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Lo 3

The document outlines the process of assigning support personnel in an IT environment, emphasizing the importance of identifying necessary technical and soft skills based on service level agreements. It discusses methods for finding suitable candidates, including internal negotiations, recruitment, and outsourcing, while highlighting the limitations of traditional interview processes. Additionally, it stresses the need for regular feedback from various stakeholders to improve support services and address any issues effectively.

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3 views11 pages

Lo 3

The document outlines the process of assigning support personnel in an IT environment, emphasizing the importance of identifying necessary technical and soft skills based on service level agreements. It discusses methods for finding suitable candidates, including internal negotiations, recruitment, and outsourcing, while highlighting the limitations of traditional interview processes. Additionally, it stresses the need for regular feedback from various stakeholders to improve support services and address any issues effectively.

Uploaded by

chalilelisho2017
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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3.

Assign support personnel

•To assign support personnel within an information


technology environment.
In this topic you will learn how to:
identify IT skills to assist each organisational unit
with support activities
assign personnel according to human resource
processes
verify availability of selected personnel
provide support using agreed procedures
Obtain feedback from the appropriate person on a
regular basis.
3.1. Identify IT skills

• The skills that may be required will vary greatly depending on the technology to be

supported.

• In order to determine the skills you require, you should examine the service level
agreement (or contract). The SLA will tell you which particular hardware and software
needs to be supported.

• However, we can classify skills into two categories:


Technical skills
• knowledge of particular hardware (build shells) and software (experience in Novell,
Linux, MS Office or Dreamweaver).

• This could include other technical skills such as the ability to write technical
documentation, do programming and analyse databases.
Cont..
Soft skills
 communication skills (being a clear communicator being customer
focused)
 Time management skills
 problem solving skills
 The ability to learn new procedures quickly and ability to work in teams.
Find the right person
• Having listed the technical and ‘soft’ skills required delivering the support, you
must now find the person or people who have these skills.
There are several alternatives:

1. The person you need already works in the organisation either in an IT role or a

non IT role. You may be able to negotiate to obtain that person for the support

team.

2. The person you need does not yet work in your organisation. If you find

yourself in this situation, you have several options. For example, you could
– advertise for a new employee and go through the interview and selection process
3. Engage (involve) an employment agency to find the right person for you
Cont…
• The skills you require are too diverse, and it is therefore
unlikely that any one person has all of the required skills. If
you have this situation you could:
– employ more than one person

– Outsource part or all of the support function.

• Again, it is vital to realise that the interview process is often a poor way to
select the best applicant. Interviews generally favour applicants that are
confident, can verbally express themselves, know the jargon and sell
their assets.
Cont…

• If at all possible, attempt to ask for samples of their work or


employ them for a short period to assess them. Generally,
one can gain a good idea of someone’s skill levels within a
few days.
• If this is impossible, then attempt to look at short-term
contracts before offering full-time employment. This also
works both ways, as the employee is able to gain an idea of
the work environment and can assess whether it suits them.
3.6. Obtain feedback
• Feedback is a necessary part of the delivery of the support
function.
• information given in response to support delivered which is
used as basis for improvement.
• It is information that you receive from the following people
regarding the delivery of the support service:
• your support team
• your customer
• any other appropriate person (hardware or software
vendors).
Cont…
Why do we need feedback on delivery of support?

• To learn of problems occurring in the delivery of the service.


 This can help you be proactive and head-off conflicts before they occur.

• for improving your product, delivery, and understanding of users.

• To improve your service to the client by finding out where the

problems are occurring and fixing them.

• These problems may be recurrent problems in the system you are

supporting or problems with the delivery of the support.


Cont…
In what format you may get feedback?
• Feedback may take the following forms:

a customer feedback form :

• is a method of obtaining answers about your product, service,

and business from users.

• The goal of these forms is to get a better understanding of the

overall customer experience at your business, so you know

what parts of your product or service need improvement.


Reports

• These may include the number of support issues dealt with over a fixed

period of time, the time taken to resolve problems and any outstanding

support issues.

Meetings

• it is a good idea to meet with your support team and your customer to

discuss the support service you are providing. This can be an informal

meeting over coffee or a formal meeting with an agenda.

• Impromptu (unplanned and unprepared) feedback – you should always

be open to receive feedback from any source at any time, especially if it

means that – ultimately - you can improve the service you deliver.
Cont…
• Many professionals believe that comments received
back in forms or evaluation sheets are not always
completely honest, as many do not like criticising via
writing. Speaking to a cross-section of users (a
typical or representative sample of a larger group) in
an open and frank way is a much better way of
obtaining accurate, substantive feedback

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