Swabeng Thoughts at Work: The difference of a Service Desk and an Help Desk

I find this topic pretty interesting even for a fact that I'm not a Helpdesk nor a Service Desk for the time being (I'm a bum =P)

I never even imagine there was a difference of being an IT Helpdesk and an IT Service Desk until I read this lengthy article, I'll try to include some that had impact and I'm sure that some of the tech bloggers who work in the IT industry can relate to this.


A Help Desk focuses on end user needs.

A Help Desk provides incident management to ensure customer’s problems are resolved in a timely fashion. A best practices Help Desk utilizes software to track the incidents making sure that no trouble gets lost. It manages a database that keeps track of the IT assets enabling access on a real time basis to information about software and configuration of the IT system. The Help Desk has the ability to create monthly and annual reports on the number of troubles, the time to respond to the trouble, the time to fix the trouble which could all feed into a Service Level Agreement (SLA). Some of the specific tasks a Help Desk performs include:

• Computer or Software consultations
• Change and Configuration Management
• Problem escalation procedures
• Problem resolution
• Single point of contact (SPOC) for IT interruptions
• Service Level Agreements
• Tracking capabilities of all incoming problems

A Help Desk is tactically focused and is most concerned about end user functionality. One way of implementing a Help Desk is for the organization to meet minimum requirements to get an end user back in service once the incident is reported. However, a best practices Help Desk utilizes processes and software to minimize the service interruptions both proactively and reactively.


A Service Desk focuses on corporate strategy.

A Service Desk is a Single Point of Contact between users and IT Service Management. It manages information delivery by utilizing Information IT infrastructure Library (ITIL) v3 best practices to deliver these services both with software and defined processes. The Service Desk is the first contact in an organization for any and all IT questions. Best practices Service Desks are process focused and company strategy focused. The processes outlined in ITIL v3 are broken down into five ITIL Core Service Lifecycles.

• Service Strategy –Evaluate current services and ensure a plan is in place to, modify and implement new and existing services when required.
• Service Design – Evaluate and ensure a new service will meet current and future needs. Ensure a new service can be introduced into the live environment.
• Service Transition – Define a plan that ensures no service outages or gaps during a service transition, thus the effects of the transition on the corporation are minimal.
• Service Operation – Responsible for the ongoing monitoring of a service that is used to deliver services.
• Continual Service Improvement – Review and analyze opportunities to improve all IT process and functions.

Many companies have a Help Desk without a Service Desk.

There are some instances where a corporation does not require or is not ready for the processes and service offerings of a Service Desk. In that instance a Help Desk will meet the tactical needs of the corporation. The Help Desk will give users a place to contact when they are having specific IT issues. Thus, the amount of time an end user is out of service will be minimized by the Help Desk.

Very few companies have a Service Desk without a Help Desk.

The Service Desk is concerned with the overall IT process and the individual components that function and interact with each other on both a software and process level. One area that is a must in any IT service offering is the ability to manage specific end user problems and issues. Thus, a Service Desk either has to have Help Desk functionality embedded in their Service Desk infrastructure or has the ability to link into a Help Desk offering for the end user. The Service Desk is focused on corporate strategy and ensuring all the IT functions are currently working and will work in the future, they must also have the ability to ensure all end users up and functioning.


A Help Desk is technically focused

As described in one of the previous posts, the Help Desk fixes problems that are taking place at that instant. Any time one of your employees is experiencing problems utilizing your Information Technology (IT) infrastructure the Help Desk is contacted to fix the problem and get your employee(s) operational as quickly as possible. For this immediate response to end user IT needs, the Help Desk must have employees technically trained in the appropriate technologies. The ultimate goal of the Help Desk is to offer first contact resolution as often and as quickly as possible.

A Service Desk is customer and process focused

As described in a previous post, the Service Desk is offers a Single Point of Contact (SPOC) and is focused on managing processes. The Service Desk is outward focused on the customer and inward focused on the day to day processes of the business. The ultimate goal of the Service Desk is to reduce costs by having the appropriate personnel working on problems, by monitoring trends and by managing processes.


