The Evolution of the Help Desk
First Generation
A first generation help desk was typically a local
desk supporting internal corporate users. The advantages of such a
service desk was that service personnel become very well acquainted
with the requirements of the local users. The role of this help desk
was usually to provide technical software and hardware assistance
for the user community.
Second Generation
Second generation help desks evolved as a central
service structure. All service calls are usually logged at a central
physical location. Often support is extended to provide assistance
to customers, suppliers and partners. The use of the web is becoming
the vehicle to link internal and external constituents of this
service community. Benefits of such an operation are those of
reduced operational cost, better use of resources and a better
management overview of the operation.
The ITIL Service Desk
The second generation help desk is rapidly evolving
to becoming a single point of contact (SPOC) service desk for all IT
requirements. What this means is that the traditional technical
assistance role of the help desk is being supplemented by additional
business related support requirements such as training
co-ordination, asset management control point, hardware validation
and order desk. The list grows and in the ITIL world the service
desk ‘s role is becoming the heart of the IT operation. There is a
need for more process definition, setting of expectations and
discipline in this new environment to ensure success. The ITIL style
help desk or service desk does not happen overnight and is typically
a progressive in nature with pieces being added in time. The
important piece to remember is that we now see more requirements for
tighter and documented processes. The glue that makes an ITIL
service desk work effectively is the Service Level Agreement (SLA).
What follows is an interesting article written by Deb Phillips who
has captured the essence of what SLAs are all about.
Service Level Agreements - Bureaucracy or
Necessity?
Deb Phillips, Principal, The North Highland
Company
IT organizations have known for many years that consistent and
predictable Service Level Agreements (SLA's) are what separate the
most successful IT organizations from the rest. The challenge today
is to overcome the fear of the SLA as a 'big stick' or as a means of
too much control, or even putting too much power in the hands of the
customer. With regards to service, customers are generally not
certain what they need or want, beyond good solid communication.
Acknowledging SLA's, not as a panacea, but as a conscious and
deliberate mechanism to enable meaningful communication between all
lines of business and the IT organization, will go a long way in
establishing SLA's as a set of core principles, not a 'big stick'.
Communications are the glue, which binds an organization together.
SLA's can be the necessary bond that bridges the IT organization
with business.
SLA's are a powerful tool for explicitly declaring
who will be responsible for delivering what services in a
predictable and consistent manner. Avoid abusing this potent tool by
making a conscious decision to develop Service Level Agreements as
structured, consistent and monitored agreements that restrain the
feeling of a bureaucracy.
So how do you get your SLA's to be structured and
actively monitored documents without that feeling of rigidity? How
do you avoid the negative connotations associated with bureaucracy
but maintain a consistent structured environment? The right culture,
commitment and communication will help to pave the way.
Start by setting a baseline or a minimum service level to be
achieved. Develop benchmarks on today's services before making
promises about tomorrow's services. SLA’s not grounded in real
numbers will typically fail. Developing a baseline will point out
areas of concern with culture, commitment and communication.
Recognize that there are organizational and cultural barriers
between the business functions and the IT organization. Develop a
plan to adjust from a people and process perspective (e.g., change
management).
The SLA's should be viewed as a mechanism for consistent and
predictable levels of service, for which the employees responsible
for implementing can be held accountable.
Reinforce the value of having set expectations by explicitly
defining the products, services and support structure that the IT
organization will provide to business users.
Use the SLA to serve as a reality check for business managers -
crystallizing the links among IT services and the performance,
operations and costs of running the business.
Be prepared to estimate the requirement for a substantial commitment
in time, communication and cooperation from both IT and the business
communities. Managers must dedicate time and personnel to the SLA
negotiations.
The IT organizations, which became the drivers of the agreements,
have strengthened their influence over enterprise IT decisions and
services. These organizations had the foresight to recognize the
value of establishing a consistent mechanism for communicating with
all lines of the business. Building consensus between the IT
organization and the business managers, in terms of what services
are defined and what events are measured, will only reaffirm a
support structure which is integrated and aligned with business
needs. The answer to the question, bureaucracy or necessity, is
both. It has become essential for SLA's to be the cornerstone in an
IT world where change is the constant. The true power of the SLA
comes with the accountability and monitoring, not with the format.
