HDI Desktop Support Manager Instructors Guide

HDI®

Desktop Support Manager release 1.2.0

INSTRUCTOR GUIDE

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HDI Desktop Support Manager Certification Training

Instructor Guide

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AcknowledgementsMany thanks to the following people and companies for their time and assistance in the release of the HDI Desktop Support Manager (HDI-DSM) certi�cation course:

Pat Albright, Manager of Support Center Services, HDI

Ingrid Bradford, Sr. Instructional Designer, HDI

Rae Ann Bruno, President, Business Training Solutions

Randy Celaya, President, �e Coaching Bridge

Mia Melanson, President, Performance Consulting

Deborah Monroe, President, Ignite Achievements Int’l

Copyright © 2013 UBM, LLC All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. ISBN: 978-1-57125-090-2

HDI 121 S. Tejon Street • Suite 1100 Colorado Springs, CO • 80903 • US US and Canada: (800) 248-5667 www.�inkHDI.com

HDI assumes no liability for error or omission.

No part of this publication may be reproduced without the consent of HDI, with the exception of trade publications reporting on the data. In such cases, credit must be given to HDI.

HDI is a registered trademark of UBM, LLC. HDI is a part of UBM TechWeb, a division of UBM, LLC.

Portions of this document include information based on the ITIL and IT Infrastructure Library publications of the UK O�ce of Government Commerce. ITIL is a registered community trademark of the O�ce of Government Commerce, and is registered in the US Patent and Trademark O�ce.

Portions of this document include information based on the Knowledge-Centered Support publications of the Consortium for Service Innovation. KCS is a registered service mark of the Consortium for Service Innovation.

All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners.

Copyright © 2013 ITpreneurs. All rights reserved.

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Welcome to HDI®.Thank you for selecting HDI for your professional development needs. By participating in this course, you will learn knowledge and skills based on the IT service and technical support industry’s best practices, frameworks, and methodologies with the guidance of industry experts and practitioners from the HDI community. HDI is the world’s largest membership association for IT service and technical support professionals and the premier certification body for the industry. This course has also been designed to assist you in preparing for the related HDI certification exam.

Why is industry certification important? It demonstrates that you—and your staff—are equipped with the knowledge and skills required to provide best-in-class support. Achieving HDI certification speaks to your personal commitment to excellence and your desire for continual growth. I challenge you to get HDI Certified and to promote yourself as a certified support professional.

HDI’s membership association is built by industry professionals like you. Guided by an international panel of industry experts and practitioners, HDI is the leading resource for support center emerging trends and best practices. HDI offers a vast repository of resources to our members. Through our online community, you can connect with your peers and industry experts, access publications and information to help you with your support center processes and goals. If you are not a member, I personally invite you to join our community.

If you have suggestions on how to improve our offerings, or if you would like to become an active member in our community, please call us at 1-800-248-5667.

Best of luck in your journey to support excellence!

Regards,

Rick Joslin, HDI Executive Director of Certification and Training

WELCOME Letter

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TABLE Contentsof

IntroductionSection 1: Getting Started ............................................ I-2Section 2: Maximizing Your Learning Experience ....... I-5Section 3: About HDI ..................................................I-7

Unit 1: Desktop SupportSection 1: �e Evolution of Support ............................1-3Section 2: Support Center Maturity.............................1-8Section 3: Successful Desktop Support ...................... 1-12

Unit 2: StrategySection 1: Strategic Perspective ....................................2-3Section 2: Business Alignment ...................................2-12Section 3: SWOT ......................................................2-13

Unit 3: IT Financial ManagementSection 1: IT Financial Management ...........................3-3Section 2: Cost, Value, and ROI ................................. 3-6

Unit 4: Technology and Service Support Section 1: Service Desk Infrastructure .........................4-3Section 2: Telephony Infrastructure .............................4-5Section 3: Desktop Support Delivery Methods ........... 4-6Section 4: Service Management Systems .................... 4-14Section 5: Selecting Service Desk Technology ........... 4-17

Unit 5: Service Level ManagementSection 1: Service Level Management ..........................5-3

Unit 6: Metrics and Quality Assurance (QA)

Section 1: Desktop Support Metrics ............................6-3Section 2: Data Sources .............................................6-10Section 3: Baselining and Benchmarking ..................6-11Section 4: Performance Reporting .............................6-14Section 5: Quality Assurance Programs .....................6-20Section 6: Measuring Customer Satisfaction ..............6-23Section 7: Measuring Employee Satisfaction ..............6-29

Unit 7: Desktop Support ProcessesSection 1: Best Practices for Support ............................7-3 Section 2: IT Service Management (ITSM) ................. 7-5Section 3: �e Service Desk ........................................7-8Section 4: Service Operations .................................... 7-10Section 5: Service Design ........................................... 7-22Section 6: Service Transition ...................................... 7-26Section 7: Knowledge Management ........................... 7-32

Unit 8: LeadershipSection 1: DSM Responsibilities ..................................8-3Section 2: Your Role as Leader .................................... 8-4Section 3: Manage Operations E�ectively ...................8-7Section 4: Emotional Intelligence ..............................8-10Section 5: Communication ........................................ 8-14Section 6: In�uence & Motivate ................................8-24Section 7: Integrity & Service Ethics .........................8-27Section 8: Growth ......................................................8-28

Unit 9: Workforce ManagementSection 1: Workforce Management ..............................9-3Section 2: Sta�ng Models .......................................... 9-4Section 3: Scheduling ..................................................9-9Section 4: Sourcing ....................................................9-10Section 5: Recruitment ..............................................9-12

Unit 10: Training and RetentionSection 1: Fostering Relationships .............................10-3Section 2: Teamwork .................................................10-4Section 3: Coaching ................................................. 10-12Section 4: Peer Mentoring ........................................ 10-16Section 5: Training .................................................. 10-18Section 6: Rewards, Motivation, Retention..............10-23Section 7: Performance Management .......................10-26Section 8: Career Development Planning ................10-29

Unit 11: Promoting Desktop SupportSection 1: What is Marketing? ................................... 11-3Section 2: Creating Internal Marketing Culture ........11-6Section 3: Marketing Opportunities .......................... 11-9

Conclusion

AppendicesA: HDI-DSM Certi�cation Standard ......................... A-2B: Exam Preparation ............................................... A-129C: Practice Text .......................................................A-133D: Additional Resources ..........................................A-143E: Glossary ...............................................................A-155F: Bibliography ........................................................A-167

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Contents

Section 1: Getting Started ................................................................................ 2 Section 2: Maximizing Your Learning Experience ............................................ 5 Section 3: About HDI ...................................................................................... 7

INTROduction

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Instructor Notes

Section 1: Getting Started

Approximate time for Introduction = 30-45 minutes

• Highlight the course objectives

• Explain the classroom course materials

• Provide an overview of the course agenda, times for scheduled breaks, and ending times

• Use the “Parking Lot” to capture questions and issues that are not directly related to the course materials, or which will require additional time to discuss. General guidelines are listed in the Instructor Resources.

