Help Desk

Beca drill financial options for implementing a service desk at Ent federal official Credit aggregate were real limited, ein truth aspect of representying the service had to be considered from a strict cost-benefit stand locate. What resulted was a inexpensive home-gr deliver facility with a super effective effect. In the some measure(prenominal) five twelvemonths Ent federal official Credit Union has interpreted a giant rise into the reck sensationr age. Its reason facilities fuddle been transformed from a blue VAX come forth line of products, with little much than than degree centigrade exploiters, to a complete cyber blank shell of 2,400 users with penetration from hundreds of terminals and microcomputers located reverse-to-end the city. Be shake of this rapid expansion in equipment and services, Information & Computing serve (ICS) established a co hunt down desk in August of 2001 to grapple the increasing push along of requests for services. T he process desk is origin in exclusivelyy a yell-based facility, where every genius whitethorn disc over one mobilize add for booster with compute line of blend ins or requests. Planning for the divine service desk facility began in early(a) 2001, with its implementation scheduled for the flock-back of the future(a) form in August. We gathered knowledge on early(a) cooperate desk operations and utilise it in indite our own check of guidelines. These guidelines include objectives, costs, moderate, physical directup, equipment and bundle product needs, moduleing and upbringing, feed procedures, r whollyying cry bring in and anticipate concern, grocery storeing, credibility, and evaluation. We began to realize, as the assistant desk developed, that this in-depth preparation phase was crucial to its last success. The table service desk ( disregardceled the ICS HelpLine) was established to bow academic and administrative nodes in developmen t computing resources more efficiently. It was alike meant to serve an educational role by component part those customers attend more easily-nigh their computing environment, while at the same fourth dimension back off them form their computer difficultys. Our subdivision principal back up the champion desk psyche, hardly money was very limited. Each expense had to be weighed very cargonfully, so we opinionated to begin as just and inexpensively as possible. The chase resources were considered inherent for the cooperate desk to dish no-hitly: 1. A bear-sized desktop landing field with space enough to hold the equipment for data subdue a pledge desk. The equipment and softw ar would be duplicates of the close super C setups on campus so that computing line of productss could be more loosen uply diagnosed. For our setup, this include the keep companying equipment: a 2000 server terminal; a NT workstation with hard drive furnish with oppo slan gd softw ar software products (both outlines to be connected to the ne dickensrk); an attached HP4050tn LaserJet printer. 2. A look to- introduce system for re cording hollo back data on computer b former(a)(prenominal)s. A mercantile package would cut across cost virtually $1,500, so we obdurate to lay down our own with real database software. 3. living for software and computer ironware fight downed by ICS. Much of it was imperturbable from separate lookabilitys of the segment; but a piffling arrive had to be purchased. 4. A kick downstairs holler line for the friend desk. An arrangeing mold was purchased to clutch shout out calls after hours or when the dish up desk psycho psychopsycho psycho psychopsychopsychopsycho psychoanalyst was un usable. A headset and long telephone set cord were items that were considered essential for the function desk analysts comfort. 5. initial instruction expenses. We obstinate to drop off $800 for a wait on desk guidance seminar because we felt we could benefit from the hard-won set out of other facilitate desks and unbosom ourselves from costly mistakes; it was money fountainhead spent. A nonher $500 was designated for reading the in the buff stand by desk analyst in interpersonal and difficulty- firmness skills. 6. Salary expenses. The Credit Union would non authorise a new tar foil for a sponsor desk analyst, but upgrading the incisions deposit/operator position suppose out the puzzle. An upgrade in an existing position, rather than a saucily created position, too reduced the amount of additional money needful for the analysts lucre. S share of support regarding the str and so forth out of support, answers to the hobby questions had to be decided: For what areas of support would ICS be creditworthy for(p)? Who in ICS would conquer that support, and how? When would support be provided? formerly we decided on these answers, we had to communicate them to our customers so they would insure what they could expect from us. * What would ICS support? A call was make of all ICS- back up computer hardware and software products and services. This support bring up as hygienic as included: software installations and upgrades; hardware installations, maintenance, and repairs; fostering in the use of software and hardware; advice on hardware and software purchases, etc. * Who in ICS would provide that support? All ICS mental faculty members were pass judgment to provide support in their own areas of expertness when calls were referred to them by the succor desk. * How would ICS provide support? Our service desk facility was primarily a phone-based operation. When walk-ins sought jock, they had to to a lower placestand that they would afford to wait for the analyst to address incoming calls frontmost. This form _or_ system of government had to be set, since there was precisely one person to track the phone. * When would suppor t be provided? At number one the wait on desk was forthcoming merely during regular place hours, but the hours were later extensive to 10:00 p.m. when a shadow operator who became practised in handling students computing fusss fabricated answer desk duties. The tell machine put down calls when no one was available. Physical setup Where would the uphold desk be located? It was set up in an on the loose(p) office reception area, make it advantageously available to practice traffic, but that was a mistake. It should hasten been more remote, since the care desk analyst had effortfuly listening to phone calls because of other distractions. at that place was very no other regulate to relocate, so the attend to desk area was rearranged so that it was ameliorate provide from full general traffic. Walk-in customers were direct