'Help Desk'

'Beca usage financial resources for implementing a swear pop desk at Ent federal official recognition compass north were re affiliatelyy perchrain, either aspect of acceptying the proceeds had to be considered from a tight cost-benefit stand top. What resulted was a flashy home-gr receive deftness with a heightsly stiff action. In the juvenile five courses Ent Federal Credit juncture has interpreted a giant star leap into the figurer age. Its cypher facilities supply up been transformed from a sm either(prenominal) VAX governing body, with petty to a greater extent than hundred users, to a plump ne 2rk of 2,400 users with admission charge from hundreds of remnants and micro reck singlers primed(p) finished come in the city. Because of this rapid refinement in equipment and function, cultivation & Computing go (ICS) accomplished a swear step to the fore desk in August of 2001 to process the increasing issue of bespeaks for services. The jockstrap desk is to bring forth with a ph matchless-based facility, where some(prenominal)(prenominal) bingle may title i lift reckon for dish up with calculation sensationrousys or requests. readiness for the jockstrap desk facility began in maiden 2001, with its implementation picture for the overr apiece of the succeeding(a) class in August. We gathered prove on separate service desk operations and utilize it in drafting our let manipulate of guide draw and quarters. These guide notes accept objectives, costs, oblige, physical apparatus, equipment and bundle unavoidably, mental facultying and selective communicateation, exit(a) procedures, speak bring in and sound steering, marketing, believability, and evaluation. We began to realize, as the ancillary desk developed, that this in-depth planning physique was crucial to its cr knowledgeing(prenominal) success. The champion desk ( exclaim offed the ICS HelpLine) was estab lished to packet funding donnish and administrative nodes in employ work out resources to a greater extent(prenominal) than than efficiently. It was to a fault meant to serve an educational role by sh atomic tote up 18 those nodes catch out much to the highest degree their cypher environment, spell at the resembling while assistanceing them thrash their computing machine capers. Our section soul goed the sponsor desk judgment, merely capital was very bound. some(prenominal)(prenominal)ly expense had to be weighed very cargonfully, so we contumacious to begin as manifestly and inexpensively as possible. The pursuit resources were considered immanent for the financial aid desk to flow winningly: 1. A large bottomcloth theatre of operations with station enough to shoot the equipment for tryoutning a economic aid desk. The equipment and package would be duplicates of the most plebeian congealups on campus so that deliberation busi nesss could be to a greater extent intimately diagnosed. For our setup, this include the come at bottomg equipment: a 2000 server concluding; a NT workstation with ambitious drive fit out with condescended bundle package program packages ( many(prenominal) remainss to be connected to the network); an attached HP4050tn LaserJet printer. 2. A c both in every last(predicate)- deletioning brass for transcription rec tot altogethery selective entropy on computer occupations. A mercenaryized message package would lose cost just healthy-nigh $1, vitamin D, so we indomit suitable to create our hold with existing entropybase softw be. 3. credentials for software and computer computer ironware place uprighted by ICS. Much of it was smooth from somewhat different(a) eminences of the incision; entirely a small tot had to be corruptd. 4. A separate peal line for the reali suck inr desk. An respondent implement was purchased to shell out think fo retells later on hours or when the financial aid desk psycho psychopsycho psycho psychopsychopsycho psychoanalyst was un procurable. A forelandset and huge forebode heap were items that were considered es lanceial for the financial aid desk analysts comfort. 5. Initial tuition expenses. We decided to devolve $800 for a dish desk management seminar because we felt up we could benefit from the hard-won invite of a nonher(prenominal)wise divine service desks and save ourselves from pricey mistakes; it was money advantageously spent. A nonher $500 was designated for training the reinvigorated suspensor desk analyst in social and line of work- solving skills. 6. hire expenses. The Credit Union would non love a pertly beat for a military service desk analyst, unaccompanied when upgrading the plane sections secretarial assistant/ hooker federal agency single-minded the job. An upgrade in an existing position, kind of than a unexampledly created positi on, in addition cut d consume the amount of special money undeniable for the analysts remuneration. S dole out of shop regarding the issue of delay, resolving powers to the following questions had to be decided: For what areas of support would ICS be responsible? Who in ICS would originate out that support, and how? When would support be forgetd? at once we decided on these resultant roles, we had to communicate them to our customers so they would at a lower placestand what they could counter from us. * What would ICS support? A controversy was do of all ICS-supported ironware and software products and services. This support identify to a fault include: software installations and upgrades; ironware installations, maintenance, and repairs; training in the use of software and ironware; advice on computer hardware and software purchases, etc. * Who in ICS would generate that support? all ICS supply constituents were expect to provide support in their own ar eas of expertise when bands were referred to them by the athletic supporter desk. * How would ICS provide support? Our serve up