'IT support teams have lost colleagues' confidence'
Posted 16 May 2007 at 8:44AM by Simon Dickson in IT systems and support
Company IT teams have lost the confidence of large numbers of their colleagues, according to a study by a UK helpdesk software specialist. Only 30% of interviewees would contact their support team as their first step: more than half, clearly learning from experience, would 'try turning it off and on again' before being told to do so. A startling 9% would happily start taking the computer to bits on their own.
Eric Wright of Richmond Systems says it's a misguided and impractical approach: 'without the relevant expertise, people could actually make their IT problems worse.' And of course he's absolutely right to say that. But managers need to accept that IT skills are no longer limited to the IT profession.
We all use computers at home as well as at work; the machines we build at home, and the software we use, are often more complex and sophisticated than the PCs we get lumbered with in the office. And if you think it's a problem now, it'll only get worse with each intake of teenagers and graduates.
That shouldn't be seen as a threat to IT support professionals. It's surely in their interests for us all to get better at doing the basics. But it means, in the long term, that the problems they face will be the really serious ones, which we can't fix alone.
Tags: helpdesk, it support, richmond systems
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Comments
2. At May 16, 2007 9:44 AM, JP wrote:
I agree with the article and the points made in comment 1. The real issue is that employers fail to apply structured learning and development to their teams. This often means that good practices like ITIL fail to be implemented effectively in a workplace. There are lessons for employers to learn from companies that have succeeded.
3. At May 16, 2007 12:52 PM, kim wrote:
I'm not sure you are right either. Most people don't have confidence in help desks and it departments - they often seem badly trained, lack knowledge or cant grasp the problem. most of us that use computers all the time have a reasonable knowledge of problem solving. How often do you get more frustrated when you call in the "expert" who doesn't understand? And yes quite often a simply reboot can solve a lot of problems. Help desks and so-called IT experts seem to enjoy surrounding the problems with mystery and making them more complex - is this so justify their existence?
4. At May 16, 2007 4:45 PM, JP wrote:
I assume the point you are making is that IT support often fails to support effectively, which is more often due to lack of training. Learning, development and training are the same animal, but training is not just about when they are a new employee, it is a continuous cycle.
I am a technical manager and I see these situations occur regularly affecting internal and external client teams. Sound training needs analysis should be completed to know what training is required in an employees L&D to support the end users.
The expectation is that an IT professional knows all disciplines; this is just not the case, how many times does a company introduce an application and train the user but not the IT team? Companies need to target development to meet requirements. Until companies resolve that employees need development investment, support will not reach expectations. Smart companies invest wisely in employee development and retention, sadly this is not widely the norm.
5. At May 20, 2007 7:51 PM, Derek Chittenden wrote:
How can people state we don't need the support team. It's about time others looked at what the support team does for us. No way could our Rescue Bird Services do without them as we work 24hrs a day, 52 weeks a year. Come on, lets keep this good team together. With your help we can keep them going as they keep us going.
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1. At May 16, 2007 9:17 AM, Daniel Breston wrote: