HP, Inc. - Best Use of Thought Leadership in Customer Service

Company: HP, Inc., Boise, ID
Company Description: HP is a cutting-edge, leading technology brand with a steadfast mission to continuously innovate and reinvent for the digital world. The global brand reimagines technology with a vision of creating experiences that elevate how individuals and businesses live, work and play. The company dominates the world stage in personal computes, printers, software and solutions for consumers and businesses.
Nomination Category: Thought Leadership Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best Use of Thought Leadership in Customer Service

Nomination Title: Oanh Phuong: Delivering Global Change to the Customer Service Experience

HP Inc. is a cutting-edge technology brand serving more than 1 billion customers across 170 countries on 6 continents. Their loyal customers include end-users buying their products from retail establishments, as well as corporate entities utilizing their best-in-class printers and computers across multiple office locations.

HP is continuously innovating and reinventing for the digital world. The global brand excels in creating experiences that elevate how individuals and businesses live, work and play — made possible with a team of the world’s most forward-thinking innovators who are constantly working towards HP’s next revolutionary product. The company dominates the world stage in personal computers, printers and software that consumers and businesses rely on every day.

Since the company’s 1939 humble beginnings, to its current position as a leading enterprise technology company, HP has expanded globally to become a nearly $60 billion-dollar annual business today. HP is known not only as a top technology brand, but also for its positive work culture and fostering exceptional industry thought leaders. This nomination is focused on thought leadership within Customer Support, specifically one HP leader who has delivered change with lasting impact to the customer service experience.

Supporting the ideas and initiatives of forward-thinking employees with big ideas and proven expertise is at the core of HP as a company. Oanh Phuong, Head of Global Customer Care Center, is one such employee who stands out for her natural thought leadership and growth mindset. After 36 years in HP leadership roles serving five business units, Oanh is leading transformative change in customer care — which has increased in impact with her career progression.

Revered for how she has elevated the HP customer experience, Oanh is the driving force behind how HP meets the ever-changing needs of customers. With a keen understanding of an evolving society with evolving needs, she has empowered customers to receive product support in whichever way is most productive and convenient for them. Whether via chat, web, videos, social media or phone, Oanh has delivered on providing choices and ensuring that each method is seamless and best-in-class. Due to her efforts in shifting to digital customer service, HP has increased customer experience scores by 10% and lowered costs by 18%.

Oanh is also a champion for diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace, understanding that HP Customer Support should be representative of the customers it serves. She believes that diversity helps a company to become stronger and more productive, and that companies can’t just talk about diversity — they need to walk the talk. Under her leadership, her team has become a beacon of diversity at HP, comprised of 41% women and spanning 14 nationalities.

What separates Oanh from other thought leaders is her journey. A refugee who fled to the U.S. from a childhood in war-torn Vietnam, Oanh worked at McDonald’s before earning her undergraduate degree from San Jose State University and her graduate degree from Stanford University. Her story is one of triumph and perseverance, rising to become a visionary leader who is reinventing customer service for one of the world’s foremost technology brands.

Her achievements are also unique due to her incredible foresight, believing that anything broken is simply in need of transformation. Every area of business that Oanh touches is all about change, as was the case when she served as HP’s Global Head of Graphics Solutions Services. Operating in the red, Oanh unified the team, corrected a broken mentality, and discovered the root causes of their poor performance. Within two years, Oanh turned them around to become a leading customer-centric business unit with double digit operating profits and doubled their customer satisfaction NPS.

Oanh’s thought leadership is also influential in the area of social impact. When Customer Support set a lofty goal of increasing their volunteer hours from 3,000 to 10,000, Oanh challenged them to achieve 25,000 hours instead. Intimidated, yet up for the challenge, she witnessed her team surpass her goal to reach 34,011 hours in 2021. This is a testament to how Oanh motivates her team and shows them that anything can be achieved as a cohesive unit with a common goal.

“Team Testimonials”
This attachment speaks to Oanh’s character, as well as how her team and peers respect and value her as a leader, thought leader and change agent. Not an executive who presents herself as superior, she is clearly one who is empathetic, calming, inspirational, graceful and supportive — as quoted by her peers, stakeholders, mentees and direct reports.

“A Leader of the People”
Photos provided demonstrate how Oanh is a respected speaker at HP conferences, showcases HP innovations to the public, engages with women in the workplace to encourage and motivate them for elevated positions, and celebrates with her team when milestones are achieved. These photos also demonstrate how HP positions Oanh as a thought leader both internally and externally.

“Articles & Features”
This document demonstrates how HP has publicly positioned Oanh as a thought leader, presenting her as a voice of authority in news articles on a range of topics — from pushing boundaries in a male-dominated tech industry to featuring her in campaigns focused on mentoring, diversity and inclusion.