FBLA Help Desk

Official 2023 Competencies

  • Support Center Infrastructure and Procedures
  • Customer Mangement
  • Help Desk Operations and Procedures
  • Communication
  • Professional Career and Leadership Skills

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Resources

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Communication Skills


Abandon Rate %The percentage of abandoned calls compared to the total number of calls received
Abandoned CallWhen caller hangs up before analyst answers
AccessibilityHow easily the service desk can be reached by service desk staff, other employees of the company, and customers
Acoustic ShockSymptoms of discomfort and pain that a person will experience after hearing a loud, unexpected sound via telephone or headset
Incident ReportAll of the fields that describe a single incidentDescription of incidentA unique identification number assigned to incident for trackingThe date and time the incident is reported
Customer NeedsMotivators and drivers that cause customers to seek out specific types of products or services
Emotion-Reducing ModelProcess for reducing customer emotion in situations when frustration or angel exists
User-ForumA feature of a website where a writer posts messages and invites members of a user community to comment on them
Techniques for Cross-Cultural Communication- Avoid slang- Speak slowly- Keep it simple- Actively listening- Avoid closed questions- Write things down
Types of Language Assistance- In-person interpreters- Bilingual staff- Remote interpreting systems- telephone/video systems
Emotional IntelligenceThe ability to manage both your own emotions and understand the emotions of people around you \n Key Elements:- Self-awareness- Self-regulation- Motivation- Empathy- Social Skills \n https://mhanational.org/what-emotional-intelligence-and-how-does-it-apply-workplace \n Why important?- Helps build relationships- Reduce team stress- Defuse conflict- Improve job satisfaction
Emotional HijackWhen the emotional part of the brain hijacks your normal reasoning process- Overreacting- Lashing out- Becoming overstressed/inproductive \n \n - Lose the ability to think clearly, make complex decisions- No longer have empathy, see other perspectives
ParaphrasingRephrasing what is understood to be the key message of the client’s communication- Lets clients know that you understand their concerns from their perspective
Barriers to Active ListeningBarriers- Physical- Environmental- Cultural- Emotional/Psychological- Language- Tone of Voice
Principles & Benefits of Active ListeningUndivided attentionAcknowledge the messageProvide feedbackUnderstand what they’re saying \n BenefitsBuilds relationshipsResolves conflictPrevents missing important informationIdentify problemsBuild knowledge
Communication StylesPassive, Aggressive, Passive-Aggressive, Assertive \n Create a situation to give them a win, ask specific targeted questions, match their pace
Communication ProcessSenderMessageChannel of communicationDecodingReceiverFeedback
Deductive vs. Inductive ReasoningDeductiveReasoning aims at testing an existing theory- General facts to Specific facts \n InductiveReasoning aims at developing a theory- Specific Facts to General Facts