Introductions

Use the introduction format in the courseware, one of your own, or one listed in the Instructor’s Packet.

Make a deliberate effort to gauge the course particpants’ expectations and record them on a whiteboard or flipchart for future reference.

Ask the participants what they hope to learn or gain from this course. Questions may include, “How will people notice a change in you?” or “How will these changes affect your performance and your desktop support team’s performance?”

H D I D e s k t o p S u p p o r t M a n a g e r ( H D I - D S M )

C o p y r i g h t © 2 0 1 3 H D I , V e r s i o n 1 . 1 . 1

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INTROduction

Section 1: Getting Started

Course ObjectivesWelcome to the HDI Desktop Support Manager (HDI-DSM) certification training course. This three-day course is designed for experienced desktop support and support center supervisors, managers, and senior team leads who are responsible for day-to-day operations of the desktop support team and have three to five years of experience.

The HDI Desktop Support Manager course is designed to help you manage your desktop support operations in alignment with the support center organization, add value to the business, and deliver on support commitments. After completing this course, you will be able to:

• Align desktop support services with business strategy, objectives, and processes

• Recognize the latest technologies used in desktop support

• Understand the relationships among IT service management processes

• Know how to deliver on service level agreements (SLAs) and operational level agreements (OLAs)

• Implement methods for building and leading high-performance teams

• Promote desktop support services

• Prepare for the HDI Desktop Support Manager certification exam


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I n t r o d u c t i o n


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Course MaterialsYou are responsible for reading all of the materials you receive as part of this course. The course materials include:

• ParticipantWorkbook—This course manual is yours to write in or highlight as needed for future reference.

• Activities—Discussions and activities are part of the course to reinforce learning objectives and concepts.

• SlidePresentation—Instructors may present slides that are not in this manual. Taking notes is strongly encouraged.

Course AgendaThis course has been designed to cover material from general to specific. The following represents a typical agenda for the course. The instructor may modify the agenda to suit the individual needs of the class.

DayOne

Unit 1—Desktop SupportUnit 2—StrategyUnit 3—IT Financial ManagementUnit 4—Technology and Service SupportUnit 5—Service Level Management

DayTwo

Unit 6—Metrics and Quality AssuranceUnit 7—Desktop Support ProcessesUnit 8—Leadership

DayThree

Unit 9—Workforce ManagementUnit 10—Training and RetentionUnit 11—Promoting Desktop SupportConclusion

IntroductionsBe prepared to share the following information about yourself with the class:

• Name and company

• Brief description of your current position

• Your expectations from this course


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Instructor Notes

Site Logistics

• Orient the students to the logistics and locations of key places

• Give suggestions and/or directions for lunch (if applicable)

• Provide logistical information (e.g., locations of restrooms, phones, break rooms, and vending areas)

Online Student Resources

Mention the online student resources to class participants to find additional templates, white papers, and information.

Section 2: Maximize Your Learning Experience

Discuss the need for course participants to study the certification standard in order to prepare for the certification exam.

Discuss participants’ responsibilities and the objective of learning activities.



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INTROduction

Site LogisticsTake a moment to note a few important details about the training facility, including the locations of restrooms, reception areas, telephone and data ports, and eating places. Your instructor will explain the basic logistical details of the course, including:

• Instructor’s name and contact information

• Daily start, finish, and break times

• “Parking Lot” for questions and ideas

• Facility restrictions on food and drinks n the training room

• Confidentiality of information in classroom discussions

Online Student ResourcesHDI Desktop Support Manager resources are available for download from the online student resources. To access the online student resources, login to http://www.thinkhdi.com/students and type in the password lilac.


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Intro-5

Section 2: Maximizing Your Learning ExperienceThis course alone does not prepare you for the certification exam—you must also study the HDI Desktop Support Manager (HDI-DSM) Standard document. The certification exam for this course is based on the HDI-DSM Standard. In this course, your instructor will highlight and cover the majority of the topics in the standard and the key concepts that are critical to your job, as well as provide you with a safe learning environment to practice important concepts and ask questions.

As you prepare for the certification exam, review the information you learned in this class and, most importantly, review and study the HDI-DSM Standard. In Appendix A of this coursebook is the HDI Desktop Support Manager Standard. The last column in the standard provides the page number where the competency is discussed within the unit. If a page number is not listed next to the competency, then it is not discussed in the course. You are responsible for reviewing and learning all of the competencies in the standard in order to prepare for the certification exam. If you have a question about a competency not covered in this course, please see your instructor during a break or send your instructor a message.

Your ResponsibilityYou will optimize your time here by applying yourself to, and being responsible for, mastering Desktop Support Manager concepts. Please be prepared to:

• Attend all classes

• Participate fully

• Take risks

• Take notes

• Ask questions

• Share your experiences

• Enjoy yourself

Note: As a courtesy to others, please set pagers, cell phones, and other electronic devices to silent/manner mode. Time will be provided at breaks to allow you to check for messages.

Learning ActivitiesThis course is designed to build skills and help you prepare for the HDI Desktop Support Manager certification exam. The experience you bring to this class is greatly valued, and we encourage your participation in presenting your challenges, successes, and ideas. It is critical that you understand and are able to apply the concepts presented in this course. Lectures, discussions, activities, and role-plays are designed to be an essential part of the course. These activities help make the course fun and will assist you in getting the most out of your learning experience.


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Instructor Notes

Personal Action Plan

Encourage course participants to use the Personal Action Plan provided at the end of each unit. Participants will record specific ways that they can apply what they have learned in each unit to their job as a manager.

Section 3: About HDI

Point out that certification is a personal investment in their career, not just for their organizations. Certification is a seal of approval that validates them as a support professional. It goes where they go, so participants should be encouraged to follow through and take the certification exam after completing the course.



Intro-6

INTROduction

Personal Action PlanUse the Personal Action Plan at the end of each unit to integrate what you have learned in the course with your organization’s top priorities and strategies. As you take notes during this course, consider writing the page number and a short description on your plan to make future reference easier. When you return to work, review and execute your plan using the knowledge and skills you have learned.

HomeworkAfter today’s session, read the HDI Desktop Support Manager Standard presented in Appendix A in the back of this manual. You will need to study the standard before taking the certification exam.

Course EvaluationAt the end of the course, all participants are encouraged to complete a course evaluation. The purpose of the evaluation is to determine strengths and identify areas for improvement. Your candid comments and feedback are greatly appreciated. Please complete and return your evaluation to your instructor at the end of the course.

HDI Continuing Certification ProgramHDI professional certifications are globally recognized credentials distinguishing technical support professionals within specified roles. Some HDI certifications require support professionals to continue their professional development to maintain this recognition.


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HDI Certifications with Expiration

Management and supervisory level certifications are valid for three years. In order to maintain certification, individuals are required to demonstrate their commitment to continued learning. The following HDI certifications are subject to this requirement:

• HDI Support Center Director (HDI-SCD)

• HDI Support Center Manager (HDI-SCM)

• HDI Desktop Support Manager (HDI-DSM)

• HDI Support Center Team Lead (HDI-SCTL)

HDI Certification for Life

Analyst level and process focused certifications are recognized for life as they are foundational credentials. These include:

• HDI Support Center Analyst (HDI-SCA)

• HDI Desktop Support Technician (HDI-DST)

• HDI Customer Service Representative (HDI-CSR)

• Knowledge-Centered Support Principles (KCS)

The KCS certification is based on a specific version of the KCS Practices Guide published by the Consortium for Service Innovation. This certification represents a person’s knowledge related to that version. Other certifications available through HDI are awarded by various certification providers and are subject to the policies of the respective providers.

Terms of the HDI Certification Policy

Effective January 1, 2013, all new HDI-SCD, HDI-SCM, HDI-DSM, and HDI-SCTL certifications will be valid for three years from the date that the individual earned the certification. Each individual must earn and report 60 professional development units (PDUs) over a three year period. If the individual does not apply for and satisfy the requirements of the continued learning requirements, their certification will expire.

To learn more about the HDI Continuing Certification Program, visit the HDI website at www.thinkHDI.com/certification.


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Instructor Notes

HDI Support Center Certification

The HDI Support Center Certification program is based on best practices and open standards developed by expert practitioners across the industry. By being a part of this group, you can ensure your progress toward being a best-in-class support center. The HDI Support Center Certification provides a framework for profitability, quality of operations, customer satisfaction, and strategic planning.



Intro-8

INTROduction

Section 3: About HDIHDI is the leading professional association and certification body for technical service and support professionals. Facilitating collaboration and networking, HDI hosts industry conferences and events, produces comprehensive publications and research, and connects solution providers with practitioners, while certifying and training thousands of professionals each year. HDI serves a community of over 110,000 members, followers, customers, solution providers, and contributors throughout the service industry, supporting sixty local chapters across North America. Guided by an international panel of industry experts and practitioners, HDI is the community’s premiere resource for best practices and emerging trends.

HDI Certification ProgramsHDI awards certifications to individuals and support centers. HDI certification programs include objectives and criteria for various levels of individual certification and site certification. HDI individual certification exams are based on open international standards developed and maintained by the HDI International Certification Standards Committee, which is made up support industry practitioners, experts and active members of the HDI community from across the world. Our training programs are developed to reinforce the information in the standard and to provide skills building for a variety of experience levels.


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HDI Customer Service Representative (HDI-CSR)

This course is recommended for front-line staff in the support center environment who are dedicated to providing outstanding levels of customer service and support. Course participants will be introduced to valuable information and everyday solutions for addressing the attitudes, behaviors, and relationships between customers and the support team. This one-day course will assist participants in preparing for the HDI Customer Service Representative certification exam.

HDI Support Center Analyst (HDI-SCA)

This course focuses on support center processes, tools, and problem-solving techniques, while examining the skills needed for excellent customer support. Using real-world scenarios, analysts learn skills to manage the relationships between customers and their support team, thus improving individual performance and the overall efficiency of the entire support organization. This two-day course will assist participants in preparing for the HDI Support Center Analyst certification exam.

HDI Desktop Support Technician (HDI-DST)

This course is designed specifically for IT professionals who provide support at the customer’s work location or home office. It focuses on support processes that improve overall support operations and the customer’s experience. This two-day course will assist participants in preparing for the HDI Desktop Support Technician certification exam.

HDI Support Center Team Lead (HDI-SCTL)

This course is designed specifically for support center analysts, team leads, and supervisors that require fundamental management and leadership skills due to current or future increased responsibilities. This skills-building and certification course focuses on best practices for support center operations and how to effectively coach and lead a team. This two-day course will prepare current and future team leads for excellence in their changing roles and assist them in preparing for the HDI Support Center Team Lead certification examination.

HDI Support Center Manager (HDI-SCM)

This course is designed for help desk and support center supervisors, team leads, and managers who are responsible for day-to-day operations and have three to five years of experience. Successful support center managers must effectively manage relationships throughout their organization, while marketing the value of the support operation to the executive team. Knowing how to build and deliver on service level agreements, managing the strategic and tactical aspects of the support center, and building and retaining great teams are what set apart the best managers and leaders. In addition to skills building, this three-day course will assist participants in preparing for the HDI Support Center Manager certification exam.


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Instructor Notes



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INTROduction

HDI Desktop Support Manager (HDI-DSM)

This course is designed for desktop support supervisors, team leads, and managers who are responsible for day-to-day desktop support and services and have three to five years of experience. Successful desktop support managers must effectively manage relationships throughout their organization. Knowing how to build and deliver on service level agreements and operational level agreements, managing the strategic and tactical aspects of desktop support, and building and retaining great teams are what set apart the best managers and leaders. In addition to skills building, this three-day course will assist participants in preparing for the HDI Desktop Support Manager certification exam.

HDI Support Center Director (HDI-SCD)

This course is designed for experienced support center managers, directors, and other management positions directly responsible for providing strategic leadership for the support organization. This course is designed to show support center leadership how to use their knowledge and communication skills to align their department with organizational goals; operate under constraints such as budget, resources, and increased expectations; and discover techniques to help market the value of the support center to upper management. This three-day course will assist participants in preparing for the HDI Support Center Director certification exam.


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Intro-11

HDI Knowledge Management Foundations: KCS Principles

This course is designed for IT support professionals who are responsible for service improvements. Course participants will learn a set of practical steps for capturing, storing, and successfully reusing mission-critical knowledge that will shift your support center from a call-centric model to a knowledge-oriented one. This three-day course will assist participants in preparing for the Knowledge Centered Support Principles certification exam.

HDI Support Center Certification

The HDI Support Center Certification program provides the only globally recognized certification created specifically for support centers. The certification is an award that recognizes a support center’s commitment to excellence, efficiency, and service quality. The certification is based on the HDI Support Center Standard, an industry standard developed by an international standards committee comprised of more than 25 practitioners and experts from around the world. The standard was designed to conform to existing international quality standards, such as the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM). It provides a framework for successful leadership, strategic planning, people management, resource and technology optimization, and service delivery that is designed to produce performance and satisfaction results. The standard is organized into eight categories representing five enablers and three results. Each category contains activities with four levels of maturity. In order to qualify as an HDI-Certified Support Center, a center must successfully complete the audit requirements and achieve minimum maturity-level scores in each category and overall as defined by the HDI International Certification Standards Committee.

For a complete list of certification objectives for each certification course, please visit us at www.ThinkHDI.com.