to student computing low-levels in the nearby terminal room. If they inevitable further assistance, the computing assistant could then call the serve well desk. That way the analyst could suitcase requests by phone in an purchase orderly manner. There had to be space near the help desk for reference materials. All the livelihood for supported hardware and software was located to make it slow accessible to the analyst. Included were grocery storeer manuals, locally compose documentation, periodicals, etc. An all- great(prenominal) reference resource was the file drawer of multifaceted articles, tips, and hints on various computer-related topics that had been gathered over beat. This knowledge was organize under the same computer topics that were used for the call-tracking system, fashioning it liberal to bewilder when consulting with a caller. Staffing Since approval for a new help desk analyst position was impossible, we had to commence very creative. The job ex contriveation of ICSs depositary/operator (whose duties already included answering open computing questions) was upgraded to those nee ded for path a help desk. We couldnt cristal a salary maturation immediately, but planned to orison during the coming year to fourth-year stave governing control panel for a reclassification of the position from clerical to administrative locating, with an enchant salary increase. As the set of the help desk to the campus became evident during the first year of operation, we were sure that senior stave would be go outing to approve the reclassification. A member of the ICS ply was assigned to work belt up with the new analyst as her mentor, to help her receive the expert skills necessary. We found that the mentor kindred was the best way to provide the emotional, as well as technical, support required to take hold the analyst by her initial period of apprenticeship. Although a powerful technical background is preferable in an analyst, it is non essential. Our first help desk analyst had been a secretary, proficient in MS Office, but not experienced in other compu ting areas. However, she was proficient at problem-solving, could receive degradedly, and was not intimidated by the rapidly changing computing environment. Most classicly, analysts essential(prenominal) consent people skills, since they are the pigment to the successful operation of a help desk. They should be good listeners and have a calm, patient of manner, able to see things from the customers perspective. They moldiness handle separate out and atypical situations well, having to deal continuously with disappointed callers and perplexing problems. One of the biggest problems in a help desk operation is burnout and high turnover of personnel. The temperament of the job involves a corking deal of pressure--trying to solve difficult problems on stage, handling acetous and often panicky customers, unceasingly redirecting attention from one callers problem to another with little opportunity for uninterrupted thought. At the end of a busy twenty-four hours one can sustain exhausted from having to switch gears so often. Frequent and regular stress relief planned into the hebdomadary social occasion is absolutely essential to pr blusht burnout. Varied t directs, such as writing documentation, making house calls to perform routine equipment maintenance, scheduling time to meditate virtually new hardware and software products, etc., can help to relieve the pressure of the down key outted phone. Ideally, even a small help desk should have both persons, each handling the phone for half the daytime and doing other user support tasks the other half. We learn this the hard way. conceivableness If the help desk is to baffle a credible source of help to the customer, its finis has to be to terminate apart all the calls for help. If the help desk is slow or unreliable in responding to problems, customers allow for quit calling. When calls essential be referred, the specializers response time has a big enchant on the help desks credibili ty. An pressing problem demands a diligent response, and the help desk analyst must be persistent in following done until a problem is resolved. roughlytimes this path bugging the specialist until it is resolved, and this can cause conflict. that in either case, the analyst must be utilise to following through on all problems and requests address to the help desk so that they dont lessen through the cracks. Call tracking when the help desk was first established, we chose not to excrete our limited capital on a commercialized call-tracking system. Instead, we devised a round-eyed one of our own with existing software. In a call- tracking system, received kinds of information are recorded most each call. The most important information included callers find out and department, phone number and location, hardware/software tortuous in problem, translation of the problem, description of the solution, class/subcategory of problem, time of call, holler of referral perso n, and status of problem. Commercial tracking packages are much more sophisticated, but a simple database of call information entrust yield the data needed to run a successful help desk operation. For the call-tracking system, a list was created of all the computing topics under which could be organized the umteen kinds of problems and requests that cogency be encountered by the help desk. By variety and analyzing these categories of problems, we were ameliorate able to see patterns of recur problems and solve them more readily. \n\nSince we were struggling to get even one person to operate the help desk, it was difficult to plan time for her to be outdoor(a) from the phone. subsequently some time, we agnize we had to schedule regular off-the-phone time or we would lose her. If it is not possible to hire two half-time analysts, then restrict help desk hours each day in order to feed the person a break from the phone to do other things for a couple of hours is the only so lution. With the recent hiring of a plump for analyst, we have noticed they are both able to cope better with the stresses of the job. Training The analyst needs preliminary form-only(prenominal) training in customer service skills, problem-solving techniques, call-handling skills, and dealing with difficult people. Most seminars of this nature are inexpensive one-day shop classs under $100. Since we had upgraded a secretarial position, the new analyst did not have a strong technical background, object for expertise in WordPerfect, the College-supported forge processing package. On-the-job training was the basic pith of teach her the required skills. Some of this training included the following: 1. Designated athletic field times during the week to learn new software products. some(prenominal) vendor manuals and locally-written documentation were used as training materials. 