Proper information
One of the comments Phil made in the interview yesterday stuck out to me as I went back and read it again this evening:
I stress how important it is that we get all the documentation, that we get our Fact Sheet filled out so when people call about things, we can at least answer the basic questions
It struck me because I would guess it takes a whole lot of effort to get people to think about those sort of things up front. I know even within some IT Departments I’m familiar with that a project is usually in it’s final stages, at best, before anyone even considers what sort of questions will be directed at the helpdesk because of this project and what information they will need to answer those questions. Sometimes the help desk staff has to go and find the information after the questions have already started coming in. That’s got to be one of the biggest frustrations among help desk staff, and help desk managers alike.
The bottom line for you IT folks out there, remember to keep your front-line support techs in the loop. It will save you a ton of headaches, and negative feelings, later.
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Great point Mike.
Not to mention, you annoy your callers a whole lot less if, when they ask about the newest coolest piece of software, they get something other than “I’ve never heard of that before. Let me get back to you.” That’s the fastest way for folks to lose faith in your IT department, because if you’re a single point of contact, the Help Desk IS your IT department.