Actually, its the company that decides on whether to get the services of a Helpdesk or a Service Desk or probably both. 

If you want to read the full article, just go to this link. 

Why I won't work overtime these days?

I don't mind working overtime as long as I get paid (premium) for extending. Even working on the 6th or even 7th day and even on holidays, I am amendable as long as get paid. But recently, my health is slowly deteriorating the more I extend my hours at the office. 

Then I saw this from Yahoo and my instincts were right all along. Anyway, here it is. This study is based from London and I presume that it would be applicable here.

Working overtime could boost risk for major depressive episode

Regularly working long hours in the office might increase your risk of a serious depressive episode, according to a new study.

According to findings published in the journal PloS ONE on Wednesday, people who regularly work 11 hours or more each day are more than twice as likely to experience a major episode of depression than colleagues who stick with an eight-hour work day.

Researchers from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health and Queen Mary University of London examined records of more than 2,000 London-based white-collar workers in a five-year study. None of the recruits had a recent history of depression when they were enrolled in the study.

Those who worked 11 hours or more each day were between 2.3 and 2.5 times more likely to develop a major depressive episode than those who worked seven-to-eight-hour days. Researchers controlled for other factors, such as smoking, alcohol consumption, and general health.

"Long working hours don't just affect us because of the pressure and intensity of work itself, they affect us because we don't have enough time for all the other things we need for good mental health, such as good quality sleep, relationships, and opportunities for rest and exercise," Paul Farmer, chief executive of leading British mental health charity Mind, told WebMD. "Every time we squeeze more work in, many of us will be squeezing something else out.

While other studies have been done on work hours and depression, "results have not been conclusive because there is no standardized benchmark for what constitutes a 'normal' working day," reports WebMD.

A previous study by the same researchers, which also relied on the same database of London-based workers, found that overtime was linked with a 60 percent increase in coronary heart disease.

Eight months

That's how long I have to stay with the company where I work before my contract expires. I have already made up my mind to go forward and look elsewhere. I know there is no looking back and I am up to it.

For the past month (January), there were some instances that the upper management in the US caught my attention but I know I had learned my lesson and I'll make sure it won't happen again. Not to the next company (or venture) where will I work for sometime soon.     

Though my wife didn't expect that I would renew my contract last September, I had to do it for several reasons. By the time it ends, I know I'm ready to move on and move forward.

But for now, I have to enjoy and do my best here in the office so I would exit with a clean slate.

The 10 biggest perks of working in IT

To be honest, working in the IT industry has more perks than its downs. Though there are times that IT jobs are quite stressful, as long as luck is on your side, you know you'll have a long long way to go XD. Here is the article that I have read from Tech Republic as I have been subscribed to their blog for quite some time now. Anyway, I tweaked some and added my own insights as well.

Regardless of what you do for a living, it’s easy to focus on the negatives of the job and let those things bring you down. However, most jobs have certain perks, and IT is no exception. This article discusses some of the benefits I’ve experienced over the years as a result of working in IT.


1: You get to meet lots of people: As an IT guy, a lot of people would come to you for help which is good in a lot of ways. Some of them would be your friends for the rest of your stay in the company. Some may be your contact outside the office for networking reasons. Or probably, you may meet someone special at work that you could spend the rest of your life with XD. Bottom line is you get to meet all types of people from different ranks.

2: The money can be good: Depending on the company you'll be connected with, the pay is quite higher than the average pay. Position can also play a factor here on how important you are to the IT infrastructure.

3: It’s easy to move around: They usually refer this as lateral movement. Compared with different departments, switching from one IT position to another won't be that difficult as it requires minimal effort. For example, database administrators can transfer to network administrators and vice versa.   

4: You have personal freedom: IT pros tend to have a lot of personal freedom. Compared to call center agents which have a break schedule to adhere, most IT people can set their own break as long as there is no pending work around left. 

5: You get to help people: Well basically some people hate IT because they’re usually calling with a problem they want you to solve. Even so, I have always found it gratifying to be able to end the day knowing that I was able to spend it helping people. I could compare it with Math because most people hate it XD.

