Member Activities

KCS ConversationStorms

Watch this two minute video on how ConversationStorms work.

• Format: Highly interactive and energetic conference call with rapid fire sharing of work underway and ideas under consideration. Topics nominated and voted on by members via the Consortium IdeaStorm.
• Purpose: Unconstrained knowledge sharing on different topics meant to facilitate connections for further exploration.
• Venue: Conference call.
• Frequency: One per month.
• Attendees: Program/project managers and/or Support Managers and Directors from member organizations. The individual(s) attending may vary based on the topic of the meeting.
• Members decide which ConversationStorms to attend and how many people to send based on the relevance of the topic. Participation is unlimited at any membership level.

KCS DeepDive Discussions

• Format: 60-minute in-depth discussion on a single member-nominated topic.
• Purpose: An opportunity for members to exchange best practices for addressing critical KCS implementation challenges.
• Venue: Conference call.
• Frequency: One per month.
• Attendees: Program/project managers and/or Support Managers and Directors from member organizations. The individual(s) attending may vary based on the topic of the meeting.
• Members decide which DeepDive calls to attend and how many people to send based on the relevance of the topic. Participation is unlimited at any membership level.

Program Team Meetings

• Format: Interactive working sessions focused on specific topics or challenges identified by the members.
• Purpose: Evolve the models and definition of the operational processes.
• Venue: Hosted at member sites, or conference calls on specific topics.
• Frequency: One per month. Typically, face-to-face meetings and virtual discussions rotate each month.
• Attendees: Program/project managers and/or Support Managers and Directors from member organizations. The individual(s) attending may vary based on the topic of the meeting.
• Members decide which team meetings to attend and how many people to send based on the relevance of the topic and their membership level. Team meeting participation is defined as follows:
• Participant: One attendee/face-to-face program team meeting, unlimited access to virtual team meetings.
• Participant Plus: Up to two attendees/face-to-face program team meeting, unlimited access to virtual team meetings.
• Sponsor: Up to three attendees/ face-to-face program team meeting, unlimited access to virtual team meetings.
• Benefactor: Unlimited participation.

Annual Member Summit

2011 Summit Summary Video (five minutes)

Conference with presentations and interactive discussions. The Member Summit is focused on reviewing the work of program teams and discussing future focus areas.

• Format: Conference featuring presentations and interactive discussions.
• Purpose: Review the work of program teams, discuss future focus areas.
• Frequency: Annually in the Fall
• Venue: Typically hosted in a hotel setting.
• Attendees: Individuals responsible for management and direction of customer support organizations.
• Included in membership levels as follows:
• Participant: unlimited attendance at the discounted member rate
• Participant Plus: two attendees at no cost, additional attendees at member discount.
• Sponsor: two attendees at no cost, additional attendees at member discount.
• Benefactor: three attendees at no cost, additional attendees at member discount.

Annual Executive Summit

• Format: Conference with interactive discussions, by invitation.
• Purpose: Examine and discuss emerging trends and challenges in the support industry. Critical in defining the scope and direction of the work of the Program Teams.
• Venue: Hosted in a creative environment.
• Frequency: Annually in the Spring.
• Attendees: Senior executives responsible for support organizations
• Included in membership levels as follows:
• Participant: unlimited attendance at the discounted member rate
• Participant Plus: unlimited attendance at the discounted member rate
• Sponsor: one attendee at no cost, additional attendees at member discount.
• Benefactor: two attendees at no cost, additional attendees at member discount.

Leadership Committee

• Format: Meeting with presentations and interactive discussions.
• Purpose:
  • Elect Consortium Board of Directors
  • Review scope, focus, and direction of Program Teams
  • Develop the Leadership for Service Excellence framework.
• Frequency: Annually, with periodic phone calls.
• Venue: Hotel or member site.
• Attendees: Representatives from each Sponsor and Benefactor member company. Included in membership levels as follows:
• Participant and Participant Plus: not available
• Sponsor: one attendee at no cost
• Benefactor: two attendees at no cost