CX rep on for the day, so it doesn't impact response times.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We hold Skype calls twice a month that include me, the director of customer success, and the two account managers in the international office who have direct communication with the CX rep. These allow us to discuss any issues that have arisen over the past couple weeks, any new updates that they should know about, or improvements that need to be made. After the meeting, the director of customer success also sends out notes from the meeting so that we're all on the same page.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

If there is a problem, they will try their best to fix it right away. They'll also keep me updated on any improvements that need to be made, and the progress that's happening, so I know they're constantly working on fixing problems.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I would love to see any issues get resolved more quickly. For example, the speed of our CX agent is a bit slow at the moment, so I would like the improvement to happen faster, instead of over a few months.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Our company uses computer vision and machine learning to deliver advanced analytics to professional and college sports teams.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Helpware?

We need large volumes of images to be annotated accurately to train our computer vision models. This includes bounding boxes around players and labeling them based on specific instructions.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to ramp our image annotation capacity up and down quickly without impacting the rest of our business.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We considered six vendors and asked each to annotate a sample of frames. We then selected Helpware based on their accuracy and turnaround time, and their team's responsiveness and understanding of our needs.

Helpware distinguished themselves by going above and beyond to make the project go smoothly. Other vendors asked us to change our processes to match theirs, but Helpware made sure to find a process that would make it as easy for us as possible to work with them.

Describe the project in detail.

We provided thousands of images to be annotated, along with instructions. From there, Helpware adjusted its internal tools so that their team could annotate our images as efficiently and accurately as possible. The Helpware team got on a call with us to review the process and ensure the work was done according to our instructions. They implemented a solid QA process based on our feedback. The work was returned to us on time, and the team was quick to correct any issues.

What was the team composition?

I deal mainly with a customer success manager, who then manages everything on the Helpware side. They also have project managers and developers on their side helping out with this project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We've improved our models on two sports thanks to their help. One key is that they enable us to ramp our annotation capacity up and down without losing focus on our core business. The quality of their work is also key. In our business, feeding bad data into a model is worse than not feeding any data at all. They're providing high-quality images that are as good, if not better, than what we could have done in-house, without requiring us to hire any additional staff. In the end, they've become an extension of our team thanks to their involvement and quality.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We communicate by email and Slack. Their team is extremely responsive to our questions and feedback and provides updates proactively. Their customer service has made the process as easy and smooth as possible for us.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their service has been excellent. Other vendors made it hard for us to send them work, asking us to develop tools or do all of the QA for them. With Helpware, we can Slack instructions and images and we know that the team will take care of loading those into their system, adjusting the instructions to make sure they are foolproof, running some examples by us to make sure they've captured everything, and above all implementing their own QA to ensure what we receive can be fed directly into our models with minimal involvement from our team.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, we’re very satisfied.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I manage all the departments of an online rental company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Helpware?

We needed help with processing orders as well as answering chats, phone calls, and emails.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to increase our hours of operation and free up our in-house staff for other projects. As a small, rapidly growing company, we don't have a lot of automated processes.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We checked out a couple of companies online.

Describe the project in detail.

Helpware was able to help us with the manual processes like sending emails, working with our shipping partners, and following up with customers.

What was the team composition?

With our business model, it made more sense to have a dedicated Helpware representative rather than a pay-per-ticket model.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The Helpware team fit seamlessly with ours. The in-house team could pick up where the Helpware representative left off and vice versa.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We used Slack regularly to keep each other informed of what was happening and build working relationships. The Helpware team was included in all of our team meetings. I found that my staff treated them exactly the same as if they were sitting in the same room.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We were impressed with the training and response time. They made quick, insightful decisions. This allowed us to empower them to solve customer problems immediately.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, nothing comes to mind.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the customer experience manager for Dastmalchi. We own multiple brands for beauty, wellness, and lifestyle products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Helpware?

We engaged Helpware to provide customer support services. We specifically needed help tackling a large volume of customer inquiries that was growing every week, and we lacked the resources to conduct support in-house.

What were your goals for this project?

Our lengthy response times to customer inquiries made it hard to conduct marketing initiatives on social media—our primary driver for traffic and campaign revenue. We wanted Helpware to help us handle all customer interactions on each channel in a reasonable amount of time. We needed people to learn our products, take calls, answer emails, manage social media requests and online reviews, process replacement orders and refunds, and troubleshoot products. 

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We found Helpware through a personal recommendation from our CEO, who knew someone tied to the company.

Describe the project in detail.

Helpware started by addressing incoming requests we had. The team also built dedicated tasks within team roles to keep order for us. Their agents then took on responsibilities such as responding to our high volume of incoming support tickets via email, answering incoming calls for over five brands, and handle customer service requests from multiple channels, such as retail, wholesale, and marketplaces.

They also track and report product defects to our product development team and respond to disputes across five payment gateways to avoid chargeback fees and fight fraud. Their agents log specific actions—including refunds and updated SKUs (stock keeping units) to change orders manually—in NetSuite, ensuring data integrity in inventory and accounting. In addition, Helpware notifies the appropriate teams to update the website, product packaging, marketing materials, and other elements to preserve and benefit the customer experience.

Zendesk, Shopify integrations, NetSuite, Gorgias, Slack, and Aircall help streamline our day-to-day functions. We also interact with PayPal, Amazon Pay, Stripe, FedEx, and Shipwire to manage logistics.

What was the team composition?

