It all started in the spring of 2009, after coming in as the runner-up for the HDI Team Excellence Award. We knew we were delivering great service to our customers, making recommendations to be more effective, and creating a great working environment, but there was something missing. After...
Tag(s): process, practices and processes, framework and methodologies, people, customer service
Date Published May 23, 2012 - Last Updated May 11, 2016
If there’s one thing service desks are good at, it is collecting information and reporting on it. If there is one thing they are terrible at, it is being able to focus on the few instead of the many. But one way to find out if anyone is actually reading the reports you spend so much time...
Tag(s): metrics and measurements, people, workforce enablement, process, business of support
Date Published May 23, 2012 - Last Updated May 11, 2016
Once upon a time, customers relied on advertising to shape their perception of an organization. Certainly, some money was poured into customer service, but only enough to keep things moving. If customers had problems, their complaints were usually isolated to a strongly worded letter to the company.
Tag(s): people, customer service, process, business of support
Date Published May 23, 2012 - Last Updated May 11, 2016
When it comes to customer service, it really is only as good as the customer says it is. But what do you do when your customers think your service is great, but you know it could be a whole lot better? Think Lean! We did, and we were able to reduce our abandoned call rate from 28 percent to 9...
Tag(s): people, customer service, process, framework and methodologies
Date Published May 23, 2012 - Last Updated May 11, 2016
Certification has never been more relevant than it is in today’s challenging economy, when IT pros are faced with greater competition and struggle to stand out from the crowd. Ultimately, certifications are a filter for hiring managers who have tons of résumés to review, giving IT professionals...
Tag(s): people, professional development, certification standard
Date Published May 23, 2012 - Last Updated May 11, 2016
The proliferation of mobile devices, increasing social and technical sophistication of the twenty-first-century college graduates entering the workforce, and anytime/anywhere demand for access have gained stronger footholds and show no signs of slowing. At the same time, the economic climate...
Tag(s): people, process, technology, desktop support
Date Published May 23, 2012 - Last Updated May 11, 2016
When Apple announced the launch of the Apple Stores in 2001, it was met with widespread skepticism. There was concern over the impact the stores would have on Apple’s existing retail channels, the fact that Apple had no experience in retail, and that the mere existence of retail stores would do...
Tag(s): process, business of support, people, customer service
Date Published May 22, 2012 - Last Updated May 11, 2016
We know that one individual is not as smart we all are collectively. However, even knowing that, leaders often have difficulty capitalizing on the collective intelligence of their teams. It is not because they do not want to; it is because they do not know how to. This article presents six...
Tag(s): people, leadership
Date Published May 22, 2012 - Last Updated May 11, 2016
Many organizations are starting to make significant structural, procedural, and cultural changes to the perception of desktop support, with the ultimate goal of better integrating it into the support organization. The struggle is in figuring out how to do this, how to apply that creative brush...
Tag(s): desktop support, people, process
Date Published May 22, 2012 - Last Updated May 11, 2016
Any hiring manager who has tried to recruit help desk or technical support professionals in recent months knows the demand for top talent is high. One major reason is that many of the best workers simply are not on the market. And, given that many companies are expanding their operations,...
Tag(s): workforce enablement, people
Date Published May 22, 2012 - Last Updated May 11, 2016