Creating a Culture of Support

Ensuring a strong foundation for operational and strategic

performance enhancements

Copyright Julianne Journitz, 2006]. This work is the intellectual property of the author. Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright statement appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the author. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written permission from the author.

Julianne JournitzDirector of Client ServicesInformation Technology ServicesPomona CollegeClaremont, CaliforniaJulie.Journitz@pomona.edu

Case Study #1

Instructional Faculty: 783 Full Time, 327 Part Time

Other Faculty: 390 Full Time, 78 Part Time

Students: ~11,000

Staff: ~2000

Help Desk Staff: 4

Know your problems

Too many calls

No answer!

Job is killing me

No answer!

No answer!

No answer!No answer!

I don’t want to say it got ugly but . . .

Always have a plan handy

• What would you do with more resources?

• Tell management what you’d do

• Do it

• Show management what you did

• Let management know how you’re using their investment

1. Add two more people

2. Split into 3 teams of 2

3. 2 teams on phones (“frontline”)

4. Calls > 5 min go to “backline”

5. Back line focuses on complex calls, documentation, testing

6. Rotate every day

Frontline Backline

What we did

Rules of the process

• Front line answers phone on 2-3rd ring• Start ticket• IF call GE 5 minutes, dispatch ticket to

backline• ELSE resolve or dispatch to other

support groups in IT (not resolvable in Help Desk)

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL

97-9898-9999-00

MonthComb. S. Aband %S. Aband + Day VM/Offrd97-98 98-99 99-00

AUG 25% 26% 47%SEP 34% 21% 45%OCT 24% 13% 21%NOV 22% 18% 9%DEC 16% 15% 8%JAN 20% 20% 11%FEB 12% 16% 7%MAR 10% 17% 5%APR 10% 15% 6%MAY 12% 13% 4%JUN 16% 14% 5%JUL 12% 19% 5%

Results of RTS experiment

How did this work?

• No more people were answering the phones (4 before, 4 after)

• Average calls were usually around 4-5 minutes. Longer calls tied up phones so move them back.

• Distractions were removed to backline (project work, walk-ins, voice mail, etc)

Organizational Advocacy• Be able to say “No Thank You” if you don’t have a

solid plan for extra resources

• Be able to support other groups’ requests for more resources if the need is established

• Don’t suck up executive time -- send them an executive overview with ideas and budget

• Don’t be needy

Inter-Departmental Advocacy

• Go to internal IT groups and ask how the Help Desk can help them

• Do not allow internal bashing

• Protect them from themselves – Some IT workers will from time to time storm the Help Desk

Help Desk Advocacy

• Protect where necessary

• Develop their skills and provide career paths

• Don’t allow the Help Desk to be used as a “bookmark” for incoming personnel

• Try to stay in the Help Desk and keep a third ear open

Customer Advocacy

• Meet with client groups and/or survey

• Be prepared to “take one for the team”

• Ask how the Help Desk could better help them (get specifics)

• Facilitate communications where necessary

• Carry ideas or needs to other IT departments (diplomatically)

Case Study #2

• “On-Call Center”

• 3 staff members, Customers ~800

• ~1300 computers (plus printers)

• “Distributed support center”

• 7 non-rogue labs

Know your problems

• Geographic

• Population: Diverse and many

• More than general support -- discipline specific

• Diverse roles for staff

• Customer resource double dipping

• No way of tracking workload

Addressing the problems

1.Turn down first resource offer

2.Remove direct phone access to staff

3.Develop capture of work

4.Coach consulting skills

5.Create picture of work distribution and publicize

6.Take resource offer if defensible

Tools and Teaching

SUPPORT THE CUSTOMER (not the product)

Business plans

Pictures where possible

Support the customer not the product

Example: 3rd Party Vendor-ViseUnsupported hardware solution; customer stuck between Vendor

and Central IT; Facilitation

Example: WP5.1 Unsupported application; customer needs 5.1 features for publisher; Immediate assistance and coaching to a different product

FACILITATE, EDUCATE AND ADJUDICATE

Business plans

• Section 1: Hook them with an executive overview

• Section 2:Describe & Demonstrate similar activities by competition or peers

• Section 3: Describe benefits and nod to the negatives

• Section 4: Budget at the end

Pictures Where Possible

Graphs

Map of coverage

Trite but true:A picture is worth a thousand words

Steps to creating a culture of support

Creating the Culture

Peer SupportNeither criticize nor encourage

negative reinforcementAssist peers in accomplishing

their departmental goalsBe a scout

Internal supportAnalyze and tweak

infrastructureDevelop sense of

professionalismBe an advocate

Management SupportDon’t whineDon’t always ask for resourcesBe ready to say no thank youBe a stoic

Above all:

Ever mind the Rule of ThreeThree times what thou givest returns to theeThis lesson well, thou must learnThee only gets what thou dost earn!

---Rede of the Wiccae, written by Lady Gwen Thompson,

Questions or Discussion

Julianne Journitz

Director, Client Services

Information Technology

Pomona College

Claremont, California

Julie.Journitz@pomona.edu