Striving for Excellence
An Interview with Saf Aboukhadijeh, Senior Director, Global Service and Technical Support
With over 27 years of global medical device service, strategy and leadership experience, Saf Aboukhadijeh leads our Technical Support Team.
Saf Aboukhadijeh joined FUJIFILM VisualSonics in May 2019. Starting his career as a medical device product engineer, Saf soon discovered his real passion was the customer experience, from sales and installation to post-sale support and beyond.
We had a chat with Saf to discuss his role and impact on the Technical Services Team.
What was your primary goal when you first started your role at FUJIFILM VisualSonics?
Global focus. I wanted to ensure that regardless of location, everyone should receive the same, consistent, top-quality level of service. In my first few weeks on the job, I visited with many key global partners to understand their challenges and seek out opportunities for improvements.
On-time service shipments was also an area where I felt we could do better. With a great effort from the entire service leadership team, we have made great strides. We are now very conscious of fixing the root cause to avoid being reactive. We proactively track any recurring technical issues and report them to the engineering department so that, in the future, we can prevent issues.
How has your team supported 2020's Year of the Customer?
We have made significant process improvements like redefining our Service Level Agreements and escalation processes. We now return calls within a half-hour, respond to emails within the same business day, and deliver replacement parts with a 25% improvement on shipping times.
We have taken many steps and realized a number of significant improvements. Some specific YTD highlights include:
- Customer Satisfaction Globally at 98%
- Service Parts “On-Time” shipment averaging at 96%
How has COVID-19 impacted the Service team?
Our global service teams remain focused on our objective more so than ever with the challenges presented to us by the COVID-19 pandemic. We are following government guidelines closely, as per region, and are dedicated to taking great care of our customers during this unprecedented time. We accept the challenges that come our way as we continue building on our commitment to them in the months to come.
What steps have you taken to streamline processes for your team?
I believe in investing in our people to improve communication (to both internal and external customers). Our staff is now trained on effective telephone and email etiquette. We used SBAR, a program developed by the U.S. Navy for their healthcare system that teaches efficient communication by delivering key content in a concise and professional manner. We also do 1-on-1 coaching.
To ensure consistency and drive efficiencies, we have instilled new workflow processes including visual management systems, daily stand-up meetings, rearranging the layout of our advanced technical troubleshooting department for ease of use, and expanding our staff’s network connectivity knowledge. Modernization of our tools will be a major focus for 2020.
Any final comments?
We care passionately about our customers, and we work closely with other teams at FUJIFILM VisualSonics in that endeavor.
We constantly strive to provide world-class service while continuing to find new and innovative ways to improve efficiencies in order to deliver an excellent service experience to our customers
If you have any questions for Saf or our Technical Support team, we encourage you to connect.