Deb Phillips is a Principal with The North Highland
Company with over 20 years experience in the field of information
technology,
Did you know?
That up to 60% of Help desk managers do not know the
TCO of their help desk or can identify the cost to support each user
(cost/user).
There is an easy way to determine this using RADAR’s
Interactive Help Desk model. For a demo version of this model visit
the RADAR web site at
www.radarinteractive.com or contact RADAR directly.
Did you know?
That the top five most wanted skills identified by
help desk managers are:
Possessing these “soft skills” in addition to agents
technical abilities contribute to a successful help desk operation.
Becoming competent in the Customer care skills is becoming an
increasingly important and recognized as a wise investment of
training dollars.
In a survey conducted by La Cite Collegiale it
concluded that the required competencies for contact centre agents
are:
-
Customer service skills
-
Communication skills
-
Problem-solving skills
Agents - current competencies
Customer service skills, communication skills and
problem-solving skills were found to be the most important
competencies for agents. This was closely followed by adaptability
and interpersonal skills. Key indicators of a competent agent
included the ability to respond to the customer over the phone
through active listening, by identifying their needs using
appropriate questions and by checking for understanding with use of
paraphrasing. Other indicators included the ability to engage the
customer, build rapport and calm down frustrated or agitated
customers. Conflict resolution skills are becoming more important.
Using appropriate language by avoiding the use of technical terms,
jargon or acronyms and projecting a professional image by avoiding
the use of casual language (especially when using the French
language) are important abilities. Agents must have good voice
quality and be able to project a pleasant and respectful tone. The
ability to problem-solve by figuring out the root of the inquiry,
deduct what the next steps are, articulate the solution and then
check for understanding are also key skills”.
Here is what the Help Desk Institute’s Ron Muns has
to say about soft skills:
“Every year, HDI's Annual Practices Survey
indicates that soft skills are more important criteria for hiring
than specific technical skills. What I often hear is that the
customer would rather speak to someone with excellent customer
service skills than the most skilled technical person. Every manager
and CIO should be aware that the image of your company and your IT
organization is at stake. Why would you trust it to someone lacking
the knowledge to treat your customers or employees in any way other
than a professional manner?
The reality is–that in order to satisfy
customers–you need someone with the right personality and aptitude,
but also someone who possesses the knowledge of support processes,
problem solving skills, and customer service. It takes a lot to be a
qualified support professional; they are a well-rounded talented
group.”
Managing Change
Change is an inevitable part of doing business. For
any change to be effective, one must be highly skilled and
understand not just the components of change but the effects as
well.
Organizational change is experienced a lot,
especially in these difficult times we find we are in. But is this a
new phenomenon? A product of our times? The following statement says
otherwise.
On Organizations
“We trained hard, but each time we formed a
working team I found we would be reorganized. I was to learn later
in life that we meet most new challenges by reorganizing, and a
marvelous tool it can be for creating the illusion of progress,
while actually causing confusion and low morale”.
Petronius
Roman General, 300BC.
HDI Certification Training
Help Desk Institute Certification is the first open,
standards-based, internationally recognized certification program
for help desk professionals.
RADAR Solutions Group Inc. is pleased to announce
that the company is now an Associated Training Partner (ATP) of the
Help Desk Institute and is currently offering certification-training
programs in Ottawa and Toronto.
Links of interest
Help Desk Institute (HDI) Ottawa chapter:
www.hdiottawa.com
HDI Corporate:
www.helpdeskinst.com
HD Senior Analyst Certification:
www.thinkhdi.com/certification/individualCertification/hdsa.aspx
HD Manager Certification:
www.thinkhdi.com/certification/individualCertification/hdm.aspx
AssetMetrix:
www.assetmetrix.com
Contact us
The RADAR team is looking forward to hearing from
you. Please feel free to submit your feedback and comments to us. We
are also hoping that we can include submissions by our readers in
future editions. The help desk world is a fascinating one and
subject to rapid changes. Sharing experiences and networking is a
wonderful way of keeping up with all that is happening with People,
Process and Technology.
Contact us at:
Editor@Radarinteractive.com
Phone (613) 271-8075
