Lisa Youngborg St. Mary s College of Maryland J.T. Bowers & Janet Immink Bell Techlogix April 8, 2011
Background Assess - Statement of Work - Evaluation Criteria Vendor Search - Select a Partner - Discovery and Planning - Implement - Metrics - Launch - Feedback - Process Timeline Lessons Learned Evaluate and transition
Maryland s Public Honors College provides a residential, liberal arts education Awards Bachelor of Arts in 22 disciplines A Masters of Arts in Teaching A student designed major 2000 students, 350 faculty and staff 1200 campus computers
Requirements/needs based assessment Define scope of effort in terms that address your needs Inventory staff and functions performed Gap analysis to identify shortfalls in coverage by function Consider redeployment of staff to gain efficiency Determine budget Communicate with your staff and advisory groups Solicit input from campus community
Define challenges Help Desk delivery has become more complex and increasingly more demanding End users expectations are often difficult to meet within their need timeframe Lack of internal resources to properly manage and execute tasks How to leverage available staff and tools to best serve the campus No redundancy in support ticketing system State funding decreases Institutional constraints
Develop outline that identifies your issues, needs and challenges Provides your vendor a document that forms the basis for a proposal Define budget College planning considerations Outline requirements in terms of tasks that are discrete and severable Ensure that core requirements are clearly defined
Outline source selection criteria - Define how you will decide Quality in delivery of service Expertise in Tier 1 support practices Automated ticketing system with time and effort management Remote desktop access tool Solutions documented and available for reuse to staff and faculty Understanding of our community and what we perceive as our unique needs
Volunteered to participate on Help Desk RFP process for MEEC Educause Small College ListServ to source schools using Help Desk services Contacted colleges in our peer group that had used or were using Help Desk partners Met with all MEEC Help Desk Vendors Using the MEEC contract we were able to begin our implementation process immediately after vendor selection
Select a partner that provides the services needed with the metrics required to properly assess the services Discuss how the partners will work together in a manner that will be measured successful by both partners Ensure partners are focused on the same positive forward progress
Clarify the contract scope Technical needs of end users Special project support After hours nights, weekends, holidays Define process for handling interactions General campus inquiries Internal Bell team Client sponsor Operational lead Technical lead Training lead Q/A lead
Help the client determine their needs and define their wants Do we understand your culture? What is client interaction, escalation, resolution and follow-up process? Create a Measurement Matrix Internal External
Tools for success Direct and open communication with client Ensure staff and client have adequate knowledge of resources for assistance and support Be flexible Share information on Company systems network, support, training, PR Resources available beyond this contract Client visit to Bell
Feedback Start - daily Maintain - weekly Continue - TBD Plan Budget Recognize positive events/room for improvement Be a partner!
Implementation is a process of DISCOVERY Vendor visit to campus to understand SMCM staff roles and responsibilities Processes Procedures Area/staff responsibilities Work flow - in department and across campus
A successful project launch requires intensive and extensive campus communication Senior administration Critical Departments Campus emails monthly updates Point News articles with vendor input Faculty interaction Department meetings Individual chats with high volume requesters
Areas of measurement Number of Client interactions Phone, email, voicemail First Call Resolution Escalation percentage Average speed to answer Call abandonment rate Adherence to process information gathering
Quality and delivery of services Reporting Surveys Solicit feedback through survey and personal contact Look for avenues of improvement Discuss tailoring ideas with vendor partner Socialize the ideas for change Utilize your metrics to tailor the process Implementation is dynamic and some level of tailoring will be required to meet the needs of your faculty, staff and students
Ensure IT staff familiar with new ticketing system and response process Soft launch on Friday Monitor tickets over weekend IT staff contacted campus users to gauge support Contacted requesters during first week to solicit feedback
Monitoring - where we are Use our metrics to measure key performance parameters Planning where we want to go Review, revise, add to information library Expand our campus support Plan for future partnerships
2009 Needs/Requirements 6/09 MEEC RFP 7/09 MEEC Contract Issued 7/09 4/10 Needs assessment 5/10 Requirements complete 5/10 Budget approved 2010 Selection/Implementation 6/10 Met with MEEC vendors 7/10 Selected/Partnered with Bell Tech 2007 - Assess 10/10 Launched Call Center at SMCM Identified issues Contacted Call Center vendors Researched budget/staff constraints
Engage your staff Obtain campus support Be transparent with your goals, objectives and plans Be willing to expose your weaknesses Communicate constantly with everyone! Fix problems early do not avoid issues
MEEC Help Desk Contract http://www.meec-edu.org/helpdesk.html Lisa Youngborg St. Mary s College of Maryland Voice 240-895-3655 layoungborg@smcm.edu Janet Immink Bell Tech Logix jimmink@belltechlogix.com