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Instructor Notes



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INTROduction

HDI Membership Provides Unmatched ValueHDI membership brings you a value of belonging to a community bigger than yourself. Including discounts on the HDI Annual Conference & Expo, special events, training and certification, access to industry reports and publications, networking opportunities, online discussion forums, webinars, and more, HDI membership provides you and your organization with innumerable benefits and incredible value.

Here’s just a small sampling of what’s included in an HDI membership:

LocalChapterMembership

Network with professionals in your area when you participate in local chapter meetings and events. There are more than sixty local chapters located throughout the United States and Canada.

SupportWorldMagazine

HDI’s award-winning, service and support industry-leading magazine focuses on the latest strategies, best practices, people management, technologies, tools, and techniques in its six annual issues.

HDIIndustryInsidereNewsletter

Distributed bi-weekly to more than 45,000 subscribers, every issue of HDI Industry Insider contains crucial information on trends and developments, as well as tips and information to keep you up to speed in this ever-changing industry.


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SupportCenterPractices&SalarySurveyReport

This essential report for any support manager contains comprehensive research data gathered from support organizations around the world. Providing a first-hand insight on the industry, department structure, personnel, service request profiles, practices, and tools, it takes an in-depth look at compensation levels for the support profession and provides analysis and trending over several years, making it an especially invaluable tool for managers preparing budgets and forecasts.

DesktopSupportPractices&SalarySurveyReport

HDI is pleased to announce that in addition to our traditional Support Center Practices & Salary Survey, we’ve expanded our research efforts to focus on the desktop support community. The HDI Desktop Support Practices & Salary Report provides insight into current processes, technologies, metrics, staffing models, and salaries within desktop support.

HDISupportCenterSelf-Evaluation

The HDI Support Center Self-Evaluation is an online tool that enables you to compare your support center against the HDI Support Center Standard and learn what your rating might be during an HDI Support Center Certification audit. This tool is available free to HDI members with a gold membership or higher.

WhitePapers

Read about the latest practices and processes in the industry or become an integral part of the white paper library and share your knowledge through articles, templates, case studies, presentations, and research findings. The HDI white paper library offers information on a wide variety of topics, including SLAs, global support, processes, surveys, and more.

HDIConnect

HDIConnect.com is your direct line to the HDI community. Read and comment on blogs from industry experts and your peers, post questions to the message boards, and get feedback on your current projects or challenges.

Please Note: Membership deliverables vary depending on membership package.

We invite you to join the world’s largest network of technical service and support professionals. To join, call 1.800.248.5667 or visit www.ThinkHDI.com/Join


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Instructor Notes



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INTROduction

HDI is a Member of the IT Certification Council (ITCC)As a member of the IT Certification Council (ITCC), HDI is committed to enhancing the value of certifications for employers, professionals, and IT certification providers. The ITCC, a consortium of industry leaders focused on IT certifications, has recognized the need for a qualified workforce to support the world’s technology needs and is committed to growing professional certifications. The ITCC is a resource for employers, government officials, academia, and individuals seeking information about the many benefits of IT certification. The council establishes industry best practices, markets the value of certification and exam security, and addresses other certification issues.

A partial list of ITCC members includes Certiport, Cisco, Citrix Systems, Inc., EXIN International, HDI, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Kaplan, Linux Professional Institute (LPI), Microsoft, Novell, Prometric, and Pearson VUE—all of whom are recognized industry leaders in IT certifications.

ITCC is developing an international standard for testing ethics and a means for employers to verify that professionals hold the IT certifications they claim on their resumes and transcripts. HDI is proud to be a member of ITCC, collectively we enhance the IT industry.


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Unit 1: Desktop SupportOverview and IntroductionThis unit sets the foundation for the HDI Desktop Support Manager (HDI-DSM) training course. Even if you have not been in the IT industry since the birth of the support center in the 1980’s, you have probably recognized how quickly the support center has evolved and continues to evolve. The organization relies IT services in order to succeed and provide competitive advantages for the business.

In this unit, you will learn about the origins of the support center to better understand today’s support center. It is important to understand the evolution of support in order to appreciate the impact of advancing technologies and levels of service on customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, and performance results. Understanding the past enables people to develop better strategies for facing the future.

Finally, where is your support center and desktop support services in its evolution? And how do you know how you stack up against the business’ expectations, or industry standards? We will explore each of these topics to help you provide the leadership your desktop support team needs and to help you manage its resources.

Learning ObjectivesBy the end of this unit, you will be able to:

• Identify the phases in the evolution of the support center

• Summarize the evolution of desktop support services

• Describe the support center of the future

• Describe the characteristics of successful desktop support

• Explain why it is important to manage the support center as a business

• Describe the three components of a best-in-class organization

UNITOne

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Instructor Notes

Unit Agenda

Identify the learning path for course participants by providing an overview of the unit agenda.

Guiding Questions

Read aloud the guiding questions to participants. As you discuss this unit, course participants should look for answers to these questions.

Section 1: Evolution of Support

The terms KPIs, goals, and objectives will be used throughout this course. We will define each of them in more detail later.

Service in today’s complex support environment requires new approaches, technologies, and tools. The role of the support center and desktop support is increasing in strategic importance to the organization. This course is designed to encourage and empower managers to align desktop support goals with business goals and objectives.

Understanding how support has evolved will enable participants to improve their processes and learn from their failures.



1-2

UNITOne

Unit AgendaSection 1: The Evolution of Support ................................................................................... 3

Section 2: Support Center Maturity ...................................................................................8

Section 3: Successful Desktop Support ............................................................................12

Unit Summary .................................................................................................................16

Guiding QuestionsAs you progress through this unit, look for answers to the following questions:

1. What are the phases in the evolution of the support center?

2. What are the phases in the evolution of desktop support services?

3. How can you use the HDI Support Center Maturity Model?

4. What are the characteristics of successful desktop support?

5. Why is it important to manage desktop support like a business?


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U n i t 1 : D e s k t o p S u p p o r t


1-3

Section 1: The Evolution of SupportIt is important to understand the evolution of support in order to appreciate the impact of advancing technologies and levels of service on customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, and performance results. Understanding the past enables people to develop better strategies for facing the future.

The Evolution of the Support CenterThe support center has evolved from a message desk supporting batch processing to a single point of contact for the customer—supporting transaction processing, applications, and solutions. These transformations have dramatically changed the role of the support center and the skills required by a support center’s staff. What began as the message center for programmers, systems operators, and administrators has evolved into key, value-added services for IT and the organization.

Past

The first computers were mainframes designed specifically for business applications. Business users had little access to the system, rather they relied on data entry clerks to run reports so they could analyze business conditions and financial results. When a user needed a report, they contacted the computer programmers or operators, who had to interrupt their normal operations to run the job. The programmers’ primary role was to write software and ensure that the mainframe did not go down.

Help desks started in the mid-1980’s as a reactive “back office” operation, with the introduction of desktop computing, for inexperienced employees needing technical assistance. The help desk developed as an afterthought, designed to assist internal customers with issues about the tools they were using day-to-day. These support centers were staffed with entry-level staff who could resolve technical issues over the phone or be dispatched to the customer’s desk to resolve issues.