6: You get paid to spend time away from the office: Usually this works with IT guys with higher positions which includes traveling locally or overseas. You could even include your vacation as well in your travels after attending trainings and conferences here and there.

7: You sometimes face unusual challenges: This is one thing that most IT guys look forward to aside from doing their usual monitoring and same problems over and over. Encountering new errors, new bugs and new problems stimulate our brains as we need to acquire a new solution as quickly and as creatively as possible. This is what separates those who love IT from those who do not. Me, I love working in the field of IT XD.

8: You have access to cool toys: Depending on what toys would you refer, most would mean trying a new software or a new application first hand before it rolls-out to the company. We would be usually the ones to test them first for bugs and possible problems. This would be also the same for new gadgets. If only I work for either Apple, HP or Dell, Work could have been so much fun XD.

9: IT knowledge can be helpful in everyday life: Just like math, IT knowledge is very useful in everyday life. From working with computers to dealing with other things that we usually deal with while working in the office. At home, I am the IT guy that usually checks my wife's laptop to make sure its working at its optimum.

10: The job sometimes comes with special rewards: In relation to #1, people would be really grateful to you especially if you keep their systems up and running. Sometimes, these people would give you gifts of any kind as a way of saying thank you for supporting them over the years. Don’t get me wrong — I don’t help people because I expect to get something in return. However, it is always a nice feeling when someone surprises you with a thank-you gift. I hope soon, someone would reward me a complete Canon DSLR set (5D Mark III + 2-3 Lens + Accessories). XD.
If I were you, shift to IT now. Its really fun you know. XD

Top Ten Reasons Why Large Companies Fail To Keep Their Best Talent

Its really ironic that most of the best talents the company has doesn't seem to stay there and stay put. Most of the best employees here in the Philippines seem to always look for greener pastures (I'll be joining them soon XD) plus boredom gets in the most of them.

While setting-up my work PC, I saw this from my friend's fb (facebook) wall and I couldn't help it but to take a peek. By next year, our company may lose one of their best talents LOL.

Here is a good read for those who have time to kill and for those who plan to go for greener pastures. 

Whether it’s a high-profile tech company like Yahoo!, or a more established conglomerate like GE or Home Depot, large companies have a hard time keeping their best and brightest in house. Recently, GigaOM discussed the troubles at Yahoo! with a flat stock price, vested options for some of their best people, and the apparent free flow of VC dollars luring away some of their best people to do the start-up thing again.

Yet, Yahoo!, GE, Home Depot, and other large established companies have a tremendous advantage in retaining their top talent and don’t. In our business, we see the good and the bad things that large companies do in relation to talent management. Here’s my Top Ten list of what large companies do to lose their top talent:

 

1. Big Company Bureaucracy. This is probably the #1 reason we hear after the fact from disenchanted employees. However, it’s usually a reason that masks the real reason. No one likes rules that make no sense. But, when top talent is complaining along these lines, it’s usually a sign that they didn’t feel as if they had a say in these rules. They were simply told to follow along and get with the program. No voice in the process and really talented people say “check please.”
 

2. Failing to Find a Project for the Talent that Ignites Their Passion. Big companies have many moving parts — by definition. Therefore, they usually don’t have people going around to their best and brightest asking them if they’re enjoying their current projects or if they want to work on something new that they’re really interested in which would help the company. HR people are usually too busy keeping up with other things to get into this. The bosses are also usually tapped out on time and this becomes a “nice to have” rather than “must have” conversation. However, unless you see it as a “must have,” say adios to some of your best people. Top talent isn’t driven by money and power, but by the opportunity to be a part of something huge, that will change the world, and for which they are really passionate. Big companies usually never spend the time to figure this out with those people.
 

3. Poor Annual Performance Reviews. You would be amazed at how many companies do not do a very effective job at annual performance reviews. Or, if they have them, they are rushed through, with a form quickly filled out and sent off to HR, and back to real work. The impression this leaves with the employee is that my boss — and, therefore, the company — isn’t really interested in my long-term future here. If you’re talented enough, why stay? This one leads into #4….
 

