CS: Had you any experience in catalog contact centers before?
NB: No, I joined the group to become category manager for desktop and mobile business. It was a really small organization, less than 10 people in sales and marketing. Over the course of two years, 1999-2001, I helped build out the category management area, and I broke out academic purchase programs. I built relationships with HP's other business units. Then I led a couple of teams that built the build-to-order desktop PC system. Although I didn't have a tech background, HP gave me an opportunity to work with tech and e-commerce. In 2001, I led a team that merged the Compaq consumer direct assets with HP consumer direct. Did that for a year. Then I worked in strategy and development for the combined consumer direct store, and I led internal planning functions for technology assets. Two years ago, the person who led the consumer direct business discussed strengths and weaknesses. One of the areas that needed to be built up was the contact center. I was assigned the task of re-engineering the contact centers to be assets. I took on the project to learn about something I had no real background for. There were some strategic changes that needed to be made. The project really challenged me. HP only had outsourced centers at that point. We completely redid the contact center, and brought some of it in-house. We built it into a strategic asset.
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A Chat With Nikhil Behldirector of sales centers, HP Home
CS: Had you any experience in catalog contact centers before?
NB: No, I joined the group to become category manager for desktop and mobile business. It was a really small organization, less than 10 people in sales and marketing. Over the course of two years, 1999-2001, I helped build out the category management area, and I broke out academic purchase programs. I built relationships with HP's other business units. Then I led a couple of teams that built the build-to-order desktop PC system. Although I didn't have a tech background, HP gave me an opportunity to work with tech and e-commerce. In 2001, I led a team that merged the Compaq consumer direct assets with HP consumer direct. Did that for a year. Then I worked in strategy and development for the combined consumer direct store, and I led internal planning functions for technology assets. Two years ago, the person who led the consumer direct business discussed strengths and weaknesses. One of the areas that needed to be built up was the contact center. I was assigned the task of re-engineering the contact centers to be assets. I took on the project to learn about something I had no real background for. There were some strategic changes that needed to be made. The project really challenged me. HP only had outsourced centers at that point. We completely redid the contact center, and brought some of it in-house. We built it into a strategic asset.