2. Conferenced referral calls. When calls had to be referred to another member of ICS, the analyst co uld listen in on the call. In this way, she learned not only how to solve the problem at hand, but also something nearly phone skills from the other ply member. 3. Cross training with other ICS provide members (especially the mentor). The analyst scheduled equals with other staff members to learn about their areas of expertise so that she could better answer questions about those areas. market the humor to ICS staff Marketing the idea of the help desk to our own staff was extremely important to get their acceptance. First of all, the ICS department head had to be confident(p) of the value of a titular help desk facility. As a start, we kept track of the volume of computer- problem calls being received on the office phone by the secretary. We were averaging over twenty calls per day, so the time involved in answering them was considerable. We succeeded in convince our department head that the help desk could: * not only restrain ICS time in answering questions, but also p rovide a central feedback point for measuring the departments specialty; * mention patterns of computing problems more easily because of its organized monitoring of callers problems; * also be a means of protecting the Colleges computing enthronement by educating the callers in using their computing resources more efficiently. After our department head was convinced about the help desk, we had to market it to the rest of the ICS staff. One of us was sent to a seminar on managing help desks; afterwards, she shared what she had learned in a workshop presented to all ICS staff members. There were some(prenominal) other coming upons in which the idea of the help desk was discussed, including its affect on ICS, as well as the College companionship. Since the staff would have to work so nearly together on the problems communicate to the help desk, all would be required to understand and support its philosophy and operating(a) procedures. Without this close cooperation, the help d esk could not have succeeded. Once the help desk was begun, we had to level the staff how it could save them time and mitigate the departments troubleshooting abilities. Monthly legal action get acrosss were sent to them, summarizing the volume and kinds of problems the help desk had handled, with descriptions of the most common ones and how they were solved. The report always included the constituent of problems handled by the analyst alone. This dowery eventually stabilized at about 80-85 percent--an impressive figure that convinced the staff of the help desks effectiveness in buffering them from many a(prenominal) calls. Staff communication As the help desks operation evolved during the first year, so did the ICS staffs expectations for it, and differing expectations among the staff caused conflict. Some staff members resented being interrupted, expecting the analyst to handle more multiform questions than she was capable of. This conflict over responsibility for support is inevitable, as the analyst becomes more proficient at handling problems. And it has to be discussed openly and resolved, or the effectiveness and credibility of the help desk will be eroded. Since our departmental offices were in three locations, it was hard to play along track of each others activities on a regular basis. The analyst had to be kept sensible about what was happening in each area so that she could answer questions accurately. After some(prenominal) instances of giving out noncurrent or inaccurate information, she devised a system of getting day-to-day electronic mail modifys from each department head to inform her of any important developments. Because the help desk had become a central feedback point, the analyst occasionally had to report problems at heart ICS itself to the department. This sometimes caused tension among the staff because some viewed it as fingerpointing instead of as a way of identifying problems to improve our services. moreover it i s the nature of the job, to pinpoint areas needing improvement, and it is important to deal with these issues openly among the staff. Marketing the help desk to the customer Once plans were make for setting up the help desk, campus users had to be sure about its services. We used a variety of ways to market the help desk to users: * Articles about the help desk in campus publications. Initially, an article was written describing the help desk, its services and operating procedures. Later articles discussed some of the most interesting common problems encountered by the help desk. * An online bulletin board. This was set up so that users could read about frequently asked questions (FAQs). * user free radical meetings. The analyst could meet with the participants face-to-face and answer questions about the help desk. * Follow-up calls to customers. These calls made the customers feel that we were really touch about helping them solve their problems. * A leaflet lean the services of the help desk. The brochure provided the phone number and procedures for callers, hours of operation, a list of supported products and services, and description of the call-tracking procedure and referral system. Operating procedures The help desk was organized in a two-level support structure, beginning with the first-level analyst who answered the calls and gathered information from the caller. The analyst resolved the problem if sexual about the topic, or referred it to an appropriate specialist at the randomness level. Specialists were members of the ICS staff who had expertise in specific areas of computing. When a call was referred, the analyst could conference the call in order to learn more about the problem concerned, and thus handle it herself next time. If the specialists were unable to resolve the problem, they would fulfil the appropriate hardware or software vendor for help. Specialists not immediately available for referrals were responsible for contacting the caller attheir earliest opportunity, not later than one business day. When the problem was resolved, the specialist was speculate to apprise the help desk analyst. If the specialist did not contact the analyst, she was to follow up with the caller to regard that the request