The scoreboard, and what is not on it. The hard targets, how often each is actually
looked at, and the quiet signals that never reach a dashboard.
Customer Retention Rate (Support-Influenced)
The percentage of customers we retain year-over-year, specifically attributing a portion to the quality of our support and service delivery.
Target · Increase by 5-10% annually If our overall retention is 90% and support-influenced factors account for 10% of churn reduction, we'd expect to see that contribution grow. For instance, moving from 90% to 91% retention, with your strategy contributing half a percentage point.
Global Customer Satisfaction (CSAT/NPS)
The overall satisfaction scores from our customers across all regions and product lines, reflecting their experience with our support.
Target · Maintain >90% CSAT and >60 NPS across all major regions Ensuring our EMEA CSAT doesn't drop below 92% and our APAC NPS stays above 65, even as we expand into new markets or launch new products.
Cost Per Customer Supported
The total cost of running the global support organisation divided by the number of active customers, reflecting efficiency at scale.
Target · Reduce by 5-8% year-on-year through strategic automation and process optimisation If our current cost per customer is £150, your goal would be to bring that down to £138-£142 within the next 12 months, without sacrificing quality, perhaps by implementing new AI tools.
Global SLA Attainment & Adherence
The percentage of support tickets and incidents that meet our defined Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and Objectives (SLOs) across all regions.
Target · Maintain >99.5% for P1/P2 incidents; >95% for all other ticket types Ensuring that even during peak periods or major incidents, our global teams consistently resolve critical issues within the agreed-upon timeframes, say, a P1 resolved in under 1 hour, 99.8% of the time.
Support-Driven Product Roadmap Influence
The number of critical customer issues or feature requests identified by support that are prioritised and implemented into the product roadmap.
Target · Influence 3-5 major product improvements or bug fixes per quarter Working with Product to ensure that the top 3 recurring issues our customers face (e.g., a specific integration problem, a UI bug) are addressed in the next two product sprints, directly impacting customer pain points.
Board Confidence & Strategic Alignment
The Board of Directors' and executive team's trust in the global support strategy, and how well it aligns with overall company objectives.
- Regular invitations to present support strategy and performance to the Board
- active participation in executive strategy sessions
- direct feedback from CEO/Board on the clarity and impact of support initiatives
- support insights are consistently referenced in broader company-level discussions.
Market Reputation & Industry Leadership
How the company is perceived by industry analysts, partners, and the market regarding its customer support and service excellence.
- Positive mentions in analyst reports (e.g., Gartner, Forrester) regarding customer service
- invitations to speak at major industry conferences on support innovation
- positive social media sentiment and customer testimonials highlighting support quality
- industry awards for customer experience.
Organisational Health & Talent Development
The overall health, engagement, and development of the global support workforce, ensuring we attract, retain, and grow top talent.
- Low voluntary attrition rates within the support organisation (e.g., <10% annually)
- high scores in employee engagement surveys for support teams
- clear internal career progression for support professionals
- successful internal promotions to leadership roles
- positive feedback from direct reports on leadership and mentorship.
Proactive Risk Management & Incident Preparedness
The ability of the support organisation to anticipate potential issues, mitigate risks, and respond effectively to major incidents, minimising customer impact.
- Reduced number of P1/P2 incidents due to proactive measures
- rapid and effective resolution of major incidents with minimal customer communication errors
- comprehensive disaster recovery and business continuity plans for support operations
- regular, successful incident simulation exercises with cross-functional teams.