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Customer Management


IncidentA single event where one of your organization’s services isn’t performing as desiredEx: Logging into software which isn’t resolved even when they reset their password
Purpose of Incident Management Processhttps://customerserviceops.pagerduty.com/incidents/To restore normal service operation as quickly as possible and minimize the adverse impact on business operation, ensuring that agreed levels of service quality are maintained When multiple disconnected CSR are hearing from customers and creating duplicate tickets and reach outs, valuable time is wasted in both the identification and resolution
Incident Management Process1. Incident Identification2. Incident Categorization3. Incident Prioritization4. Incident Response \n 5. Incident Closure6. Recording & Report
Incident IdentificationRecord references 1. Name or ID Number2. Description3. Date4. Incident Manager
Incident CategorizationCategorize incident by urgency- allows the team to correctly prioritize incidents- makes sure substantial problems are fixed first
Incident PrioritizationConsider what other incidents your prioritizing over As well as what other tasks need to be completed
Aggregation of Customer-reported issues https://customerserviceops.pagerduty.com/incidents/Geographic aggregation: “We’re seeing increased reports of issues from customers in central and southern Europe, but not northern Europe.” Data partitioning: “We’re seeing increased reports of issues for customers with account numbers starting with 1-4 only.” Product versioning: “We’re seeing increased reports of issues for customers on version 5.1 of the client software” or “customers using Android are reporting more problems than customers using iOS.” Feature partitioning: “Only accounts with the new Teapot Customization feature enabled are seeing issues.”
Service Request https://buildahelpdesk.com/it-service-request/#:~:text=A%20Service%20Request%20is%20a,that%20down%20a%20little%20more.A process for your Help Desk customers to request system access, information or a standard low-risk change to be fulfilled 1. Customers requesting access to an application, file system or website is a service request*- ex*: If a customer needs access to a specific financial directory, they will contact Help Desk 2. Customers will call the Help Desk for basic or technical information 3. Customers call the Help Desk for a standard change which is low risk and common request for service- Standard Changes include installing software, upgrading hardware, ordering accessories
Incident vs. Service RequestService Req. is when a customer needs access, information, or standard change Incident: An event not part of the standard operation of the service causing an interruption to the quality of the service
Service Level Agreements (SLAs)Agreed to by IT and the customers so both parties have the same expectations Defines the level of service expected by a customer from a supplier
Operational Level Agreements (OLA) https://www.bmc.com/blogs/ola-operational-level-agreement/Internal agreements that a service provider defines for internal users to meet SLAs Describes the responsibilities of each internal support group toward other support groups, including the process and timeframe for delivery of their services
Underpinning ContractsAgreements that are used to track performance between an external service provider and a vendor
Best Practices of Service RequestFocus on the request fulfillment process by services most frequently requested Every request for service needs to have a corresponding ticket created and correctly categorized
Professionally Transferring Calls- Ask customer if they mind being placed on hold- Offer the option to leave a message or call back later- Minimize using the hold function- Make sure callers know why they’re being placed on hold
Professionally Ending Calls- Agent fill in the ticket, complete call- Then, ask if there is anything else they can help with AND if the customer was sufficiently helped - If issue wasn’t resolved, be assuring and honest that it will be resolved in a swiftly fashion
Assertiveness, Aggressiveness, PassiveAssertive people state their opinions while being respectful Aggressive attack or ignore others’ opinions in favor of their own Passive people don’t state their opinions at all

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Support Center Infrastructure & Procedure


Common Technology Used in the Support Center https://quizlet.com/412494079/help-desk-support-center-infrastructure-and-procedures-flash-cards/- Workflow- Reporting Systems- Self-Service Systems- Self-Healing Systems- Alert Systems- Broadcast Systems- Email Management
Workflow TechnologyA system for managing repetitive processes and tasks which occur in a particular order
Reporting SystemA system that enables a company to measure, track, manage, and communicate its performance and progresses
Self-Service SystemsAn easy way for customers to find answers to simple questions about products, services, and policies- help center- customer portal- support center
Self-Healing SystemA system that uses quality data to intelligently help IT anticipate issues fast and even before they impact end users & their productivity
Alert SystemA system to notify support team of emergency situations, failed services, etc.
Broadcast System
Computer Telephony Integration (CTI)Any technology that allows telephones to interact with computers
VaporwareSoftware/Hardware that has been advertised but is not yet available to buy
Critical PathA sequence of tasks that must be completed on time to meet a project’s deadline
Overflow RoutingA common ACD feature- sends calls to another agent queue when one queue is long or calls have been in a queue longer than the pre-defined time period
Remote Support ToolsIT tools and software that enable support representatives to connect a remote computer from their consoles via the internet
EustressA healthy form of stress that keeps you motivated and enables a sense of accomplishment
Warm TransferWhen you introduce the customer and the service provider to whom you are transferring the call but you don’t stay on the line
Cold TransferWhen the caller is simply transferred to another agent without a receptionist or live agent speaking with them first. The desired extension is not informed of the incoming call.
3 Types of Security Policies- Program policies, issue-specific policies, system-specific policies
WWW TechnologyThe way computers/devices communicate with each other using mark up languages- HTMP, CSS, HTTP, URL
ITIL Certification (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/what-is-itil-certification#:~:text=Answers%20and%20Tips)-,ITIL%20Expert%20certification,Manage%20Across%20the%20Lifecycle%22%20exam.-,ITIL%20Expert%20certification,Manage%20Across%20the%20Lifecycle%22%20exam.)
SSPA Certification(Supplier Security & Privacy Assurance)

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