As time went by and technology developed a pivotal role in the operation and growth of business, management started to recognize the value of the help desk as a vital resource and the support center took on a more proactive role. In the late 1990’s, the model for a support center changed significantly. The support center evolved into a single point of contact (SPOC) model, a problem-solving resource positioned at the center of all IT-related activity.


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Future

Discuss: Where is support really headed? (without getting into a deep discussion about emerging technologies as this will be discussed later in the course.



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UNITOne

Present

In today’s support center, paper-based systems have been replaced with automation, resulting in significant changes in the support center environment. Support has grown from a transaction-based service with little input from customers to a proactive, integrated, and highly valued company asset. Users are customers of support, and new and advanced telephony and service management systems have resulted in advances in customer service and the establishment of standardized processes and procedures.

Today’s support centers are critical to the health and performance of an organization, and are increasingly seen as: the core of an organization’s technical proficiency; the barometer for the organization’s attitude towards customers, employees, and partners; and the hub for communication throughout the organization. The support center is a functional unit with specialized resources and capabilities.

Today, the role of the support center in the organization is to:

• Serve as the single-point-of-contact (SPOC) for end users and the business

• Handle all incidents and service requests

• Execute the Incident Management and Request Fulfillment processes (which will be discussed later in this course)

• Communicate with users in terms of providing information, advice, and guidance


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The support center must clearly communicate its role and responsibilities to the customer, as well as understand and provide for the technical support needs of its customers. Customer satisfaction is a key performance indicator for the support center today. Key performance indicators (KPIs) are clearly defined goals and objectives that are well documented, easily measurable, and are critical to the success of the support center. From these goals and objectives, the support center can clearly communicate its purpose and role to its customers. This will be discussed in more detailed later in the course.

The value of the support center to the organization is realized in:

• Improved customer service satisfaction

• Increased accessibility through a single operational point of contact

• Improved teamwork and communication

• A proactive approach to service provisioning

• Reduced negative impact on the business through Incident, Request, and Access Management processes

• Improved usage of IT support resources and increased productivity of business personnel

Future

The role of the support center continues to evolve in most organizations. The scope of support center services will continue to increase as new programs, intended to contain costs and improve customer satisfaction, are implemented. To meet these new challenges, support centers will need to reinvent themselves—implement new tools such as self-service and self-healing technologies, and enable business success through skilled people and streamlined processes.

Future support centers will have an expanded scope of services and be expected to provide a truly proactive approach that is both customer and business-centric. Metrics will be redefined with more focus on customer satisfaction, customer retention, and the revenue/profitability per customer and support center professional.

The evolving support center model will capitalize on valuable customer interactions with a central database (i.e., knowledge base) to share information throughout the enterprise. Thus the support team will effectively leverage information for the benefit of the entire organization—improving loyalty, profitability, and productivity.


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UNITOne

The Evolution of Desktop SupportIn the past, desktop support emerged as a reactive environment, accepting calls from the help desk and/or the users directly, and then dispatched out to a location to troubleshoot a problem where little technology at the user location was available. As time went on, paper-based systems were replaced with service management systems; and as hardware reliability improved the need for reactive desktop support diminished.

Presently, desktop support manages a higher percentage of incidents related to software issues and an expanded breadth of technology is supported, such as laptops and mobile devices. The support center is the single point of contact (SPOC) taking ownership of incidents and when necessary escalating issues to desktop support.

Desktop support, like its sibling, the support center, was an afterthought until a customer experienced a problem or had a need. However, unlike its relative the support center, desktop support has lacked both strategic and tactical advice, practice, and research about desktop support management and desktop support practices. It may be that the desktop support function is so intertwined with the operations of the support center that the practices used in its execution have not been clearly identified. Today, the desktop support organizational structure runs the gamut from being part of the support center to being a totally separate entity with little, if any, coordination between the two functions.

In the future, as technology and support evolve, a shift from reactive to proactive support takes place and with that the function of desktop support will need to change. Desktop support of the future involves full integration with the support center. This proposed structure will likely spur considerable debate and some discomfort as structural and role responsibilities will need to shift in many organizations.


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Additionally, as support evolves, desktop support has to be managed by a full-time supervisor or manager, depending on its size and complexity, so that this individual can assist in integrating the work of the desktop support technicians, the causes of their tickets, and the results of their audits into the support center’s work. Desktop support will see continued growth in devices supported and software incidents will be reduced as self-healing technologies grow. Both the support center manager and the desktop support manager will report up to the same support director. This approach is a natural extension of the single point of contact (SPOC), both teams being under the same umbrella becoming more customer and business-centric.

Activity: RoundtAble discussionWhat is the current state of your desktop support organization?

What challenges do you face?

What can you do to foster an improved relationship between desktop support and the support center?


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Instructor Notes

Activity: Roundtable Discussion

Time: Approximately 20 minutes

In small groups, have course participants discuss the three questions. As we progress through the course, resources and tools will be presented that will may aid in their challenges.



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UNITOne

Section 2: Support Center MaturityThe HDI Support Center Maturity Model provides guidance to support organizations as they evolve. It represents the progression of the typical internal IT support organization (and most external support organizations) from being tactical to becoming strategic. The model examines four focus areas of support: people, process, technology, and vision. The maturity model can act as an assessment tool and enable you to develop a vision of the future state and a plan for getting there. The HDI Strategic Advisory Board defined the four levels of support center maturity as:

The four levels are described on the next pages. The full details of the model are on the HDI website. The HDI Support Center Maturity Model can be used by support organizations to evaluate where they are today and to develop a vision of where they want to be.


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Level 1 – ReactiveReactive support organizations focus on the operational level and are highly labor-driven. They may not have been in existence very long, and are commonly open only during standard business hours (8:00 am to 5:00 pm). They probably have not developed tiers of support within the support organization and, as such, generalists are taking all calls. As a result, the first call resolution rate is low, and the percent of incidents that have to be dispatched or assigned to other departments is high. Generally, these organizations utilize a simple telephony or e-mail infrastructure, and the work environment can be rather chaotic.

Bottom Line: The support function is beginning to form and customers have someone to contact. While the service is basic and the cost of support may be high, the organization has recognized the value of building a support organization, and may see a return on customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Level 2 – ProactiveAfter an organization has been in existence for some time, it becomes more proactive than reactive. Proactive organizations develop sound business and operational plans and actively put these plans into effect. They implement technologies to boost efficiency and control —such as incident management systems—and work toward implementing best practices for their support processes. In this way, they become better tactically, and also move towards becoming more strategic in nature.

Proactive support centers have extended their support hours to better meet the needs of their customers. Their staff is involved in professional communities to develop skills and aptitude (e.g., HDI and HDI’s local chapters). They have also developed Service Level Agreements with their customers, and Operational Level Agreements and Underpinning Contracts with support partners to accurately set and maintain expectations. They understand that by building a knowledge base of quality solutions, they can improve service and lower costs.