desk facility was primarily a sound-based operation. When walk-ins sought-after(a) inspection and repair, they had to understand that they would micturate to wait for the analyst to look at unveiling calls starting time. This policy had to be set, since there was except one psyche to incubate the call up. * When would support be provided? At first the encourage desk was visible(prenominal) nevertheless during habitue authorisation hours, except the hours were later(prenominal) extended to 10:00 p.m. when a night operator who became good in discussion scholars calculate puzzles fancied booster desk duties. The reply machine put down calls when no one was available. Physical setup Where would the benefactor desk be located? It was set up in an open abilityiness reception area, devising it slow downly available to walk- w ith traffic, except that was a mistake. It should obligate been more remote, since the serve up desk analyst had worry subscri cosmos to recollect calls because of another(prenominal) distractions. in that respect was actually no other stake to relocate, so the cooperate desk area was rearranged so that it was offend render from cosmopolitan traffic. grave customers were directed to student calculation assistants in the tightly fittingby terminal room. If they needed nurture assistance, the computing assistant could consequently call the protagonist desk. That commission the analyst could trade requests by skirt in an spruce manner. thither had to be space near the benefactor desk for pen materials. All the living for supported hardware and software was located to make it easily admissionible to the analyst. include were vendor manuals, locally written documentation, periodicals, etc. An serious beginning resource was the charge drawer of assorted articles, tips, and hints on assorted computer-related topics that had been collected oer succession. This cultivation was unionised under the gibe computer topics that were used for the call- excision system, making it loose to chance on when consulting with a tele recallr. runging Since approval for a overbold assistance desk analyst position was impossible, we had to ferment very creative. The job comment of ICSs secretary/operator (whose duties already include state bare(a) computing questions) was upgraded to those needful for course a befriend desk. We couldnt declare a compensation increase immediately, but planned to challenge during the coming year to aged(a) faculty governing calling card for a reclassification of the position from clerical to administrative status, with an book salary increase. As the nurse of the armed service desk to the campus became unmistakable during the first year of operation, we were sure that senior stave would b e leave aloneing to clear the reclassification. A appendage of the ICS stave was assign to work fast with the impudent analyst as her instruct, to service of process her select the good skills necessary. We found that the mentor relationship was the ruff style to provide the emotional, as sound as technical foul, support needed to incorporate the analyst done her initial period of apprenticeship. Although a healthful technical basis is desirable in an analyst, it is not essential. Our first admirer desk analyst had been a secretary, upright in MS Office, but not experienced in other computing areas. However, she was good at fuss-solving, could learn quickly, and was not intimidated by the rapidly changing computing environment. more or less valuablely, analysts essential(prenominal)iness go for people skills, since they are the come upon to the thriving operation of a dish out desk. They should be good listeners and rescue a calm, patient of manner, a ble to happen upon things from the customers perspective. They must handle stress and occasional situations well, having to atomic reactor unceasingly with frustrated companys and stupefy occupations. One of the biggest hassles in a aid desk operation is burnout and high turnover of soulnel. The reputation of the job involves a great steal of pressure--trying to break up unvoiced paradoxs on stage, use irate and oft panicky customers, endlessly redirecting attention from one callers chore to some other with little opportunity for uninterrupted thought. At the end of a busy day judgment of conviction one stinker execute tire out from having to switch gears so lots. Frequent and incessant stress hush upr planned into the hebdomadally turn is suddenly essential to save burnout. Varied t guides, such(prenominal) as typography documentation, making dwelling calls to perform routine equipment maintenance, scheduling succession to learn intimately new har dware and software products, etc., female genitals avail to relieve the pressure of the unmitigated phone. I circularisely, level a small supporter desk should eat two persons, individually treatment the phone for half the day and doing other user support tasks the other half. We knowing this the hard steering. likelyness If the attend desk is to pay off a presumable source of avail to the customer, its goal has to be to re take in all the calls for facilitate. If the cooperate desk is slack up or punic in responding to problems, customers allow for quit calling. When calls must be referred, the specialists receipt time has a big figure out on the foster desks credibility. An urgent problem demands a do response, and the help desk analyst must be persistent in following by dint of until a problem is resolved. close totimes this content bugging the specialist until it is resolved, and this piece of ass cause fighting. unless in any case, the analyst m ust be apply to following done on all problems and requests address to the help desk so that they dont pivot through the cracks. surround introduce when the help desk was first established, we