12th  February, 2025    

Chapter 4: Optimizing Technical Support Structures: Technology vs. Skill

In today's rapidly changing technical support environment, structuring support teams efficiently remains a crucial challenge for organizations. Traditionally, support structures follow a tiered model, where teams are segmented based on skill sets and responsibility levels for a single product or technology. While this model works effectively in organizations with a limited range of products, it presents significant challenges for larger enterprises with diverse offerings. The fundamental question remains: should support structures be arranged by product or by function?

The Product vs. Function Dilemma

The dilemma of structuring organizations by product or function is not new. Harvard Business Review’s seminal article, Organizational Choice: Product vs. Function (Walker & Lorsch, 1968), explored this issue in-depth. In the context of technical support, the choice between these two structures carries unique implications.

A product-based approach organizes support teams around individual products, ensuring deep expertise but limiting flexibility. A function-based structure, on the other hand, groups employees based on their roles—such as customer interaction, documentation, or troubleshooting—potentially allowing for broader knowledge application across multiple products.

The Challenges of Product-Based Support

In a traditional support setup, specialists are trained to handle issues related to a single product. While this ensures a high level of expertise, it comes with challenges:

1. Limited Scalability – As product lines expand, companies must invest significantly in training and hiring specialized personnel.

2. Knowledge Silos – Support teams may struggle to collaborate effectively, as expertise is confined within specific product groups.

3. Customer Experience – Customers dealing with multiple products from the same company may face disjointed support experiences.

The Viability of Function-Based Support

Function-based support structures offer an alternative by organizing teams based on skills rather than product knowledge. This method presents several advantages:

1. Skill Optimization – Employees focus on refining skills that can be applied across multiple technologies, such as troubleshooting methodologies, customer engagement, and queue management.

2. Greater Flexibility – Support professionals can transition between products more easily, making resource allocation more efficient.

3. Process Efficiency – By standardizing support methodologies, organizations can improve service consistency across different product lines.

However, this approach also comes with its own challenges. Learning curves for complex products can be steep, and a broad, function-based structure may struggle with depth in specialized areas.

Blended Approaches: The Best of Both Worlds

Given the strengths and weaknesses of both models, a hybrid approach may be the most practical solution. Some key strategies include:

• Technology-Based Support: Instead of product-based segmentation, support teams can be organized around shared technologies (e.g., operating systems, networking, or databases), allowing them to assist with multiple related products.

• Skill-Tiered Structures: Support can be divided into generalists handling common issues and specialists focusing on deep technical expertise in specific domains.

• Process Standardization: Regardless of structure, companies can benefit from unified support methodologies that emphasize problem-solving strategies applicable across different products.

Conclusion

While product-based support structures have been the traditional model, evolving business needs necessitate greater flexibility. A function-based or technology-oriented approach, when implemented effectively, can lead to more efficient support operations, increased adaptability, and improved customer experiences. Organizations must assess their specific needs, considering factors such as product complexity and team expertise, to determine the optimal support structure that balances specialization with scalability.