A proactive support center does not wait for customers to complain; rather they proactively conduct regular surveys and encourage customer feedback. They likely have implemented good asset management to track location and version numbers, and may have implemented automated software distribution tools. While they may not have complete support center performance reports, they have begun to track and report a number of key support metrics.

Bottom Line: The proactive support center represents a significant advance in value over the reactive organization, as it is much more efficient and effective in anticipating and addressing the needs of its customers. Support at this level is a respected function; many of the necessary tools are in place, and great strides have been taken to implement best practices. At this level the support center has a good understanding of the types of incidents that are being reported, but may not be able to provide sophisticated or integrated feedback to the development group, procurement, or the business unit heads that they serve. There is a limited level of integration between change, release, and problem management at this phase.


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Instructor Notes

Section 2: Support Center Maturity

This is part of an HDI White Paper. It is designed to present a guideline for managers seeking to improve the value they provide to their overall organization. For more information, encourage participants to download the whitepaper from the HDI website.



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Level 3 – Customer-CentricThe customer-centric support organization is totally focused on meeting the needs of the customer. It consistently provides them with service when and how they want it. This organization offers a single point of contact (SPOC) for all customer interactions and documents all customer interaction for quality analysis, backed by product and service improvements. Proper staff planning maximizes the chance for the right resources to be available, when and where they are needed. Customers can report incidents via multiple support channels (e.g., phone, e-mail, chat, etc.).

The support organization understands the cost of services by incident type, customer group, and channel of support. In the case of internal support centers, this allows the customer to better understand the cost of service, an important facet if chargeback is involved. External support centers are able to more accurately assess the costs of delivering support—by channel, and by customer type or grouping, which enables them to better manage and minimize costs. Customer-centric support organizations consider vendors to be their partners, and overall support performance metrics are in-depth and broadly communicated.

Bottom Line: Customer-centric support is an excellent level at which to perform and one which many support organizations have achieved, at least in part. The customer is “king” and the entire support team has one objective: satisfying the customer. Such organizations are models of excellence and often represent models that others would like to emulate. By providing a variety of ways for customers to obtain support, and creating a valuable partnership with the customers it serves, the customer-centric support center allows the entire organization to operate more efficiently and effectively.


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However there is one danger: at times a customer-centric organization can go too far in satisfying some customers, by delivering service and support outside the boundaries of organizational policy. The highest level of achievement for a support center is one in which high quality service and support is delivered consistently, within the guidelines of the organization, helping to realize not only high customer satisfaction, but optimum organizational performance as well.

Level 4 – Business-CentricThe business-centric organization is a strategic support center. It knows the value of the customer, but understands that support values must align with business objectives. At this stage of maturity, the support team has established a business relationship with its key stakeholders within the customer groups they serve. Support leaders understand the business of the customers they serve and how support impacts organizational productivity. Likewise, the business units served have an understanding of the costs and benefits of various support options and how they can work with support to improve overall organizational productivity. The support organization provides performance reports that detail how support impacts organizational performance. The support function is fully integrated into the business infrastructure of the organization, and support processes are fully automated.

Bottom Line: The business-centric support organization has developed the optimal method for evaluating support in terms of its overall value to the organization, as well as the most effective way of delivering that support. Key stakeholders realize the value it delivers, and the organization leverages the support center as a strategic asset to maximize overall organizational performance.


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Instructor Notes

Note:

The support center and desktop support are two separate groups and should be recognized as two separate functions within ITIL.

The people who work in these organizations generally see themselves as two separate functions and different professions; however, they are both part of the support organization and customers may see them as one team.

Desktop support is generally the level two group with the closest ties to the support center. They tend to have the highest level of escalations by volume than other support teams and usually the closest working relationship.

In about 1/3 of organizations they have the same manager. Some organizations maintain them as separate teams while others are using a more blended model.



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Section 3: Successful Desktop SupportAs we delve into discussions in this course about desktop support services and practices, let us define... What is desktop support?

Desktop support can be defined as the activities involved in providing face-to-face, onsite support for desktop PCs, peripherals, and other related equipment, as well as assisting users, on location, with their software and hardware questions and problems. A goal of desktop support is to return an employee to productivity as quickly and efficiently as possible when a deskside visit is required to resolve an incident or fulfill a service request.


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Characteristics of Successful Desktop Support An effective desktop support organization frequently positions its services and support as strategic leverage points to increase productivity, raise customer satisfaction, and improve business success. Characteristics of a successful desktop support organization include:

• Clear direction, decisive management, inspiring leadership

• Vision and mission statements aligned with organization’s strategic direction

• Documented policies, regularly reviewed, and monitored

• Roles and responsibilities defined for each position at all tier levels

• Processes in place for determining resources necessary to provide services

• Integrated service management processes in place and regularly reviewed

• Collaborates with support center to improve support services

• Meets goals consistently

• Regular employee satisfaction measures in place

• Customer satisfaction measures include desktop support performance

• Performance results identified

• Quality assurance and continual improvement programs in place

• Benchmarking against industry standards and certification through industry programs

The Role of Desktop Support in the Support OrganizationAs a desktop support manager, it is crucial for you to understand your value in the support organization. If the front line support center analyst is the voice of the support center, then the desktop support technician is the face of the support center. Together, both support groups work as a team to provide service and support while representing the entire organization. Responsibilities of the desktop support manager in the support organization include:

• Communicating mission and goals and managing functional desktop support activities

• Working with the support center manager to define an effective feedback mechanism for customers

• Defining and documenting desktop support policies and procedures

• Ensuring accurate job descriptions exist for desktop support technicians

• Forecasting staffing needs and developing scheduling models to support the business at the agreed service level

• Providing input to the budget process and monitoring budget variances

• Formulating plans to support strategic goals

• Serving as a management escalation point


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Instructor Notes

Section 3: Successful Desktop Support

This section takes a closer look at what desktop support is and the characteristics of successful desktop support. It is also crucial for the desktop support managers to understand their role in the support organization and that they are a part of the support center team.



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Managing Desktop Support as a BusinessCreating an environment for success goes beyond an assessment and setting direction. The desktop support manager needs to be responsible for establishing the culture and environment for desktop support, and ensuring business alignment with the support center and the organization.

In today’s economic climate, companies are taking an extremely focused approach at reviewing their business model for profitability and value. In terms of desktop support services, this means asking yourself and your team a simple but profound question:

Do you run desktop support as a business?

You are either adding to the profitability of the business or you are taking away from it. Support professionals, managers, directors, and executives need to look beyond providing basic customer support services and technical support, and consider the following questions:

• Are we adding value to the business?

• How do we know if we are adding value or not?

• What drivers will help our organizations provide value to enhance and protect the customer experience?

