Students supporting students – A Help Desk & Student Development Model

1. Students supporting students – A Help Desk & Student Development Model Nitish Khiria

2. Student Computing at UW Student Computing support provided by: • Faculty Help Desks (academic computing & some BYOD) • IST Help Desks (BYOD, Infrastructure & Systems support)

3. IST Help Desks at UW Three IST Desks:

4. Student Computing Consultant (SCC) Program • Highly competitive & popular! • Part Time Employees (8 to 12 hours / week) • Mix of 1st year & Upper Year Undergraduates • Full Time students (minimum 3 courses)

5. Student Computing Consultant (SCC) Program • Diverse fields (Arts, Engineering, CS, Science) • Very Low turnover • Technically inclined & trained • Strong Customer Service & interpersonal skills • Launching step for future careers!

6. Keys to Success • Strict & Selective hiring process • Practical Training and Documentation • Enforce Duties and Expectations • Intuitive and Collaborative Tools

7. Strict & Selective Hiring • Advertise position early & generate interest • Communication to incoming first years vital • Plan for 12 month operation with co-op terms& terms off

8. Strict & Selective Hiring Selection process searching for: • Attention to Detail • Technical Skills • Interpersonal Skills

9. Strict & Selective Hiring - Attention to Detail • Important skill for learning • Crucial to following instructions/documentation • Test: asking for a cover letter with resume • Test (Interview question): “what hardware brands do you prefer?” Correct Answer: multiple brands that make hardware (watch out for software)

10. Strict & Selective Hiring - Attention to Detail Test (Interview question): “Student comes to helpdesk stressed that their computer won’t turn on & an essay that is due today is on it. You try, but aren’t sure what the issue is and how to fix it. What is your priority / plan of action?” Correct answer: anything with essay as a priority.

11. Strict & Selective Hiring – Technical Skills • Awareness / interest in technology > Technical knowledge • Combination of both is ideal candidate • Technical skills often easier to test than others • Well rounded technical skills are ideal (mixture of hardware, software, development)

12. Strict & Selective Hiring – Technical Skills • Test (Interview Question): “Tell me 4 hardware and 4 software specifications of your computer?” • Test (Interview Question): “What do you prefer? Mac or PC, and why?” Correct Answer: Look for logical and technical reasoning.

13. Strict & Selective Hiring – Technical Skills Technical skills can be tested for by asking for meaning / abbreviations of technical terms: • DVI • Ethernet • OS X • HFS • DNS

14. Strict & Selective Hiring – Interpersonal Skills • Hardest skill set to develop & train on • Looking for combination of interpersonal & customer service skills • Skills closely tied with awareness of interactions • Can be tested by scenario based / theoretical questions

15. Strict & Selective Hiring – Interpersonal Skills • Test (Interview Question): “You are working at a helpdesk and you see your supervisor providing incorrect information to a student. What do you do” Correct Answer: includes being sensitive to supervisor authority / balancing factual information against it

16. Strict & Selective Hiring – Interpersonal Skills • Test (Interview Question): “A lot of things in life are black and white. What is the importance of grey?” Correct Answer: includes how not everything in life is black or white. A lot is left to discretion / extenuating / special circumstances

17. Training • Training is one of the most important aspects of well trained staff & efficient operations • Student staff programs need continuous training • Training must reflect everything you expect from your staff

18. Training • Must include thorough outlining of duties and expectations • Must include technical content & referral material for after • Must include Customer Service Training & interpersonal behavior scenarios

19. Training • Based on turnover planning, SCC program commits to a 5 day training session in Fall • Training held a week before Orientation • Mandatory to attend for all • Ideal training environment is hands on

20. Training 5 day Fall training divided in: • Day 1: Expectations, Contract, Preferences • Day 2: Campus / Residence Networking • Day 3: Staff support, Systems used • Day 4: Campus Infrastructure + OS Bootcamp • Day 5: Mobile Devices + Customer Service (by Organizational & Human Development)

21. Training Tips • Have a mixture of lecture, hands on and interactive presentations • Take quizzes with prizes, regarding content at end of each day • Offer evening / social activities to build a stronger team • Offer lots of food!

22. Training • Needs to be offered every term • Depending on turnover, can be trimmed down to essentials • University of Waterloo holds a 2 day technical training session before every term for co-ops.

23. Duties & Expectations • Student Staff Management must never forget their primary goal (being a student) • Student life vs helpdesk roles dictate: • Allowed to do homework & browse when desk is free (non offensive content) • Highly competitive wages (Starting at $14.50/hr to $16.50/hr) with a defined path

24. Duties & Expectations • Student staff allowed to book entire weeks off for exams / opt for extra hours / shifts • Strict policies on late / no shows • Not allowed to listen to music • Not allowed to watch videos • Experienced and returning staff play a senior, mentoring, and training based role (documentation & presentations)

25. Duties & Expectations All Enforced through a Contract. SCC Contract: • Contract Requirements & Period • General Accountability • Time Commitments • Confidentiality • Keys & Door Access • Behavior (now includes social media!)

27. Tools of the Trade Many tools used to ensure smooth operation: • Training Wiki / Site • Scheduling system • Ticketing system • Live Chat system • Remote Assistance system • Metric collection system

28. Training / Wiki Site (SharePoint) Internal SCC SharePoint Site

29. Training / Wiki Site (SharePoint) Made available to Faculty and Admin-Support Help Desks

30. Scheduling system (WhenToWork)

31. Scheduling system (WhenToWork) • Allows for staff to post shifts as trades, drops • Supervisor controls automatic trading • Supervisor controls dropping permissions • Staff enter preferences, WhenToWorkautofills • Used in conjunction with a SharePoint Check In system (hoping to use biometrics soon!)

32. Ticketing System (Web Help Desk)

33. Live Chat (PHPLive Support) • Internally hosted solution (Fully bought with source code) • Allows transfers, ratings, canned responses • Adopted across 14 different areas / departments

36. Remote Assistance System (Bomgar)

37. Metric Collection System • Challenge to record foot traffic / quick fixes • Tried & failed attempts at simple buttons / web scripts / SharePoint • Resorted to a technology from 1909 years ago…

38. On a 8.5 x 14 clipboard: Instant Success!

39. Thank You