We first worked with two customer service people who performed a variety of tasks to manage customer interactions and satisfaction. Once the project got underway, we added more Helpware agents to assist our efforts.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Within three months, our first reply times went down from days or weeks to mere minutes, and our total resolution times are down to just over an hour. Helpware also keeps five payment gateways from getting suspended by addressing fraud and chargeback fees. Their team handles any responsibility we throw at them. Thanks to their internal procedures, constant coaching, and overall productivity, Helpware reliably produces high-quality and detailed work.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Strong communication is a key characteristic of Helpware. In any case that lacks instructions, clear expectations, or procedures to follow, their team uses common sense and determination to deliver the best outcome possible. When an urgent problem arises that may damage our company, they alert us right away so we can take action. Otherwise, Helpware operates independently and continues to improve our positioning. We can trust them to handle our customer service side without much activity on our part.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Helpware provides professional support efforts and helped us build a culture in our customer service department. Their passion, integrity, and eagerness are infectious, and they’ve helped us build out a team with processes and roles. Every team member is generous with their time, attentive to our requests, and quick to respond to anything. They take great pride in their work.

Are there any areas for improvement?

They can keep us more accountable for responsibilities held by our side, but we’re otherwise thrilled with our collaboration.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the author of Breakthrough and the CEO of SD Media Holdings. We provide a combination of media content for entrepreneurs who want to launch, grow, or scale their company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Helpware?

I needed help with marketing coordination, and that eventually extended to social media management.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Helpware collaborated on a content strategy and style guide, and they now create and manage a content calendar. They take the content I’ve created and edit it to be more professional and match my style guide before posting it.

What is the team composition? 

They have six people on their team: an account manager, project manager, creative manager, and three content production people.

How did you come to work with Helpware?

I’d worked with Helpware’s co-founder in the past and trusted him. We started with one project and have expanded.

How much have you invested with them?

I’ve spent over $60,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We partnered in October 2018, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

I had a significant increase in my followers, but even more important was that my engagement with them increased. The visual elements of my social media posts are now more consistent because of the style guide.
 
How did Helpware perform from a project management standpoint?

They have the best project management of any team I’ve ever worked with. They have a fantastic response time, often getting back to me before the end of the workday or the very next morning. We have regular meetings, often over video conference.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their project management is fantastic, and they proactively schedule meetings to keep everyone on the same page. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. I used to not like that their team was global, but it gives me 24/7 coverage, which I appreciate.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Be clear about what you need and how you'll evaluate success. If you communicate clearly, you’ll start off on the right foot.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm an assistant national sales manager at Squadlocker. We make custom apparel.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Helpware?

Our chat services are for everyone who has a question or a problem with their order, but we also build online stores for teams. We were suddenly getting an influx of chat and we wanted to make sure we responded within a certain amount of time. We were looking to outsource a vendor to help us with React and outbound chats.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They've been using Intercom, which is an online chat service, and then, we switched to Zendesk, which allows us to track tickets and have a lot more reportable data. They're also using our custom software, which is a SquadLocker platform. In addition, their design team is using Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and Adobe Lightroom to help us build online stores.

What is the team composition?

I usually work with Angelica, who is our team leader.

How did you come to work with Helpware?

Our CTO found them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in September 2016 and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

They're a driving factor behind our ratings. Their team members have been very understanding and easy to work with. Also, they're very flexible and accommodating. There was one team member whose level of English wasn't sufficient to work with chats, so Helpware reassigned her to a different project and gave us someone else.

How did Helpware perform from a project management standpoint?

We mostly use Slack to communicate and we haven't had any issues.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We're impressed with their empathy. They're dedicated to working with each individual customer. It's not like working with a robot that manages an overseas service center. They're targeting human beings with feelings and they're there to help our customers. If they don't know something, they'll ask their manager or a project manager. Their customer service is impeccable.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

When we were given the option to interview some of the candidates for the position, we got the videos of them telling us about themselves. Since the videos were pre-recorded, we couldn't get a real feel for their grasp of the English language. A better vetting process on their English as a second language would be helpful, but we successfully overcame the language barrier.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Ask for Angelica. She's amazing.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm an associate director of product at a digital advertising technology company. I work with business partners to develop advertising that helps our customers in search, social, display, and video channels.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Helpware?

We needed help implementing some of our projects and making our digital marketing campaigns more efficient to run.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They implement some of our ad-hoc projects relating to setting up advertising accounts, including Bing, DoubleClick, Facebook, Google Ads, Google Analytics, and Google Tag Manager. I give them instructional videos and our release requirements, and, after that, they implement the projects. We also have recurring monthly projects where they help us get data from websites to be used in advertising.

What is the team composition?

We usually work with 4–6 members of their team, in addition to a project manager.

How did you come to work with Helpware?

We acquired a company that had a prior relationship with Helpware, so we continued that relationship. We changed some of the technologies, but, overall, it was a very smooth transition.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent between $50,000–$100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in January 2018 and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

They help us reach our business goals. Every single project that we've given them they've completed on time and without critical errors.

How did Helpware perform from a project management standpoint?

They're very thorough and responsible. They always make sure they understand the scope of the project and our guidelines, so we haven't had any issues with communication. We mostly use Slack to stay in touch.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're always there for us. They take on tasks that might be mundane, but they execute well and never complain. Also, their rates are very reasonable.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear about your expectations, the timeline, and the scope of work.