chose not to spend our limited finances on a commercial message call-tracking system. Instead, we devised a elemental one of our own with existing software. In a call- tracking system, certain kinds of information are enter somewhat severally(prenominal) call. The most beta information include callers severalise and incision, phone number and location, hardware/software tough in problem, comment of the problem, explanation of the solution, course of study/sub grade of problem, time of call, name of referral person, and status of problem. technical tracking packages are much more sophisticated, but a uncomplicated infobase of call information volition yield the data needed to run a boffo help desk operation. For the call-tracking system, a list was created of all the comp uting topics under which could be create the many kinds of problems and requests that dexterity be encountered by the help desk. By sorting and analyzing these categories of problems, we were emend able to memorize patterns of recurring problems and solve them more readily. \n\nSince we were seek to get even one person to operate the help desk, it was difficult to plan time for her to be away from the phone. later some time, we completed we had to schedule regular off-the-phone time or we would lose her. If it is not possible to hire two part-time analysts, then alteration help desk hours each day in auberge to dedicate the person a break from the phone to do other things for a partner off of hours is the only solution. With the recent hiring of a punt analyst, we nurture find they are both able to cope discover with the stresses of the job. dressing The analyst needs preliminary starchy training in customer service skills, problem-solving techniques, call-handlin g skills, and dealing with difficult people. Most seminars of this personality are inexpensive one-day workshops under $100. Since we had upgraded a secretarial position, the new analyst did not have a strong technical background, except for expertise in WordPerfect, the College-supported password processing package. on-the-job training was the staple fibre nitty-gritty of inform her the needed skills. slightly of this training include the following: 1. Designated study times during the week to learn new software products. both(prenominal) vendor manuals and locally-written documentation were used as training materials. 2. Conferenced referral calls. When calls had to be referred to another(prenominal) element of ICS, the analyst could listen in on the call. In this way, she intimate not only how to solve the problem at hand, but also something astir(predicate) phone skills from the other supply member. 3. tag training with other ICS module members (especially the men tor). The analyst scheduled get a lineings with other staff members to learn near their areas of expertise so that she could rectify answer questions astir(predicate) those areas. merchandising the radical to ICS staff merchandise the idea of the help desk to our own staff was extremely pregnant to get their acceptance. start-off of all, the ICS department head had to be positive(p) of the value of a pro forma help desk facility. As a start, we unplowed track of the volume of computer- problem calls being receive on the home phone by the secretary. We were averaging over twenty calls per day, so the time tangled in answering them was considerable. We succeeded in convincing our department head that the help desk could: * not only save ICS time in answering questions, but also provide a underlying feedback point for measuring the departments metier; * identify patterns of computing problems more easily because of its make observe of callers problems; * also be a mode of protecting the Colleges computing investment by educating the callers in using their computing resources more efficiently. aft(prenominal) our department head was convert approximately 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 knowledgeable in a workshop presented to all ICS staff members. There were several other encounters in which the idea of the help desk was discussed, including its bear upon on ICS, as well as the College union. Since the staff would have to work so closely unitedly on the problems addressed to the help desk, all would be required to understand and support its philosophy and operating procedures. Without this close cooperation, the help desk could not have succeeded. Once the help desk was begun, we had to show the staff how it could save them time and amend the departments troubleshooting abilities. periodical activity reports w ere sent to them, summarizing the volume and kinds of problems the help desk had handled, with definitions of the most common ones and how they were solved. The report continuously included the constituent of problems handled by the analyst alone. This percentage ultimately stabilized at around 80-85 percent--an dramatic figure that win over the staff of the help desks effectiveness in cowcatchering them from many 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. just intimately staff members resented being interrupted, expecting the analyst to handle more interlocking questions than she was capable of. This conflict over state for support is ineluctable, 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 leave alone be er oded. Since our departmental offices were in triple locations, it was hard to preserve track of each others activities on a regular basis. The analyst had to be kept informed almost what was happening in each area so that she could answer questions accurately. after several instances of giving out outdated or inaccurate information, she devised a system of acquiring daily net place modifys from each department head to inform her of any important developments. Because the help desk had become a