6 minute read
Delivering excellence in customer service
Training the customer, listening to the customer and learning from the customer: this is the mantra that drives Niclas Borglund, Director of Service for RaySearch, and his global team of applications, IT and physics specialists as they create the conditions for cancer treatment centers to get the best from their RaySearch software in day-to-day clinical practice.
“Our role begins and ends with a five-star training experience for the end-user,” explains Borglund. In this way, the service team ensures that customers are supported fully in their use of RaySearch ® software – a partnership that ultimately helps oncology clinics to deliver enhanced treatment outcomes for their cancer patients. “Our applications and physics specialists combine deep domain knowledge of product functionality with a user-centric view of how best to apply the software in a clinical setting,” he adds.
TRAINING REIMAGINED Given the sustained impact of COVID-19, however, Borglund and his colleagues were forced into a root-and-branch overhaul of the RaySearch training program during 2020. “Traditionally, our introductory training takes place on site at the customer’s clinic,” he explains. “As they progress onto advanced functionality, we then invite more experienced users across to our dedicated training facility here in the Stockholm head office or our New York or Santa Clara training centers in the US.”
That tried-and-tested model suddenly proved a non-starter last spring, at which point the training program migrated to an all-online experience. Adaptation was swift and largely seamless, notes Borglund, who is full of praise for the way his team flexed its approach – learning an awful lot about online education in double-quick time. He concedes there are significant upsides to the online model – not least the aggregate time/cost savings for customers and RaySearch
staff given that there’s no need to travel; also the inherent scalability that allows more attendees to participate in online training sessions.
Post-pandemic, it’s pretty clear that online will remain an essential component of a new-look blended training model. Nevertheless, the service team is eager to resume face-toface training and customer engagement – hopefully next year in some countries as vaccination programs ramp up. “Training the customer in their clinic is an important first step in the relationship and sets the tone for the entire experience with our products,” Borglund explains.
“All of the communication thereafter becomes so much easier,” he adds, “and there are certainly more questions and increased levels of interaction in a face-to-face setting versus virtual. As in any school classroom, it’s also much easier for the trainer to see if the key learning points are hitting home than it is on a video screen.”
THE ENGAGEMENT CONTINUUM If product training and education underpin what the global service team is all about, it’s worth noting that service specialists also engage with the customer along a much broader continuum. In pre-pandemic times (and eventually post-pandemic), that interaction typically gets under way well before any sales contract is signed. At scientific conferences and tradeshows, for example, applications specialists will usually be found alongside development colleagues giving on-booth software presentations to existing and prospective customers. Service staff are also central to RaySearch’s team-based sales approach, giving product demonstrations at the customer’s clinic to support their sales colleagues.
“Many members of the service team have been recruited directly from cancer treatment centers where they were using RayStation or a competing treatment planning system,” notes Borglund. “That first-hand clinical perspective is a fundamental part of the initial sales dialogue and the long-term relationships we go on to establish with our end-users.”
Further along the engagement continuum, operational responsibility for customer experience passes to Borglund and his team as soon as a clinic becomes a live customer. “We take care of software installation and integration within the clinic’s network and IT environment,” he explains. “Service team IT specialists are responsible for installing our products, the related databases and backups, as well as putting in place remote access to facilitate customer support.”
Through 2021 and 2022, Borglund's priority is to broaden and deepen the service team's know-how across RaySearch's evolving software ecosystem - with particular emphasis on the RayCommand ®* treatment control system (TCS) and the RayIntelligence ® oncology analytics and machine learning platform, in addition to further optimizing the RayCare ®* oncology information system (OIS). “The service organization is very mature for our flagship treatment planning system RayStation®* – we’ve got it covered,” he concludes. “It’s now time to write a new rulebook on service and support as the clinical user base scales for our emerging software products.”
RAYCOMMUNITY: JOIN THE COLLECTIVE CONVERSATION
RayCommunity is part of the collective conversation with our global customer base – a portal where you can chat with other users, watch training videos, get in touch with our support staff about enhancement requests, and lots more. As soon as your RaySearch system is installed, we’ll set up a RayCommunity account for your team. If you are already a customer and would like to join the community, please send an email to: community@raysearchlabs.com
I like that RayStation is constantly innovating and trying to improve their products. They do seem to take customer feedback to heart! – Dosimetrist, Americas
RaySearch is open to ideas of their customers and responsive. I like the future possibilities and all the enhancements RaySearch is bringing to our clinic with safety in mind. Making our jobs safer and more effective is a positive thing. – Dosimetrist, Americas
We really appreciate the ease of use of the system, the ability to script and automate processes, but mostly that feedback is taken so well and feature requests are quick to make it to the program. – Physicist, Americas
Changing from our previous system to RayStation allowed us to generate a vast number of plans, of high quality with a higher level of efficiency compared to our previous system. A reasonably easy interface to navigate. Plans could be optimized and parameters changed efficiently without having to wait for extended calculation times before a plan's efficacy could be observed. – Customer, Australia
Best TPS for protons. Allows fully integrated robust optimization and evaluation. – Customer, Europe
Your support staff are key in promoting your product, and teaching users how use it. You listen to the customer, you have good people, and you have a great product. – Dosimetrist, Americas
I came into my current role with no physics/ dosimetry background. One year later, I am confidently writing scripts that interact with RayStation to streamline our physics/dosimetry processes. RayStation is just that usable. Customer support and WebEx trainings have also been invaluable. – Customer, Americas
Having used two other planning systems prior to RayStation, I can tell you, the speed makes ALL the difference. I love the ability to compare different planning techniques quickly. – Dosimetrist, Americas
Best TPS on the market! Rapid development of new features and improvements, easy to learn, with an excellent user interface. – Physicist, Europe
