How The Functionary helped ENTOUCH scale technical support with flexible talent, stronger accountability, and a team that works inside the business.

“We wanted a more seamless relationship, not a siloed one. The Functionary helped create that by working closely with our leadership team, supporting our training approach, and integrating into the business in a way that feels like one team.”

– ENTOUCH, Corbin Hall, Customer Support Manager

Key Results:

About ENTOUCH Controls

ENTOUCH provides energy management and sustainability solutions for multi-site operators. Their solutions are used at more than 19,000 locations providing customers with a 10% to 85% reduction in energy costs, helping them improve profitability and the planet at the same time. The company brings a strong sense of purpose and urgency to that work, with a culture built around sustainability, transparency, customer success, and finishing the work completely.

Fast Facts

Client: ENTOUCH Controls
Industry: Energy management / Hardware-enabled SaaS
Scope: Customer support (L1–L3), multilingual support, software development, outbound (BDR), finance support
Delivery Model: Embedded team integrated into ENTOUCH operations

Operational Context

ENTOUCH operates in a high-variability environment. Support demand shifts as new deployments move from pilot to full-scale rollout. Each customer environment introduces different requirements across systems, locations, and escalation paths. The work requires more than standard support coverage. Agents need technical understanding, adaptability, and the ability to operate across languages and regions. At the same time, ENTOUCH is introducing AI into its operations with a focus on augmentation, not replacement. This combination increases pressure on both scalability and execution quality.

Challenge

As ENTOUCH grew, the company needed a support model that could scale quickly without sacrificing quality, responsiveness, or team alignment. Demand was not always predictable. As programs moved from pilot stages to larger wins, support needs could shift quickly, making fixed staffing models unreliable.

At the same time, the company needed people with a very specific mix of skills. These were not simple support roles. ENTOUCH needed team members who could handle technical customer interactions, adapt to changing work, and in some cases support multilingual needs. Finding candidates with the right balance of communication ability, technical aptitude, and flexibility was critical.

ENTOUCH also needed a more collaborative operating model than it had experienced with traditional BPO providers. The limitations were consistent:

• Communication with leadership was inconsistent.
• Support operated in silos.
• Ownership was unclear when issues surfaced.
• Hiring profiles did not always match the actual complexity of the work.
• Vendor responses often focused on explanation rather than ownership.

The company was not just solving for cost or headcount. It needed a partner that could operate as an extension of the business, align closely across hiring, training, and daily execution, and take ownership of outcomes.

Solution

ENTOUCH partnered with The Functionary to build an embedded support operation structured around its workflows and systems. Instead of creating a visible divide between internal and external teams, the model was built around shared ownership and regular communication.

The team was integrated across L1, L2, and L3 support and operated as part of the internal organization. Weekly and bi-weekly leadership sessions created a steady operating cadence, giving both teams visibility into performance, hiring, training, day-to-day execution, and opportunities to improve the work through AI-assisted tools and automation.

The Functionary also helped ENTOUCH refine its hiring and training approach. Rather than focusing only on standard support profiles, the team looked for adaptable candidates with the technical aptitude, language capability, and flexibility needed to support a complex customer environment.

Key parts of the model included:

• Embedded team structure: L1, L2, and L3 support integrated directly into ENTOUCH workflows
• Leadership alignment: Weekly and bi-weekly sessions to review performance, staffing, operational needs, and key performance indicators
• Hiring and training redesign: A shift from generic support profiles to adaptable, multi-skill candidates
• AI-assisted improvement: Ongoing review of where automation and AI could reduce manual work, improve visibility, and help people perform better
• Accountability model: Direct ownership when issues surfaced, with gaps acknowledged, changes aligned quickly, and leadership or execution adjusted without disrupting performance
• Multi-function support: Expansion into software development, outbound BDR support, and finance/accounting support

Over time, the partnership expanded beyond customer support. The same embedded model supported software development, outbound marketing, and part-time accounting needs, creating a more flexible operational layer instead of multiple disconnected vendor relationships.

Results

ENTOUCH gained a support model built for flexibility and operational performance. The Functionary supported L1, L2, and L3 customer needs, adapted as demand shifted, and expanded beyond support into software development, outbound BDR support, and accounting. The same structure also creates a stronger foundation for AI-assisted improvement, helping identify where automation can reduce manual work, improve visibility, and support people inside the operation.

Critical KPIs:

• 90% of calls answered in 40 seconds: SLA performance across support queues.
• 4+ Year Agent Tenure: Less retraining. More retained knowledge.
• Resource Utilization: Multi-skill agents improved coverage.
• Customer Growth: Support scaled from pilots to deployments

FAQ

Did The Functionary operate as a separate vendor?
No. The team operated inside ENTOUCH’s systems and workflows, with no visible separation between internal and external teams.

How did The Functionary handle performance issues or gaps?
Issues were addressed directly, with ownership. Adjustments were made quickly without deflection or disruption.

How did the model support growth?
The structure allowed ENTOUCH to expand support across roles, languages, and regions without redesigning the operation.