4. No Discussion around Career Development. Here’s a secret for most bosses: most employees don’t know what they’ll be doing in 5 years. In our experience, about less than 5% of people could tell you if you asked. However, everyone wants to have a discussion with you about their future. Most bosses never engage with their employees about where they want to go in their careers — even the top talent. This represents a huge opportunity for you and your organization if you do bring it up. Our best clients have separate annual discussions with their employees — apart from their annual or bi-annual performance review meetings — to discuss succession planning or career development. If your best people know that you think there’s a path for them going forward, they’ll be more likely to hang around.
 

5. Shifting Whims/Strategic Priorities. I applaud Yahoo!’s plans to build an incubator or “brickhouse” around their talent, by giving them new exciting projects to work on. The challenge for most organizations is not setting up a strategic priority, like establishing an incubator, but sticking with it a year or two from now. Top talent hates to be “jerked around.” If you commit to a project that they will be heading up, you’ve got to give them enough opportunity to deliver what they’ve promised.
 

6. Lack of Accountability and/or telling them how to do their Jobs. Although you can’t “jerk around” top talent, it’s a mistake to treat top talent leading a project as “untouchable.” We’re not saying that you need to get into anyone’s business or telling them what to do. However, top talent demands accountability from others and doesn’t mind being held accountable for their projects. Therefore, have regular touch points with your best people as they work through their projects. They’ll appreciate your insights/observations/suggestions — as long as they don’t spillover into preaching.
 

7. Top Talent likes other Top Talent. What are the rest of the people around your top talent like? Many organizations keep some people on the payroll that rationally shouldn’t be there. You’ll get a litany of rationales explaining why when you ask. “It’s too hard to find a replacement for him/her….” “Now’s not the time….” However, doing exit interviews with the best people leaving big companies you often hear how they were turned off by some of their former “team mates.” If you want to keep your best people, make sure they’re surrounded by other great people.
 

8. The Missing Vision Thing. This might sound obvious, but is the future of your organization exciting? What strategy are you executing? What is the vision you want this talented person to fulfill? Did they have a say/input into this vision? If the answer is no, there’s work to do — and fast.
 

9. Lack of Open-Mindedness. The best people want to share their ideas and have them listened to. However, a lot of companies have a vision/strategy which they are trying to execute against — and, often find opposing voices to this strategy as an annoyance and a sign that someone’s not a “team player.” If all the best people are leaving and disagreeing with the strategy, you’re left with a bunch of “yes” people saying the same things to each other. You’ve got to be able to listen to others’ points of view — always incorporating the best parts of these new suggestions.
 

10. Who’s the Boss? If a few people have recently quit at your company who report to the same boss, it’s likely not a coincidence. We’ll often get asked to come in and “fix” someone who’s a great sales person, engineer, or is a founder, but who is driving everyone around them “nuts.” We can try, but unfortunately, executive coaching usually only works 33% of the time in these cases. You’re better off trying to find another spot for them in the organization — or, at the very least, not overseeing your high-potential talent that you want to keep.
 

It’s never a one-way street. Top talent has to assume some responsibility as much as the organization. However, with the scarcity of talent — which will only increase in the next 5 years — Smart Organizations are ones who get out in front of these ten things, rather than wait for their people to come to them, asking to implement this list.

I am one of them. XD

Unemployment: The Best Thing to Ever Happen to You

Taken from Google

I just saw this from vault.com and it's a bit timely for me as I felt something in me that needs change. I love my work right now and I'm learning a lot from it but somehow, I felt there is something more that I want to do but I can't do it while I'm still here.

Though I've been unemployed thrice for certain periods of time, this time, I would be prepared and I know I have a lot of things to do aside from fooling around and be lazy. Moving on, here is the article that I found.


