Titletown HDI

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.

Local Chapter meeting to follow SMA Webinar physically at both Green Bay and Appleton location of Schenck SC.

RSVP for local chapter meeting @ Titletown HDI April Local Chapter Meeting

PLEASE REGISTER FOR BOTH OUR LOCAL MEETING AND FOLLOW LINKS BELOW TO REGISTER FOR SMA’S WEBINAR!!!!!

Virtual login information below:

1.  Please join my meeting.

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/join/369863929

 2.  Join the conference call:

 Dial 712-338-7101

Access Code: 369-863-929

Meeting ID: 369-863-929

Invitation to Join Titletown HDI Meeting Over the Web

 Date: Friday, April 16, 2010

Time: 2-3 pm CST

“IT service desk managers…generally consider metrics and KPIs as critical to evaluating the success of their business units and as the basis for developing strategic action plans for the future. Why is there so much confusion as to the difference between metrics and KPIs, and why do we even need them?”

 Excerpt from:
“Implementing an IT Support Metrics and KPI Program”
 by SMA CEO, Steve Dreyer, SupportWorld Nov/Dec 2009

 During this webinar Steve Dreyer will discuss the difference between Metrics and KPIs (key performance indicators) and explain how the IT service desk can use them to:

•  assess effectiveness
• manage IT resources
• measure customer satisfaction
• analyze the impact of making changes on end users

 He will cover:

1. Which service desk operations metrics should be collected, according to best practices
2. Which metrics are KPI-worthy
3. Examples of metrics, KPIs and Action Plans
4. How to do strategic planning and goal-setting
5. How to initiate a Metrics and KPI program at the IT service desk
6. Samples of web-based reports and dashboards

 To Register: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/349400009  or click REGISTER

About Steve Dreyer:
Steve Dreyer is the CEO of SMA Management Systems, an IT service management consulting firm that has been working with clients on their service desk systems and processes since 1984. SMA specializes in help desk assessments and reporting and has been the number 1 reseller for a major service desk software firm for the past six years. Visit SMA on the Web at www.smasystems.com and www.smaconnect.com

All Trends Lead to SaaS, Are You Ready?

Presented by Service-now.com

Please join us for an informative presentation by Service-now.com on the software trend that is Software as a Service (SaaS).  According to Goldman Sachs, ”Software as a Service is the most impactful trend in software currently.  SaaS solutions solve many of the problems that traditional software faces, including large upfront license fees, long time to implementation and access issues by a mobile workforce.”

Presenter’s Bio:

Matt French is the Director of Product Strategy for Service-now.com. Matt has 13 years of enterprise software marketing, sales, and product strategy experience. Throughout his career, Matt led global product management and marketing teams, owned channel development and sales strategies, and guided company and product awareness. Matt has participated in multiple speaking engagements surrounding service and asset management, security management, and best practice implementations of IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) throughout the world.
 
When: March 19, 2010 2:00-4:30PM
 

Physical Location:
Where: Schenck Appleton location ONLY!
 
200 E Washington – Appleton
 
Can’t make it in person? You can attend virtually…click on link below:

Titletown HDI March Local Chapter Meeting

 
Join the conference call:
 
Dial 218-844-4931
Access Code: 172-832-024
Audio PIN: Shown after joining the meeting
 
Meeting ID: 172-832-024

 
Admission is FREE! Seating is limited! Please RSVP

Anyone interested in this training coming to the area??? One member is and we think others may be as well. In coordination with Brew City HDI we are looking at getting interests and then setting up a class. Just let me know - President@TitletownHDI.com

It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to Leah Lempesis as our VP of Memberships. Leah has landed a new job and wishes to focus exclusively on that. We wish her all the best and hope she can join us again soon.

With that news, we find our Titletown HDI board with a vacant position for VP of Memberships. Here’s a great way to get some credibility added to your resume. We’re looking for motivated individuals in the IT field who are customer focus driven and can contribute a few hours each month to the chapter. If you are interested, please contact one of the officers by March 12, 2010. All candidates will be reviewed by the board and elections will be held at the March board meeting preceding the regular chapter meeting.  Reminder that a FREE Gold HDI Membership is included for every officer.

We’d love to hear from you.

If you’re trying to find ways to make it through these difficult economic times and still provide great support or just looking to find innovative ways to make the best of a tough situation, you’ll want to join us for our next local chapter meeting.

When: Feburary 19, 2010 2-4:30PM

Where: Both Schenck locations – Green Bay and Appleton.
We’d love to see you there!

2200 Riverside Drive – Green Bay -or-
200 E Washington – Appleton

Can’t make it in person? You can attend virtually…

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/join/558319633

Join the conference call:
Dial 914-339-0016
Access Code: 558-319-633
Audio PIN: Shown after joining the meeting

Admission is FREE! Seating is limited! Please RSVP

Wednesday morning I was listening to NPR and they mentioned a company (Zappos.com) who, they claim, did something radical for their Help Desk. The radical concept was that they did away with call scripts for their call agents and told them “Just solve the problem any way you can.” They weren’t going to monitor calls, they weren’t going to record calls, they weren’t going to use call length as a metric. The idea of agent autonomy worked well and their customer satisfaction was great.

What are your thoughts? Is this realistic in your call center? Do you currently employ some level of scripting on each call? Leave a comment.

Are you confused about Social Media? Are you wondering what all the fuss is about and why some people get it and why some don’t?

Social networks are here to stay. If you’re not using them, you’re falling behind.

If you’ve got questions, we’ve got answers. Join us January 15th, 2010 when our VP of communications, Chuck Tomasi, talks to us about the value of joining social networks. Why should you join Facebook? How can you use twitter to effectively make more contacts? How can you improve your support with LinkedIn? You’ll get the answers to all these and more.

Join us: January 15, 2010 2-4:30PM

Schenck in Appleton 200 E Washington Appleton WI

Schenck in Green Bay 2200 Riverside Dr Green Bay WI

Admission is FREE – we only ask that you RSVP

Thank you Vos Electric for being our newest Gold Member. We appreciate your support!