Titletown HDI

In early June, our chapter President, Chuck Tomasi, attended the annual HDI Local Chapter Officers (LCO) summit in Colorado Springs, CO. The three day session was targeted at how the officers can improve the value to their members and grow their chapters. There was also significant time to network with (and learn from) other officers in a fun environment. We look forward to implementing many of the ideas Chuck came back with to enable that growth.

As Chuck mentioned, “With new leadership comes new perspective and new energy in to the entire chapter. This is a very exciting time as the chapter looks toward the future and identifies opportunities for improvement. More over, we want to hear from you. Watch your email for short questionnaires to help guide the local chapter officers in their decision making process. This is YOUR local chapter and we value your input.”

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Please click on link below to fill out this month’s survey:

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Chuck Tomasi’s HDI Conference Trip Diary posted on page 27 of HDI’s May/June edition of Support World!!!

Way to go Chuck!  You make us proud.

Date: June 18th (2:00 – 4:00 PM)

Program: Microsoft Office 2010 Overview

Presented by Nga Nguyen

Location:  University of Wisconsin – Green Bay 2420 Nicolet Drive, Green Bay, WI 54311

RSVP  

Directions and parking instructions for June’s meeting (Example parking permit shown also)

UWGB instructions HDI meeting 

Example Permit

HDI is in need of IT professionals participating in this survey.  Please follow this link to our LinkedIn group site and fill out the survey!!!!

http://www.linkedin.com/groupAnswers?viewQuestionAndAnswers=&gid=1092847&discussionID=20861277&goback=%2Eanh_1092847

President - Chuck Tomasi

VP of Membership – Amber Schroeder (Air Wisconsin)

VP of Communication – Bob Wery (Schenck SC)

VP of Marketing – Open Position (replaces Webmaster position)

Friday, May 21st, 2010 – 2:00 – 4:00 PM

Topics of discussion for May’s Titletown HDI Chapter Meeting
Open discussions for the meeting include:

- Training for help desk employees
- Knowledgebase solutions
- Change Management
- Problem Management
- KPI’s (overview)
- Service Desk Software packages
- First Call Resolution (FSR’s) measurement

Please RSVP @ http://titletownhdimaylcm.eventbrite.com

Physically being held at both Schenck (Appleton & Green Bay locations)

Virtual connection information:

Please join my meeting.

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/join/354895065

 Join the conference call:

 Dial 714-551-0020

Access Code: 354-895-065

Meeting ID: 354-895-065

Last week I attended Knowledge ‘10, a user conference for Service-Now.com, in San Diego California. Unlike the HDI National Conference, Knowledge is focused on one product, one vendor. Service-now.com is a web based SaaS (software as a service) IT service management software solution. While most customers use the hosted/cloud solution, the software can be installed on site. The software is built around the ITIL model providing incident, problem, change, release, knowledge, and project management and service (request catalog). Read the rest of this entry »

In March 2010, I attended and spoke at my first HDI National Conference in Orlando, FL. What a thrill and an honor. I want to thank all the wonderful people who made me feel so at home. I had several objectives while I was there.

First, I was there to learn as much as I could about becoming a better IT Service Desk Manager. What I got from the sessions did not disappoint. Whether it was about problem management, getting your point across in a quick communication, or service level agreements, I was picking up new information all the time. I also learned tons of valuable information from talking to peers.

Second, I was there to speak at one of the sessions. I offered to talk about effective customer communications. While the content was very focused to the service desk agent, I found a large majority of the attendees (about 70-80) were managers who wanted to bring the information back to their teams. As a presenter, it’s always more fun when the audience participates and interacts. This group was terrific in that respect. Yes, I had the first session of the day, right after the key note speaker (Larry Winget), but that didn’t slow this group down. Larry woke this group up and gave me some choice lines to refer to from time to time.

Third, I wanted to talk to vendors and find out what possible solutions there are to some of the current or upcoming initiatives. Again, there was a wealth of choices. I brought back several business cards that I quickly dispersed to the appropriate people.

One more reason for going was to get ideas for strengthening our local chapter. The other chapter officers were great; so full of ideas and very supportive. I really got a sense of family from the other officers and the staff back at the (HDI) “mothership”. I’m very optimistic about the future of the Titletown HDI chapter. Stay tuned…

The final reason I was there to show there is value in the conference to my employer. I went on my own dime (including the local chapter branded shirt in the photo). Did I get a couple thousand dollars worth of value out of all of this? You bet. I’m already building a case to attend next year. Here’s hoping I get the honor of speaking again.

Thank you HDI for a wonderful conference. Everything from registration, to the staff support services, to the party on Thursday night was something special.

Special thanks to Roy Atkinson for allowing me to share a room with him. We had many insightful and humorous moments.

I look forward to next year when we’ll have a bigger group from the Titletown area represented at the 2011 National Conference in Las Vegas.