Kimberly Krol Email & Phone Number

United States

As VP of Ops my role is to lead the Member facing services and the internal support teams to exceed Member expectations, achieve recurring revenue targets and improve internal workflows and processes.

55372

NOREX is a IT Peer Community. No Vendors. Ever.. We help each other solve problems, save time, and avoid costly mistakes via unlimited access to virtual and live Roundtable discussions, Member-contributed documents / templates, and personal resource assistance for help facilitating 1:1 networking and reaching out to the membership to find answers. All with NO vendor influence.

Minnesota, United States

I supported our customers and team members to achieve the following success and improve the customer experience.•Reduce call volume and wait time by 50 percent within first 90 days of hire through improved employee scheduling and restructuring via a shared leadership model.•Collaborate with IT leadership to increase efficiencies in processing client orders, thereby minimizing delivery delays.•Solicit regular feedback from Contact Center staff on customer pain points and scalable solutions to create delightful client experiences.•Execute the Guns.com Contact Center vision by hiring, training, and coaching full-time employees and contractors to provide positive customer experiences.•Establish a team lead reporting structure to capitalize on the deep experience of key employees and leverage their expertise as part of a shared leadership model.•Design a COVID safety plan for the return to the onsite work environment, ensuring the health and wellbeing of both vaccinated and unvaccinated employees.•Negotiate contracts with local staffing agencies in order to acquire a qualified and engaged workforce at equitable pay rates.•Deploy and enforce a robust return policy; provide coaching and support to workforce on navigating challenging situations related to this initiative.

Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

•Sustained Customer Support team momentum and morale through Illuminate Education's acquisition of FastBridge Learning.•Launched a company-wide Back-to-School Readiness team to identify and mitigate possible risks across business functions.•Contributed to the newly established Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion team.

Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

•Strengthened the customer experience by consolidating the Customer Support and Implementation teams into a collaborative business unit.•Increased customer retention by spearheading a cross-departmental review process to evaluate, prioritize, and resolve product defects.•Improved the user experience during peak testing periods by formulating a scalable model to support seasonality of the product.•Assembled a cohesive leadership team by collaborating with the directors of each department, resulting in open communication and better alignment across the business.•Designed specialized roles and responsibilities for Customer Support and Implementation teams for scalability as the company grew.•Formulated workflows and data tracking processes within the Implementation team to improve efficiencies and inform decisions.•Implemented processes and guidelines within teams to meet industry standards for monitoring and protecting student PII to maintain compliance of FERPA.•Led overall investigation of data security inquiries from customers, which resulted in a defined escalation process around student data and security.•Established measurable team metrics and key performance indicators that drive desired results.•Built reports and dashboards for tracking metrics and implementation activities for capacity planning and scaling.•Planned and implemented workflow automations to improve productivity.

Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

•Reduced average first response time from 767 hours to 2 hours through establishment and maintenance of internal service-level agreements (SLAs).•Maximized support team productivity via development of needed infrastructure, workflows, escalations, and specialized positions.•Delivered an improved user experience during peak periods of testing by partnering with Robert Half Talent Solutions to hire temporary employees to serve as Tier 1 support agents.•Enhanced the client self-service support offering by hiring an experienced technical writer to overhaul the existing Knowledge Base.•Implemented, collected, and evaluated metrics weekly and monthly for resource forecasting, monitoring customer service activities, and evaluating internal process needs to inform organizational decisions.•Created weekly and monthly reporting, dashboards, and analytics for tracking metrics to inform internal decisions on products and tools.•Obtained improved client satisfaction ratings by identifying skill gaps among support agents and providing internal training on the Freshdesk platform, tools, and communication skills.•Increased client retention by responding to escalations in a professional and effective manner.•Ensured educator success in Iowa by partnering with their Department of Education to develop their own customer support channel and Knowledge Base.

Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area

•Ensured client satisfaction during critical testing windows by executing a tactical plan for in-state support.•Collected and evaluated metrics on a regular basis to drive customer service activities, resource forecasting, and internal processes.•Ensured secure handling of summative testing details and adherence to FERPA and state-specific data privacy laws.•Developed and implemented policies for the department to meet company objectives and growth.•Enhanced employees' training and development plan for increased productivity and improved customer experience.•Developed emergency and disaster recovery program.•Improved talent development and increased employee retention.•Partnered with the management team to align customer service department policies and systems with the company's objectives.•Collected and evaluated metrics daily, weekly, and monthly for resource forecasting, monitoring of customer service activities, and evaluating of internal process needs.•Provided internal stakeholders (such as program management, TT, executive team) summary information regarding customer service metrics and key activities per client.

Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area

•Grow and develop support teams for scalability.•Further refined and improved process workflow.•Created, developed, and implemented new Field Systems Engineers position for new levels of support including onsite support.•Installed improved infrastructure including call center software and Service Cloud by Salesforce.•Implemented client survey processes and refinements.

Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area

Responsible for overseeing both the Customer Support Level 1 team (CS Representatives) and the Customer Support Level 2 team (Technical Support Representatives). The Customer Support team drives long term relationships with customers through superior work and professional representation of the company.•Develop and maintain coverage schedules for both CS Level 1 and CS Level 2 resources to ensure Service Level Agreements (internal and external) can be met for every incoming call.•Ensure appropriate development and maintenance of client-specific documentation.•Provide updated schedules of each project in order to ensure proper staffing and tools needed for quality customer service.•Collect and evaluate metrics daily, weekly, and monthly for resource forecasting, monitoring of customer service activities, and evaluating of internal process needs.•Provide internal stakeholders (such as program management, TT, executive team) summary information regarding customer service metrics and key activities per client.•Communicate cross-departmentally as needed to ensure resolution of customer service issues.•Answer calls, emails, and chat as needed from state personnel, district personnel, school personnel, and parents – ensure resolution of issues that do not require additional technical assistance.•Oversee training of CS staff on the programs, tools, and communication skills necessary for strong customer service.•Monitor and document all client communications utilizing Customer Service software.•Audit customer service calls for consistency and quality of responses.•Audit tickets to ensure standardized collection and documentation of needed information to best serve and support Questar clients.•Assist Program Management or other Customer Support staff with the resolution of concerns and/or testing issues.•Oversight of Benchmark Portal’s Certification of Excellence Program needs and maintenance requirements.

Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area

•Complete development, design and implementation of remote call center with staff of 8. Additional projects targeting large order tracking and outstanding lease business.•Created new process for supporting nontechnical products to improve efficiency and reduce costs. •Developed process to identify obstacles and assign ownership to individuals to bring installation process to a successful conclusion reducing the lease backlog of $50M by 86% resulting in implementation of solutions for $43M savings to the bottom line.•Coached and mentored employees through targeted training, enhanced responsibilities for individuals and creating informal leadership roles for career development and planning. •Conducted phone analysis to identify largest volumes and developed customized document sets streamline approval process for orders to improve installations and customer satisfaction. •Streamlined pre-approval process for orders by providing team based approach for immediate response, consistency and accuracy. •Built supportive, cohesive team to leverage skills and knowledge and improve employee engagement. •Partnered with programmer to develop MS Access database tool to track, manage, analyze outstanding equipment leases and new additions to assess roadblock and develop next steps. •Created national process to partner with all departments to troubleshoot and assign ownership of next steps to appropriate party in installation process. •Developed national reports identifying status of all open installations for executive team to manage finances and ensure federal compliance. •Developed national tracking tool for all Large Orders to ensure focus and visibility of critical business.•Lead national sales conference calls with key leaders to manage Large Orders.

Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area

•Led team of 12 technical professionals supporting 18 states at 14 sites who provide technical sales support for Systems products through the analysis and design of software-based solutions, application development & product integration.•Partnered with sales leadership at each site to create cohesive sales leadership team and provide continuity for each location. •Managed team to ensure linkage between our customers, the sales force and customer service. •Participated at marketing meetings to communicate corporate direction and team focus. •Coordinated and managed regional development meetings for employees to leverage skills and develop employees. •Continuous communication with the Sales organization, Pitney Bowes Systems engineers and other Customer Service Representatives, is essential. •Coached and led team to provide pre and post-sales support including product demonstrations, application feasibility studies and technical presentations to meet customer needs.

Portland, Oregon Area / Greater Minneapolis - St Paul, Minnesota Area

•Responsible for full line implementation, service, installation and support for captive products in 5 states.•Employee Development for team of 17 professionals; establish development plans; develop territories; prioritize assignments; set goals; arrange team schedules to maximize customer satisfaction. •Management of facility, inventory, financial responsibility for profit and expense control. •Increased revenues in Service Level Agreements, Billed Labor, Billed Parts and Professional Services exceeding 3 million with 2% growth in 2005 by partnering with sales and customers.•Successfully integrated team members from acquired company focusing on seamless transition for newly obtained Customers and motivating and directing subordinates. •Developed team of 13 Technicians and Authorized Service Provider for installation with a 95% rating of satisfied Customers. •Developed new launch process for training on OEM products.•Developed Systems Implementation Process for integration products to create a professional installation and partnership with Customers.•Maximized customer satisfaction by providing timely response to service needs; customer survey results of 94.8% rating of satisfied customers in 2005.•Proven ability at problem solving and arriving at effective solutions to solve difficult problems; involved in significant contract terms, conditions and pricing negotiations; personally responsible of generating multiple Customer orders exceeding $50,000 per transaction.•Manage field expenses, product maintenance, freight, travel expense, tools and all controllable expenditures not to exceed 98% in past 7 years.•Managed regional relationship with United States Postal Inspector.•Met postal regulations every year by Implementation of meter security; completion of annual and semi-annual meter inspections to meet USPS requirements.•Instrumental in the development of reports directed at driving national success for all service organizations.

Digital Electronics, Deans List

Course Work, Technical Management

Technical Business Management