Chapter 8: Teams and Team Players in a Help Desk Setting

1. Chapter 8:Teams and Team Players in a Help Desk Setting A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Help Desk Professional Second Edition

2. Objectives • Describe the characteristics of a successful team • Describe the stages of growth that teams go through • Understand how successful teams manage the inevitable and normal conflict in a team setting • Understand your role in the help desk and in your company’s support organization • Understand how to contribute to your team’s goals • Develop the skills needed to have positive working relationships with your teammates

3. Teams and Team Players in a Help Desk Setting • In a technical help desk, no single person can know everything about all the products supported and provide all the support customers need • Team - A group of people organized to work together toward the achievement of a goal • Team player - A person who contributes to the team’s success by cooperating freely and communicating openly with his or her teammates

4. Working as a Team • Technical support lends itself to a team setting for the following reasons: • The sheer number of available products • The integration of products and systems • The constant and pervasive rate of technical change • The need for business knowledge • The increasing complexity of the business world • The need to use resources efficiently and effectively

5. Characteristics of a Successful Team

6. Characteristics of a Successful Team (continued) A clear sense of purpose: • The mission and goals of the team must be clearly defined and accepted by all of the team members • Mission - A written statement of the customers the help desk serves, the types of services it provides, and how it delivers those services • Help desk goals - Measurable objectives that support the help desk’s mission • Individual performance goals - Measurable objectives for people who support the help desk’s mission

7. Characteristics of a Successful Team (continued) Diversity: • The most successful teams are made up of people who have unique skills and exhibit varying approaches to teamwork • Each player must at times be a leader, and at other times follow the leader • Team players must be willing to work together to achieve the team’s mission and goals • Companies want to ensure new hires will fit into the company’s corporate culture and into the culture of the hiring team

8. Characteristics of a Successful Team (continued) Openness and trust: • Communication within a team setting is just as important as communicating with customers • Team members must be willing to: • Share their knowledge • Give and receive constructive feedback • Freely express their feelings • Talk, but also listen • Team members must be able to: • Rely on each other to get the job done • State their weaknesses and look to teammates for strength

9. Characteristics of a Successful Team (continued) Positive relationships with other support groups: • Team members are accountable to: • Other members of the team • The “greater team” that constitutes the service delivery chain within their company • Level two support groups, the training group, the Sales and Marketing department, external service providers • The help desk must rely on these groups to provide knowledge, tools, and credibility • Without support, the help desk’s potential may not be realized and its contribution recognized

10. Characteristics of a Successful Team (continued) • A team leader to whom members are loyal is another characteristic of a successful team • A successful team can work around a poor team leader • An effective leader enables the team to achieve its full potential by: • Removing obstacles • Sharing leadership responsibilities as needed to get the job done

11. Building a Solid Team • To perform at maximum efficiency and effectiveness, each team member, including the leader, must embrace the characteristics of a successful team • A clear sense of purpose • Diversity • Openness and trust • Positive relationships with other support groups

12. Building a Solid Team (continued) A group of people cannot become a team overnight. It takes: • Time • An open, pleasant working environment • A willingness to work through the stages of growth that all groups experience on their way to becoming a team

13. Building a Solid Team (continued)

14. Building a Solid Team (continued) Forming: • Team members are selected and the process of becoming a team begins • The team’s mission and goals are defined along with team member’s roles and responsibilities • Team members often experience a range of emotions • The team leader is actively involved and provides the direction and resources the team needs to progress

15. Building a Solid Team (continued) Storming: • The team begins to face the reality of turning its mission and goals into executable action plans • The polite façade begins to fade and team members are more willing to disagree • The team leader coaches and counsels the team and repeatedly reminds the team to stay focused on its goals

16. Building a Solid Team (continued) Norming: • Team members begin to take ownership for the team’s performance and to have confidence in the team’s abilities • They feel a sense of camaraderie and begin to exhibit team spirit • Team members accept and welcome feedback rather than view it as criticism • The team leader steps away from the team and gets involved only when the team asks for support

17. Building a Solid Team (continued) Performing: • The team is achieving its goals and the team’s members are participating fully in team activities • A spirit of cooperation and collaboration prevails • Team members trust each other and their leader • They feel a sense of pride and satisfaction • The team has become a close-knit community • The team leader serves as head cheerleader and encourages the team to avoid complacency and continuously improve

18. Building a Solid Team (continued)

19. Building a Solid Team (continued) • Some teams never make it to the performing stage • For example, they avoid conflict during the storming stage and never develop the ability to deal with negative issues or achieve a consensus • Consensus - An opinion or position reached by all of a team’s members or by a majority of its members • Conflict is inevitable in a team setting • Successful teams learn to work through it in a fair and constructive manner

20. Managing Conflict in a Team Setting • Conflict is a normal part of human interaction • When approached positively, it can actually produce very creative and innovative results • In a team setting, conflict usually results from team member’s varying perceptions and expectations • Conflict can also arise simply as a result of the stress that is inherent in a help desk setting

21. Managing Conflict in a Team Setting (continued) • An issue is typically at the heart of a conflict • The best way to handle conflict is for team members to focus on the issue not the personalities of teammates • Team members must also be honest about their feelings, while striving to understand the feelings of their teammates • Engaging in conflict is not a pleasant experience • It is better to resolve the issue than avoid it and allow it to turn into something even bigger

22. Managing Conflict in a Team Setting (continued) When faced with a conflict, remember that: • The person on the other side has a point of view that is legitimate and reasonable • Listen actively and strive to understand • The other person may be just as uncomfortable talking about the conflict • Find an agreeable way to resolve the situation • Keep to the issues of a discussion • Avoid making comments that attack your teammate’s personal character or question his or her motives

23. Managing Conflict in a Team Setting (continued) • Saying the same thing over and over will not resolve the conflict • When necessary, state your point of view in a different way, or try presenting your point of view from the other person’s perspective • Little can be gained by discussing or debating the past • Try to determine what can be done now and in the future to eliminate the source of conflict • The other person may be willing to accept a solution if you can make it sufficiently attractive • Try to identify a middle ground you both find acceptable

24. Managing Conflict in a Team Setting (continued) • It is okay to change your mind • Should you discover that you were misinformed or simply wrong, graciously acknowledge your teammate’s point of view • When appropriate, apologize for causing or prolonging the conflict • There are times when it is appropriate to delay discussing a difficult situation • Choose a time when both you and the person can calmly discuss the issue and seek a resolution

25. Being a Team Player • Being a team player requires • Personal commitment • A willingness to put the needs of the team ahead of your personal goals • Team players: • Contribute by cooperating freely and communicating openly with teammates • Do not have to abandon personal goals

26. Being a Team Player (continued) • The most successful team players seek out a team setting that enables them to work toward their personal goals while contributing to the team’s goals • The greatest job satisfaction comes when: • Skills are fully utilized • Your personal working style is acknowledge and accommodated • A successful team is made up of a mix of people who contribute a variety of skills and personal working styles

27. Understanding Your Role in the Help Desk • For a team to succeed, all team members must understand that they have a unique role to play • The role a person plays is a sum of his or her skills, knowledge, experience, and personal style

28. Understanding Your Role in the Help Desk (continued) Team player styles: • Challenger - Serves as the devil’s advocate. Questions goals, methods, and procedures • Collaborator - Goal-oriented. Willing to do what is needed to get the job done • Communicator - A good listener. Encourages others to participate in team discussions • Contributor - Task-oriented. Does everything possible to provide the team with the skills, knowledge, and information it needs

29. Understanding Your Role in the Help Desk (continued) Each shines brightest at different times: • Forming stage - Challenger pushes team to set high standards. May question validity of goals • Storming stage - Communicator facilitates discussion. Encourages conflict resolution • Norming stage - Contributor helps team stay organized. Does the research the team needs • Performing stage - Collaborator encourages team to stay focused or revisit goals when needed in an effort to continuously improve

30. Understanding Your Role in the Help Desk (continued) • Each style can become ineffective if a team player: • Overemphasizes his or her contribution • Fails to acknowledge the contributions of others • Team players must be sensitive to the needs of the team and the needs of their teammates • Most people have one style that predominates • People are capable of exhibiting all of these styles • People may exhibit different styles in different situations • Your challenge as a team player is to determine your personal style and use the strengths of that style to contribute to your team

31. Understanding Your Role in the Help Desk (continued) • Team players who embrace the diversity that a team setting offers are invariably happier and more successful • The most successful team players value the opportunity to work with others who are equally unique • These feelings of mutual appreciation and respect extend beyond the help desk to the entire support organization

32. Understanding an Analyst’s Role in the Company’s Support Organization • The help desk, as a team, has a role to play • The help desk’s mission and goals define that role • The role of most help desks is to serve on the front-line between a company or department and its customers • Customers form opinions of the entire company or department based on their interactions with the help desk • The help desk’s performance also influences how efficiently and effectively other support resources are used • Each member of the help desk team must embrace the help desk’s mission and achieve his or her individual performance goals for the team to achieve its goals

33. Contributing to Team Goals • Team members unique skills and personal style are only of value if they enable the team to achieve its goals • Sample help desk goals include: • Achieve an average 4 out of 5 rating on the annual overall satisfaction survey • Provide each analyst 8 hours of training each month • Resolve 80% of reported problems at level one • Reduce contact to the help desk by 5% within 6 months • Reduce support costs by 5% by year end • Maintain a cost per contact at or below the industry average • Team performance is only as good as the performance of analysts on the team

34. Contributing to Team Goals (continued) • Analysts must achieve their individual performance goals for the team to achieve its goals • Data are needed to measure and manage both team and individual performance • Analysts create the needed data by using tools • Without data, management will measure performance based on what they perceive an analyst has accomplished • By capturing data and learning to use data to create information, analysts can: • Maximize their contribution to help desk goals • Communicate that contribution to management

35. Contributing to Team Goals (continued) Help desk tools that may be used to create individual performance metrics include: • Automatic call distributor (ACD) • E-mail response management system • Incident tracking and problem management system

36. Contributing to Team Goals (continued) Metrics captured with an ACD include: • Availability – The length of time signed on to the ACD compared to the length of time scheduled • Average call duration – The average length of time required to handle a call • Time idle – The average length of time an analyst was idle during a given period of time • Wrap-up time – The average length of time an analyst was in wrap-up modeduring a given period of time

37. Contributing to Team Goals (continued) Metrics captured with an e-mail response management system include : • Average handle time - The average length of time required to handle an e-mail • Average number of exchanges - The average number of e-mail exchanges required to resolve an incident

38. Contributing to Team Goals (continued) Metrics captured with an incident tracking and problem management system include: • Reopen % - Incidents an analysts opens back up compared to the number closed • Resolution % - Incidents an analyst resolves compared to the total number handled • Application of training investments - A comparison of an analyst’s resolution % and reopen % before and after attending training

39. Contributing to Team Goals (continued) • Other tools used to capture individual performance metrics include: • Customer satisfaction surveys • Monitoring • Metrics are an excellent way for management and staff to know whether they are achieving goals • You can suggest additional metrics and supply other information that further demonstrates your contribution to the team’s goals

40. Communicating Effectively in a Team Setting • The way people communicate in a team setting influences their relationships with their teammates and the effectiveness of the entire team • Team players: • Originate and propose new ideas and actively encourage others to contribute their ideas • Articulate the team’s goals and help clarify the team’s goals as needed • Regard conflict as a normal part of team growth and strive to resolve it in a positive way

41. Communicating Effectively in a Team Setting (continued) • Team players: • Actively encourage teammates to participate in team activities and assert the right of each and every teammate to be heard • Express their feelings about issues in a positive way and seek to understand how teammates feel • Assume responsibility for guiding the team when their expertise or team player style is needed • Encourage team growth by describing the benefits to be gained by making a change

42. Communicating Effectively in a Team Setting (continued) • Feedback - Communication from one team member to another about how the member’s behavior is meeting the expectations of the team • Feedback is appropriate when: • A person does something well • A person’s behavior does not appear to be aligned with the team’s mission or goals • A conflict needs to be resolved

43. Communicating Effectively in a Team Setting (continued) • To be effective, feedback must be: • Delivered in a considerate, humane, and helping fashion • Specific and and provide the recipient with a clear understanding of how his or her behavior affects the team • It is the responsibility of the person providing feedback to ensure the recipient received the correct message • It is the recipient’s responsibility to receive the feedback in the spirit with which it was delivered

44. Communicating Effectively in a Team Setting (continued) • Even positive feedback can be received negatively • By listening actively to your coworkers you can get a feel for their feedback preference • Everyone must participate in the feedback process: • Employees must provide feedback to other employees • Employees must provide feedback to supervisors and team leaders • Supervisors and team leaders must provide feedback to employees • Supervisors and team leaders must provide feedback to other supervisors and team leaders

45. Communicating Effectively in a Team Setting (continued) • Communication in a team setting can occur formally or informally • Teams that communicate effectively strive to use the most appropriate method of communication for each situation • Effective communication enables teamwork • Ineffective communication can cripple a team and damage the relationships that exist between team members beyond repair • It is the responsibility of each and every member of the help desk team to do all he or she can to enhance communication

46. What to Do When You Are New to a Team • You have to earn your place in a new team • Working hard • Show a willingness to work with others • To get settled into a new team: • Meet and get to know your teammates • Try to gain an understanding of the “big picture” • Learn the lingo • Determine exactly what is expected of you • Volunteer • Know not only what you are supposed to do, but what your teammates’ roles and responsibilities are as well • Ask questions • Learn how your contribution fits into the bigger picture

47. Developing Positive Working Relationships With Teammates • To build the respect and trust that is needed in a team setting: • Get to know your teammates • Extend common courtesies to your coworkers • Listen with interest to your teammates • Inquire about and acknowledge their feelings • Share your feelings openly and honestly • Be willing to learn and teach • Recognize your teammates’ achievements • Ask for help when you really need it

48. Developing Positive Working Relationships With Teammates (continued) • If you want to work on a successful team: • You cannot be an inactive or ordinary team player • You cannot leave it up to the team leader or to the other members of the team • Each and every member of a team has to contribute • Know your role and know your strengths • Get clear on what is expected of you and do your best to give the team what it needs There is no “I” in team!

49. Chapter Summary • Technical support lends itself to a team setting because no one person can know everything or provide all of the support customers need • Successful teams share: • A clear sense of purpose • Diversity • Openness and trust • Positive relationships with other support groups • Being a team player requires personal commitment and a willingness to put the team’s needs ahead of your own

50. Chapter Summary (continued) • The help desk’s mission and goals determine the role the help desk plays within the support organization • Each member of the help desk team must embrace its mission and achieve his or her individual performance goals for the team to achieve its goals • The ways people communicate in a team setting influence their relationships with their teammates and the effectiveness of the entire team • Team members must freely share information, thoughts, and opinions and encourage their coworkers to share as well • To you want to work on a successful team you have to contribute There is no “I” in team!