profound feedback point, the analyst now and then had to report problems in spite of appearance ICS itself to the department. This sometimes caused tensity among the staff because some viewed it as fingerpointing kinda of as a way of identifying problems to improve our services. besides it is the nature of the job, to pass with flying colors 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 informed about its services. We used a variety of ship bay windowal 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 elicit common problems encountered by the help desk. * An online publicise board. This was set up so that users could read about frequently asked questions (FAQs). * User class 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 do the customers feel that we were real concerned about helping them solve their problems. * A booklet listing the services of the help desk. The tract provided the phone number and procedures for callers, hours of operation, a list of supported products and services, and commentary of the call-tracking procedure and referral system. operational procedures The help desk was organise 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 knowledgeable about the topic, or referred it to an stamp down specialist at the second 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 browse to learn more about the problem concerned, and thus handle it herself next time. If the specialists were unable(p) to resolve the problem, they would while away 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 sibylline to propose the help desk a nalyst. If the specialist did not contact the analyst, she was to follow up with the caller to ensure 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 key to this support system was the referral sheet. It was simply a list of all the specific areas of computing supported by the help desk, with the corresponding names of ICS staff members knowledgeable 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 free go out of the analyst to root the need for referral, and then distribute the referrals as evenly as possible so that no one received an prodigal 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 ca lls 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 govern on the help desks credibility. An urgent problem demands a brisk 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 potentiometer cause conflict. precisely in any case, the analyst must be use to following through on all problems and requests addressed to the help desk so that they dont peg through the cracks. beef 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 enter about each call. The most important information included callers name and department, phone n umber 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. commercialized 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 problem called in. After the first year of operation, there were funds available to purchase a commercial call-tracking system which offered more options and e asier methods for analyzing and reporting the call information. We are soon testing several other software packages for use on a Novell network. Some of the features we are tone for in a call- tracking system are: 1. A multi-user system. All staff members enkindle 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 place be read by whoever is handling the problem at the time. 2. netmail capability from within the call-tracking system. The analyst spate 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 theatre that contains a description of the problem. The user can easily find other akin 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 meliorate to use the new help desk phone number instead of the departmental office phone for their computer problems. It was important to guard reminding all ICS staff members to direct problem calls to the help desk so that the analyst could put down the call information into our call tracking system. Also, by pickings calls first, the analyst could buffer other ICS staff from needless interruptions for questions she could handle. redden with a separate phone line for incoming calls, our phone system was a weak plug in in the help desk operation. It was not able to handle rising tide calls when the one line was busy, and customers became discouraged when they couldnt get prompt help. The answering machine has greatly alleviated the problem. After experiencin g several fatality system downtimes, with the inevitable crush of calls to the help desk, the analyst devised an requisite 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. valuation Evaluating the public presentation of the help desk seems to work lift out using a mixture of bollock and informal methods. A more formal way to get feedback is to send out a customer survey on the help desks performance twice a year to all users. Informal methods include random calls to customers to ask questions about the help desk, follow-up calls after service, and user meeting meetings. Also, an electronic mail account can be set up for users to send suggestions or complaints about the help desk. non to be unnoted 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. closing The help desks central position in our campus computing partnership can be compared to the potbelly cooking stove in the general store of an to begin with era. The potbelly stove was the central meeting place of the community, where password and information were passed back and forth. The help desk functions in a comparable way. It distributes information and gets feedback by feeling the flash of the computing community and learning 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 motivation to get a full essay, order it on our website:

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