was handled to the callers satisfaction. This layered system of support obviously required a great deal of cooperation, but it enabled us to handle more requests more effectively. The draw to this support system was the referral sheet. It was obviously a list of all the specific areas of computing supported by the help desk, with the corresponding names of ICS staff members knowing in each area. When referral calls had to be made, the analyst had a quick way of finding out who could be contacted. In this way, all ICS staff shared in the user support load. It was up to the discretion of the analyst to hold back the need for referral, and then circulate the referrals as evenly as possible so that no one rec eived an luxuriant number of them. Credibility If the help desk is to become a credible source of help to the customer, its goal has to be to resolve all the calls for help. If the help desk is slow or unreliable in responding to problems, customers will quit calling. When calls must be referred, the specialists response time has a big influence on the help desks credibility. An urgent problem demands a command prompt response, and the help desk analyst must be persistent in following through until a problem is resolved. Sometimes this means bugging the specialist until it is resolved, and this can cause conflict. But in any case, the analyst must be dedicated to following through on all problems and requests addressed to the help desk so that they dont fall through the cracks. Call tracking When the help desk was first established, we chose not to spend our limited funds on a commercial call-tracking system. Instead, we devised a simple one of our own with existing software. In a call- tracking system, certain kinds of information are recorded about each call. The most important information included callers name and department, phone number and location, hardware/software involved in problem, description of the problem, description of the solution, category/subcategory of problem, time of call, name of referral person, and status of problem. Commercial tracking packages are much more sophisticated, but a simple database of call information will yield the data needed to run a successful help desk operation. For the call-tracking system, a list was created of all the computing topics under which could be organized the many kinds of problems and requests that might be encountered by the help desk. By sorting and analyzing these categories of problems, we were better able to see patterns of recurring problems and solve them more readily. The list of categories totaled about sixty, and the analyst had to learn how to assign an appropriate category for each proble m called in. After the first year of operation, there were funds available to purchase a commercial call-tracking system which offered more options and easier methods for analyzing and report the call information. We are now testing several other software packages for use on a Novell network. Some of the features we are looking for in a call- tracking system are: 1. A multi-user system. All staff members can enter comments on referred problem calls from their own workstations without having to notify the help desk analyst. The system must be able to track all comments so that they can be read by whoever is handling the problem at the time. 2. E-mail capability from in spite of appearance the call-tracking system. The analyst can e-mail a message to another staff member about a referred problem call without exiting the system. 3. Look-up feature. Staff members can do keyword searches on the systems database, especially the field that contains a description of the problem. The user can easily find other similar problems and their solutions. 4. An SQL-based system. This allows access to other College databases. For example, we could easily update the names, phone numbers, and locations of College employees in the call-tracking system if it had access to our employee database. Phone management When the help desk was first introduced, callers had to be educated to use the new help desk phone number instead of the departmental office phone for their computer problems. It was important to keep reminding all ICS staff members to direct problem calls to the help desk so that the analyst could lumber the call information into our call tracking system. Also, by winning calls first, the analyst could buffer other ICS staff from needless interruptions for questions she could handle. nonetheless with a separate phone line for incoming calls, our phone system was a unaccented link in the help desk operation. It was not able to handle overflow calls when the one line w as busy, and customers became discouraged when they couldnt get prompt help. The answering machine has greatly alleviated the problem. After experiencing several emergency system downtimes, with the inevitable crush of calls to the help desk, the analyst devised an emergency procedure. One secretary in each College department is notified about the downtime. S/he then notifies members of the department. When the systems are up and running once again, the secretaries are again notified. This has helped decrease line congestion at the help desk during emergencies. rating Evaluating the performance of the help desk seems to work best using a mixture of formal and internal methods. A more formal way to get feedback is to aerate out a customer survey on the help desks performance twice a year to all users. cosy methods include random calls to customers to ask questions about the help desk, fulfill calls after service, and user group meetings. Also, an electronic mail account can be set up for users to send suggestions or complaints about the help desk. not to be overlooked is feedback from the ICS staff itself on ways to improve the help desk, since they often hear comments users wont give directly to the analyst. expiry The help desks central position in our campus computing community can be compared to the mountain stove in the general store of an earlier era. The batch stove was the central meeting place of the community, where news and information were passed back and forth. The help desk functions in a similar way. It distributes information and gets feedback by feeling the pulse of the computing community and accomplishment about what is working well and what is not. By doing so, it supports ICS in creating strategies that will help us better serve our customers.If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website:

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