Students supporting students – A Help Desk & Student Development Model

Nitish Khiria

Student Computing at UWStudent Computing support provided by:

• Faculty Help Desks (academic computing & some BYOD)

• IST Help Desks (BYOD, Infrastructure & Systems support)

IST Help Desks at UWThree IST Desks:

Desk & Staffing Hours Support For

CHIP:• 6 full time staff• 1 student staff

Weekdays: 8:30 am – 4:30 pm • Software & Media• Student Computing • Infrastructure & Systems

Library Desk:• 8 to 12 SCCs • 1 Co-op student

Weekdays: 8:30 am – 8:30 pm Weekends: 12:30 pm – 8:30 pm

• Student Computing• Infrastructure & Systems

Residence Desk:• 8 to 12 SCCs • 2 Co-op students

Weekdays: 8:30 am – 8:30 pm Weekends: 12:30 pm – 8:30 pm

• Student Computing• Infrastructure & Systems• Residence Technology

Student Computing Consultant (SCC) Program

• Highly competitive & popular!

• Part Time Employees (8 to 12 hours / week)

• Mix of 1st year & Upper Year Undergraduates

• Full Time students (minimum 3 courses)

Student Computing Consultant (SCC) Program

• Diverse fields (Arts, Engineering, CS, Science)• Very Low turnover• Technically inclined & trained • Strong Customer Service & interpersonal skills• Launching step for future careers!

Keys to Success• Strict & Selective hiring process

• Practical Training and Documentation

• Enforce Duties and Expectations

• Intuitive and Collaborative Tools

Strict & Selective Hiring• Advertise position early & generate interest

• Communication to incoming first years vital

• Plan for 12 month operation with co-op terms & terms off

Strict & Selective HiringSelection process searching for:

1. Attention to Detail2. Technical Skills3. Interpersonal Skills

Strict & Selective Hiring - Attention to Detail

• Important skill for learning • Crucial to following instructions/documentation• Test: asking for a cover letter with resume • Test (Interview question): “what hardware

brands do you prefer?” Correct Answer: multiple brands that make hardware (watch out for software)

Strict & Selective Hiring - Attention to Detail

Test (Interview question): “Student comes to helpdesk stressed that their computer won’t turn on & an essay that is due today is on it. You try, but aren’t sure what the issue is and how to fix it. What is your priority / plan of action?”

Correct answer: anything with essay as a priority.

Strict & Selective Hiring – Technical Skills

• Awareness / interest in technology > Technical knowledge

• Combination of both is ideal candidate• Technical skills often easier to test than others• Well rounded technical skills are ideal (mixture

of hardware, software, development)

Strict & Selective Hiring – Technical Skills

• Test (Interview Question): “Tell me 4 hardware and 4 software specifications of your computer?”

• Test (Interview Question): “What do you prefer? Mac or PC, and why?”

Correct Answer: Look for logical and technical reasoning.

Strict & Selective Hiring – Technical Skills

Technical skills can be tested for by asking for meaning / abbreviations of technical terms: • DVI • Ethernet• OS X• HFS • DNS

Strict & Selective Hiring – Interpersonal Skills

• Hardest skill set to develop & train on • Looking for combination of interpersonal &

customer service skills • Skills closely tied with awareness of

interactions • Can be tested by scenario based / theoretical

questions

Strict & Selective Hiring – Interpersonal Skills

• Test (Interview Question): “You are working at a helpdesk and you see your supervisor providing incorrect information to a student. What do you do”

Correct Answer: includes being sensitive to supervisor authority / balancing factual information against it

Strict & Selective Hiring – Interpersonal Skills

• Test (Interview Question): “A lot of things in life are black and white. What is the importance of grey?”

Correct Answer: includes how not everything in life is black or white. A lot is left to discretion / extenuating / special circumstances

Training• Training is one of the most important aspects of

well trained staff & efficient operations • Student staff programs need continuous

training • Training must reflect everything you expect

from your staff

Training• Must include thorough outlining of duties and

expectations

• Must include technical content & referral material for after

• Must include Customer Service Training & interpersonal behavior scenarios

Training• Based on turnover planning, SCC program

commits to a 5 day training session in Fall • Training held a week before Orientation • Mandatory to attend for all • Ideal training environment is hands on

Training5 day Fall training divided in: • Day 1: Expectations, Contract, Preferences• Day 2: Campus / Residence Networking• Day 3: Staff support, Systems used • Day 4: Campus Infrastructure + OS Bootcamp• Day 5: Mobile Devices + Customer Service (by

Organizational & Human Development)

Training Tips• Have a mixture of lecture, hands on and

interactive presentations • Take quizzes with prizes, regarding content at

end of each day • Offer evening / social activities to build a

stronger team • Offer lots of food!

Training• Needs to be offered every term

• Depending on turnover, can be trimmed down to essentials

• University of Waterloo holds a 2 day technical training session before every term for co-ops.

Duties & Expectations• Student Staff Management must never forget

their primary goal (being a student) • Student life vs helpdesk roles dictate: Allowed to do homework & browse when desk

is free (non offensive content) Highly competitive wages (Starting at $14.50/hr

to $16.50/hr) with a defined path

Duties & Expectations• Student staff allowed to book entire weeks off

for exams / opt for extra hours / shifts • Strict policies on late / no shows• Not allowed to listen to music • Not allowed to watch videos • Experienced and returning staff play a senior,

mentoring, and training based role (documentation & presentations)

Duties & ExpectationsAll Enforced through a Contract. SCC Contract:• Contract Requirements & Period• General Accountability • Time Commitments • Confidentiality • Keys & Door Access • Behavior (now includes social media!)

Tools of the Trade

Many tools used to ensure smooth operation: • Training Wiki / Site • Scheduling system• Ticketing system • Live Chat system • Remote Assistance system • Metric collection system

Training / Wiki Site (SharePoint)

Internal SCC SharePoint Site

Training / Wiki Site (SharePoint)

Made available to Faculty and Admin-Support Help Desks

Scheduling system (WhenToWork)

Scheduling system (WhenToWork)

• Allows for staff to post shifts as trades, drops • Supervisor controls automatic trading • Supervisor controls dropping permissions • Staff enter preferences, WhenToWork autofills• Used in conjunction with a SharePoint Check In

system (hoping to use biometrics soon!)

Ticketing System (Web Help Desk)

Live Chat (PHPLive Support)

• Internally hosted solution (Fully bought with source code)

• Allows transfers, ratings, canned responses• Adopted across 14 different areas /

departments

Remote Assistance System (Bomgar)

Metric Collection System• Challenge to record foot traffic / quick fixes • Tried & failed attempts at simple buttons / web

scripts / SharePoint • Resorted to a technology from 1909 years

ago…

On a 8.5 x 14 clipboard:

Instant Success!

Thank You