Help Desk Customer Service Quiz #9(slides, part two)

*Understanding the Time/Stress Connection (continued)* • Teach and help others so that they can in turn help you • Let your boss or coworkers know when you are feeling overwhelmed or don't know which of your tasks take priority • Let people know that your plate is full rather than miss a deadline or let them down because you run out of time • Calmly ask for clarification about what you should consider your priorities or state what you can do

- "I was planning on finishing the month-end report this morning. Does this task take priority over that?" - "I'm working on a deadline today. Can I get that information to your tomorrow?"

*Coping with Deadlines* • Deadlines are a normal part of life and can be a positive, motivating force • The best way to cope with deadlines is to:

- Clearly define the work to be done - Be realistic about what you can accomplish each day, week, and year • Overcommitting is a major cause of stress and can diminish your ability to do high-quality work

*Getting and Staying Organized (continued)* • Strong organizational skills are the hallmark of an excellent service provider • How you manage your workload will influence:

- Customer satisfaction - Your relationship with other service providers - Your personal stress level

*Managing Your Time* • Service desks are high-activity places to work and some days can be very hectic • Analysts who manage time wisely are able to feelin control during exceptionally busy times and stay motivated during slow times • Good work habits, such as getting and staying organized, enable you to:

- View work as a challenge to be enjoyed - Maintain physical and mental fitness on the job - Achieve personal success

*Getting and Staying Organized (continued)* Create a BOD -

A beginning of day (BOD) checklist is a list of tasks an analyst performs at the start of each workday

*Getting and Staying Organized (continued)* Create a "What co-workers need to know" list -

A list of important information co-workers may need to know if an analyst is out of the office for a period of days or weeks

*Getting and Staying Organized (continued)* Create a "What I need to know" list -

A list, placed in clear view, of important telephone numbers, file names, dates, etc. that analysts need on a fairly regular basis

*Coping with Deadlines(continued)* Eliminate time robbers -

Avoid activities that take up time and do not add value to the work you perform

*Getting and Staying Organized (continued)* Keep up with your administrative tasks -

Completing tasks in a timely fashion takes less time because information is fresh in your mind - Your coworkers and your supervisor or team leader appreciate your keeping items up-to-date because then they have the information they need to do their work if you are not available

*Coping with Deadlines(continued)* Manage your priorities -

Create a "To Do" list that shows all of the tasks you are required to complete - Assign a priority to each task - Check for a balance of priorities - When faced with too many "A" tasks, consider the following: • Who asked me to complete this task? • What is the risk if I don't complete this task? What is the value if I do complete this task? • When am I expected to have this task done? What is my deadline?

*Coping with Deadlines(continued)* Use your peak productivity times -

Determine if you are an early bird or a night owl - If possible, schedule your work to take advantage of the time during which you function best

*Getting and Staying Organized (continued)* Check the status of your open tickets daily -

Learn to create online reports or run queries that list all of the tickets you own so that you can stay organized

*Coping with Deadlines(continued)* Avoid procrastination -

Putting off a task until the last minute can cause you to miss a critical deadline or produce a low-quality product - Break large tasks into smaller ones and try to complete the task a little bit at a time - Set a time limit and work on a task for at least that period of time - By breaking large tasks into smaller ones, you will know a lot sooner whether you can meet your deadline and can then inform your supervisor or team leader

*Getting and Staying Organized (continued)* Log all contacts real time -

Writing customer and incident or service request data on a piece of paper during the contact and then logging the information later is an unproductive practice - Logging contacts real time ensures that other analysts know an incident or service request exists and enables service desk managers to know and show when the service desk is short-handed

*Coping with Deadlines(continued)* Simple priority scale

• A - Urgent: Must do today • B - Important: Should do this week • C - Do when time permits • D - Delegate

*Understanding the Time/Stress Connection (continued)* In developing these skills, you lay the foundation for a successful career, regardless of your hosen profession • You also develop the "life" skills needed to handle even the most challenging situations—whether in your professional life or in your personal life—with confidence and enthusiasm

• Be optimistic • With your skills, the future is bright!

*Getting and Staying Organized* Techniques for getting and staying organized

• Create a beginning of day checklist • Create a "What I Need to Know" list • Create a "What Coworkers Need to Know" list • Keep up with administrative tasks • Log all incidents and service requests in real time • Check the status of your open tickets regularly

*Understanding the Time/Stress Connection (continued)* • Failing to plan ahead is another common contributor to people's stress • Minutes of planning prior to an event can often mean the difference between feeling stressed and confused when the event arrives, or enjoying the event to its fullest; or at least feeling in control of the event

• Highly stressed people often feel they don't have time for time management or for training in stress management • Remember... you choose the stress you experience each and every day • Practicing good time and stress management will help youtake control of your life and achieve your full potential

*Understanding the Time/Stress Connection (continued)* • If you choose a career in the service desk industry, an exciting and rewarding profession awaits

• It is a rapidly growing and ever-changing field that offers tremendous opportunities to people who like working with technology and enjoy helping customers • To seize these opportunities, you must hone your soft- and self-management skills, along with your business and technical skills

*Coping with Deadlines(continued)* Use the following techniques to avoid time robbers:

• Log contacts as they come in • Avoid distractions • Avoid gossip and excessive socializing • Ask for help when you really need it • Keep your desk and files organized • Suggest constructive ways to make improvements • Automate recurring tasks

*Coping with Deadlines(continued)* • Companies are increasingly asking employees to do more work, often with fewer resources • People who manage their time well can meet this challenge because they prioritize their work and stay focused on producing the desired results

• People who manage their time well also tend to experience lower levels of stress and burnout

*Coping with Deadlines(continued)* • Electronic organizers can be used in lieu of assigning priorities to tasks on to-do lists (e.g.,Evernote, LeanKit Kanban, OneNote, Todoist)

• Regardless of system, collect all to-do tasks, ideas, and project-related data in one place or system • Develop the habit of regularly maintaining that system

*Understanding the Time/Stress Connection* • Time management involves making an endless series of small and large decisions about what you will accomplish each day • Inappropriate decisions, such as those that result in wasted time, can lower self-esteem and increase stress levels • People who maintain a positive attitude, manage their priorities, and use time wisely, feel good at the end of each day because they know they have done their best

• Time and stress management skills are tightly linked • People who are highly stressed may be contributing to that stress by making poor decisions in terms of how they use their time