Unemployment: The Best Thing to Ever Happen to You
by Jon Minners


You sit there with your face in your hands, wondering how it could have happened to you. You just got laid off from your job and you feel empty, lost, and uncertain about your future. Despite the unemployment numbers suggesting otherwise, it seems like everyone has a job except you. This is the worst thing to ever happen to you. Or is it? In the past, I have written how unemployment was the best thing to happen to me. Maybe it’s time to think how you can turn unemployment into something positive.

Make a career change. Admit it. You hated your job. There were times you would wake up and look in the mirror and wonder why you had to do this day in and day out. You got to work and put a smile on your face and did your best to enjoy the job. You even convinced yourself. But now that you are unemployed, you have the opportunity to make a real change. What did you do for a living? What skills did you pick up from your previous job that can be transferred to a new career? Myself…I was a journalist. My skills were writing and promoting the Bronx. I turned it into a career in public relations where my writing could take a different tone and where I can still promote something I believed in. What would you like to do? How can you get there? Unemployment has given you an opportunity at a fresh start. Now you have options.

Free to freelance. Do you need to be at work from 9 to 5 each day? Can you work from home? Are your skills transferable into some type of freelance career? Can you work as a consultant, working with different companies for set periods of time, providing you with new atmospheres and people to work in and with each day? Companies force you to work from 9 to 5, paying you for the time they think you should be sitting at your desk, staring at a computer screen, performing multiple tasks that bore you to tears. But you know that you can finish those tasks much quicker and still have time for a personal life. Make the same amount or more money, working at your own speed and pace and then do what you want with your extra time, including taking on another freelance project.

Start your own business. There is someone that works in fashion, but she has a secret dream. She wants to own her own café with cupcakes, coffee and wine. Turn your passion into a business. Take out a loan and start a new business venture. There are plenty of resources out there that can help. Unemployment provides you with an opportunity to reflect on your life – what you have done and what you would like to do. Now that you are not tied down to a job, you can take control and make your dreams a reality. Yes, it is hard. Yes, you might fail. But when have you ever had this opportunity before. And when your time has passed, do you want to think about what could have been or would you rather marvel at your accomplishments.

Live life a little. If you have some money in the bank, maybe it is time to take a bit of a break and put yourself first for a little bit. Go hiking. Go on a vacation. Make time for your friends and family. Learn a new hobby. Write that book you kept putting off. The possibilities are endless. How long have you been putting yourself on the backburner? Unemployment allows you to shift your priorities a little.

Network. Make lunch plans with a former colleague. Schedule a tee time with a former supervisor and just let the conversation guide you to possible business opportunities. When you are working, you have time to network with co-workers and those that involve current business opportunities. But now you have the opportunity to really make time for those you have neglected that can still help your career. These opportunities will keep you motivated when you realize you have to really push your job search. They will supply you with leads you can examine further. Unemployment gives you the time to network in a way that’s less business and more pleasure…which actually works for better business.

As you’re experiencing it, unemployment sucks. People are lying if they say different. But these are ways you can make unemployment work for you. And when you finally start working again, you will look back and realize that unemployment might just have been the best thing to ever happen.

How to Deal With Unreasonable Deadlines at Work

Well this is not yet applicable here in our office as most of us can handle certain amounts of stress as work here is quite laid-back XD. But for call center employee and the rest, this could be a good read for you as I got it from yahoo (rhymes! XD).

If you find yourself constantly struggling to meet impossible deadlines at work, it's worth stepping back and taking a different approach to the problem. Here are six strategies that might help you cope.

1. Look at your colleagues. If you have colleagues who do similar work, do they also face similar deadlines? If so, how do they meet them? Are they starting earlier, planning differently, pulling in additional help, or using any other strategies that you can copy?

2. Break the project down differently. Often much of a project--say, 85 percent--can be accomplished quickly, and it's the remaining 15 percent that will take much longer. It's worth asking if you can take longer with that more time-consuming 15 percent. Sometimes if you ask you'll discover that as long as you get certain pieces of the work done by the deadline, it's OK to take longer on other parts.

3. Tell your manager what you can do. Your manager doesn't want to just be told that you can't meet a deadline without getting some indication of what you could do. Instead of just saying a deadline is impossible, try saying something like, "With only 10 days, I can do X and Y, and I'll need to modify Z in the following ways. And we won't have finished fully testing it, but that could be wrapped up two days later. Would that work?"