To understand the importance of the role of desktop support, it is important to maintain a ‘business focus’ by understanding the image of desktop support and the support center, the organization’s company culture, and the business impact for each customer experience. These three components impact the value and perception of the support.


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Business ImageThe support organization, which encompasses all support, including desktop support, acts as a business unit within an organization providing a service for internal and external customers. Therefore, the image of all the support groups must always be one of professionalism and efficiency. With every interaction, both the support center and desktop support teams project a perception and a business image their customers.

Company CultureCulture sets companies apart from one another, and generally a unique sub-culture exists within every organization. Every support team must strive to recognize the differences between its culture and that of the company it supports.

Support professionals need to blend the culture of support with the culture of the organization. This cultural blending begins by gaining an understanding of the nature of the company’s business and values. The support center and desktop support team must then make decisions based on the company’s culture. As the desktop support manager, you are responsible for providing compassionate leadership and encouraging open and honest communication, which contribute to a healthy and positive workplace culture.

Business ImpactThe traditional support team focuses on supporting technology or customer transactions, but the mature support team is one that focuses on supporting the business as a whole, understanding the business impact of each customer transaction. When any support professional interacts with a customer, the initial conversation should include the following questions:

“How is this incident impacting your ability to do your job?”

and “What is the time frame that we are up against?”

It is only through focusing on what is truly important to the survival and growth of the business that the support center and desktop support is able to maximize its business value.

Take a moment and ask yourself the following questions about your desktop support, your business, and your customers:

• What business are you in?• Who are your customers?• Where does the revenue come from?• Who drives revenue in the company?• What are your company’s products and services?• Which products and services are the most profitable?• How can you best support the revenue streams?• What are the annual strategic business objectives?• Is your support strategy aligned with them?


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Instructor Notes

Managing Desktop Support as a Business

The components, or driving forces, of a best-in-class organization are Business Image, Company Culture, and Business Impact.



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Unit SummaryIn this unit, you learned to:

• Identify the phases in the evolution of the support center

• Summarize the evolution of desktop support services

• Describe the support center of the future

• Describe the characteristics of successful desktop support

• Explain why it is important to manage the support center as a business

• Describe the three components of a best-in-class organization

Support organizations as we know them today has evolved almost as quickly as the technology it supports. From its humble beginnings providing support to mainframe computers to delivering support in a professional, timely, and cost-effective manner, today’s support organizations are invested in the business’ strategies and outcomes.

The HDI Support Center Maturity Model allows the support organization to measure its effectiveness and value and provide a guide for the support’s continual evolution, improvement, and value. It is important to understand that there is no right or wrong place to be in the maturity model. The key is to understand your current state and have a vision of a future state that will meet the needs of your stakeholders.

By looking beyond providing basic customer and technical support and maintaining a business focus, a world-class desktop service and support organization is within your reach.


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Unit Challenge1. How has desktop support evolved?

2. What is the current state of your desktop support organization? What challenges do you face?

3. What do you think your desktop support organization will look like in the future?

4. What is your maturity level?

5. Are you running desktop support as a business?

6. How does desktop support play a role in the business image, company culture, and business impact of the entire support organization?


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Instructor Notes

Unit Summary

Review the learning objectives for this unit.

Unit Challenge:

1. See standard 2.1.2.

2-6. Answers will vary.

Standard Review

Review the competencies covered in this unit.

Personal Action Plan

Provide course participants with five minutes to record a few action items.



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HDI Desktop Support Manager StandardListed below are the standard competencies covered in this unit.

StandardNumber Competency

2.1.1 Identify the phases in the evolution of the support center.

2.1.2 List the phases in the evolution of desktop support services.

2.1.3 Describe the characteristics of a successful desktop support organization.

5.3.1 Describe the role of the support center in the organization.

5.3.2 Explain the value of the support center to the organization.

5.3.3 Describe the responsibilities of the desktop support manager in the support organization.


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Personal Action PlanReflect on the information presented in this unit, and take time to record what you found most beneficial and what specific action(s) you plan to take based on that information. Use the following key to complete the Personal Action Plan:

Priority: High Medium Low

Complexity: Hard Easy Don’t Know

Action: Research Implement Delegate Contact (person)

Action Item(s) Page # Priority Complexity Action Taken

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.


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Unit 2: StrategyOverview and IntroductionStrategic management is one of the most important and fundamental aspects of your role as a desktop support manager. Not being involved in strategic management or having a strategic plan is like taking a trip without a map or final destination or even a means of reliable transportation. Strategic management provides effective leaders and managers with the target (vision, goals, direction), the roadmap (policies and procedures), and the means (resources) to hit the target.

In this unit, you will learn how to develop successful desktop support strategies, how to align desktop support strategies with organizational goals, and how to become involved in the organization’s strategic decision-making process.

Learning ObjectivesBy the end of this unit, you will be able to:

• Describe the strategic framework of the support organization

• Define the purpose of a vision statement

• Define the purpose of a mission statement

• Differentiate between goals, strategy, and objectives

• Describe how business alignment is achieved within the strategic framework

• Explain how to use a SWOT analysis

UNITTwo

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Instructor Notes

Unit Agenda

Identify the learning path for course participants by providing an overview of the unit agenda.

Guiding Questions

Read aloud the guiding questions to participants. As you discuss this unit, course participants should look for answers to these questions.

Section 1: Strategic Perspective

Successful support organizations have a well-articulated and clear strategy. It is important to align the strategy of desktop support with the corporate strategy of the business.

A vision without a strategy is a hallucination.



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Unit AgendaSection 1: Strategic Perspective .......................................................................................... 3

Section 2: Business Alignment ......................................................................................... 12

Section 3: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats ........................................ 13

Unit Summary .................................................................................................................16

Guiding QuestionsAs you progress through this unit, look for answers to the following questions:

1. Describe the strategic framework.

2. What is a vision statement? What is a mission statement?

3. What is Operations Management?

4. How do you align desktop support with the organization?

5. What is a SWOT analysis?


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U n i t 2 : S t r a t e g y


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Section 1: Strategic PerspectiveThe primary role of the support center and desktop support for any organization, whether it is delivering internal or external support is…

…to provide consistent, high-quality customer support that enables the customer and/or organization to continue performing at the highest possible level.

In order to carry out the strategic activities within the organization, both support groups (i.e., the support center and desktop support) must have a vision and mission statement that are aligned with those of the organization as a whole. Strategic plans are then developed from the vision and mission statements. This enables the support groups to position service and support offerings to increase productivity, improve customer satisfaction, and enhance business success.

Building Your StrategyIt is important to understand how to build your support organization, particularly if it is to become an integral part of the business. Building the support strategy to meet your business’s and customer’s needs comes from a foundational approach starting with the basics and continually refining and detailing how the support center and desktop support will meet these needs together. All processes and procedures used to serve your customers are derived from this foundation. Strategic planning, which involves long-term planning, takes place at the highest levels in the organization, usually the executive team. It includes:


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Instructor Notes

Values

On the pyramid on the previous page, values are on the bottom, representing the foundation for your company. They govern all interactions within and outside of the company, and typically are the reason why your company/business does what it does.

Vision

Ask: “What are some other examples of great vision statements?”

Some examples include:

• Martin Luther King, Jr., “I have a dream.”

• Former U.S. President John F. Kennedy, “By the end of the decade, we will put a man on the moon.”



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A strategic plan provides the framework and foundation for a business plan. Strategic plans look two to three years ahead, and include assessments of the business environment, how the support groups will meet the needs of the business, the technologies needed in the future, headcount, process improvement, etc. It typically addresses the following questions:

• Where are we now?• Where do we want to be?

From the strategic plan, a tactical plan is developed, which is a shorter-term plan that refines the strategic plan. It includes plans for staffing, training, infrastructure, and other resources. A tactical plan addresses the following questions:

• How are we going to get where we need to be (resources, budget, staffing)?• How will performance be measured?

Finally, operational plans, or day-to-day planning, focuses on the here and now. It is the execution of the tactical plans.

A desktop support manager can develop strategic awareness by:

• Acquiring knowledge of organizational strategic plans and understanding them

• Understanding how desktop support can enable the strategic plans

• Identifying desktop support activities required to support the strategic plans

• Demonstrating and communicating desktop support linkage to the strategic plans


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ValuesValues reflect the core ideology of an organization—the deeply held values that do not change over time. Values typically answer the question, “How do we carry out our vision and mission?” Values serve as guiding principles that affect behavior, actions, decision making, and interpersonal interactions. The values of the organization help to define the corporate culture. Many organizations use a code of ethics, or credo, to describe what they believe in.

When hiring staff, it is important to select people who reflect the corporate values. The corporate culture has an impact on staff retention and employee satisfaction. The values of the corporation also define the relationships that the organization has with employees, customers, suppliers, partners, and the community.1

VisionA vision statement is the view of the future state of the organization or department. It is an ideal picture of what the organization wants to become, as viewed by customers and employees. Vision statements, sometimes called “value propositions,” are based on the values of the organization. They should inspire pride, commitment, and a sense of belonging, as well as stretch capabilities and the self-image of the organization.

A vision statement should answer the following questions:

• For what purpose does your organization exist?

• How do you want others to view your organization?

• What unites your organization with the rest of your company? To develop a vision, you need to understand clearly the vision of the overall organization and the competencies of your team.

According to the Alliance for Nonprofit Management, “Like much of strategic planning, creating a vision begins with and relies heavily on intuition and dreaming.”2 Your vision statement should be a collaborative effort that includes the support center manager or you may attend a strategic planning meeting lead by your support center director. The important thing to remember is that having a vision provides a powerful competitive and strategic advantage over organizations that operate without a vision.

Sample Vision Statements

“McKesson’s vision is to help create a healthcare system where quality is higher, mistakes are fewer, and costs are lower.”

McKesson Corporation

“The vision of RPR Support Services is to create a support center where customers are happier, costs are lower, and analysts love to come to work.”

RPR Support Services

1 For more information, see http://humanresources.about.com/cs/strategicplanning1/a/strategicplan_3.htm.2 Alliance for Nonprofit Management, http://www.allianceonline.org/FAQ/strategic_planning/what_s_in_vision_statement.faq.


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Instructor Notes

Mission

Having a clear mission that is summarized in a statement helps the desktop support team rally around something. It explains the purpose for everything the team does.

It should embody what you stand for, what drives the business and what drives your team to success. It should inspire your team.

Avoid catchy slogans in your mission statement. Omit statements that are not measurable and achievable. For example, “exceptional customer service” needs to be defined: “We will maintain a 95% customer satisfaction rating.” Make it realistic.

Creating a mission statement is a great team activity. Have participants read through the sample mission statements.

Ask: “What did you like most about these mission statements? What did you like least?”

There are no right or wrong answers. The important thing to remember when creating your mission and vision statements is that your team should decide on the best statement that reflects the team and is aligned with the organization—one that reflects your company culture, and that is measurable.



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Mission Statement The mission statement identifies the plan necessary to accomplish the vision. It is a short, formal written statement that outlines what business practices the support groups will need to implement to achieve that purpose, and aligns the support center and desktop support with industry best practices. The mission statement identifies how you will achieve what you are trying to accomplish, which will subsequently be translated into the organization’s goals and objectives.Your mission statement should be a short and concise statement that incorporates the following elements:

• Purpose statement—“What are we committing to do for the benefit of our customers?”• Business statement—“How do we plan to accomplish our purpose?”• Value statement—“Why do we do what we do?” (e.g., commitment to quality, integrity,

innovation)

Mission statements contain key words that accurately and positively promote your image. These should be terms that can be measured and evaluated over time. You may include input and contribution from your staff when developing your mission statement. The team that contributes to the development of the strategy will be more likely to embrace it. The mission of desktop support is to provide technical support and services to resolve escalated incidents and fulfill service requests to enable the productivity of end users.

When creating a mission statement: •Align strategic goals with business goals •Use measureable key words•Get input from all team members •Keep your mission statement simple•Direct your mission to all stakeholders •Review it annually


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Sample Mission Statements“It is our goal to meet and exceed our customers’ expectations by supporting the present and future computer systems to allow AFTRA to achieve its business goals.”

American Federation of Television & Radio Artists

“To provide world class customer service via the application of process, technology, and expertise enabling Ciba Vision Corporation to increase customer satisfaction in a cost-effective manner.” Ciba Vision Help Desk

Goals Simply stated goals are what we want to achieve. Goals are the desired end-point in support of your strategy. They are the long-term, strategic accomplishments that a business or organization sets for itself. Goals relate to specific long-range targets and are stated in terms of facts. The primary outcome of strategic planning, or road-mapping, is the setting of specific goals for the organization to accomplish the commitments stated in its vision and mission. Your responsibility as the desktop support manager is to manage desktop support in a manner which empowers the desktop support team to reach its goals.

StrategyStrategy is defined as a careful method or plan for meeting an organization’s goals.3 A strategy is normally implemented through a set of policies, which are the guiding principles that govern decisions and behavior based on what is best for the organization, as determined by the management team. The purpose for having a strategy is to focus all team members on common goals.

Strategy typically answers the questions:

• How will we plan to achieve our goals?

• What methodologies, best practices, or frameworks will we utilize to accomplish our goals and objectives?

A strategy is directed to all stakeholders. A stakeholder is any person or group that has an interest in the support center operations, such as executives/senior management, customers, peers, employees, partners, contractors, suppliers, and your team/staff. The strategy ensures that everyone knows where the organization is heading and is focused on achieving the organization’s goals. As the desktop support manager, you are responsible for implementing policies for your team.

3 Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, p.1233.


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Documents

HDI Desktop Support Manager Instructors Guide