4. If the problem is chronic, raise it as a big-picture issue. Aside from talking with your manager about deadlines for a specific project, make sure you address the pattern as well. For instance, you could say something like, "I've noticed that we sometimes have different ideas about what are realistic timeframes for many projects. I want to be able to do the job well and deliver a good product, but sometimes we're given deadlines that aren't possible to meet, not if the product is going to be any good. I believe in pushing myself and I think you know I work hard, but I'm concerned that we're on a different page from Department X about how long these projects take. Can we talk about how we might be able to address this?" (Note that this language puts you and your manager on the same side, rather than attributing the problem to your manager herself.)

5. If your manager pre-dates you at the company, ask if your predecessors were able to meet similar deadlines and, if so, what they might have done differently than you. You might find that there are shortcuts that you don't realize your boss wouldn't mind you taking. You might be aiming for more perfection than she is, and she might be willing to trade perfection for speed. You won't know if you don't ask.

6. Finally, consider with an open mind whether the deadlines might not really be so crazy. It's entirely possible that yours is a company with chronically unrealistic deadlines and expectations, but it might also be a company that strives to be exceptional and thus gets things done faster than industry averages. If you're used to a slower pace, it might take a while to get used to the warp speed environment of your high-performing employer (and if you never do, that might point to a bad fit). It's very hard to evaluate this objectively when you're struggling, but try. Look around at your colleagues. Are they struggling too?

This heart-to-heart with yourself, combined with a big-picture conversation with your manager, should give you an idea of whether you're going to be able to resolve the issue in a way you can be happy with.

A Year in IT

Tonight marks my first year in the IT industry after working with various industries for probably 10 years. The path to where I am right now took me a while to realize that this is the one that I really enjoy working with. Actually, its a combination of all the careers I've had in the past and probably just made me realize I had to mix them altogether.

So far, I've learned a lot from working as an IT Helpdesk for only a year. But I know I still have a long long way to go. Now I'm thinking of extending my contract with them for another year or two so that my skill would be at par with my US counterparts.

But anyway, Happy One Year to me in IT XD.

Getting ready for tonight

Right now, I'm at 90% ready for my shift after being down for 5 days. I know I've been away from work again since I got down with flu not because of my nature of work but because of my carelessness of not taking good care of myself. I won't be filing any leave for this once since its my fault why I wasn't able to keep myself fit for the job and I need them for more important things.

Hope I can get more sleep tonight so I could be at my 100% ^_^

The beginning of the night

Tonight will be the start of another chapter of my stay here in the office. Tonight will be my first official night-shift schedule. I'm not sure until when will I have to work at night but one thing I know is if I have to work night shift for 13 months, I'll make the most of it. And besides, most of the action is here. I'll just make sure to stay awake and do necessary adjustments. After all, its just for 13 months. ;-)

Almost getting used to it

I still have less than 2 hours to go here in the office before I head home. Since Monday, my schedule has been adjusted to 10am-7pm. I am so used to this schedule since it allows me to wake up late and party after office and still report the next day fully charged.

Right now, I'm adjusting again to this schedule which I consider very flexible and hopefully, I would be able to utilize my priorities here. XD

5 Days

Current Mood: Fulfilled.

After a long while. I was able work for 5 straight days. Last week, I was only able to work for 4 staight days and the week before for 3 straight days. Since I'm still on training, most of the holidays were my day-off (weekends included). For the moment, I don't mind that since I have to sharpen my skills again in at least 6 months so I could be marketable in the IT field. I don't really know where this would lead me, but I'll have to enjoy the ride and learn a thing or two.

Back in the Groove

Current Mood: Excited

Starting Monday, I will be back in the workforce as an IT Consultant. I have to thank Grow Inc for giving me the opportunity to start anew and get back in the groove. My task will be as a Helpdesk Support Engineer for Greif Inc. I know this would be new to me since I don't have the experience yet as a Helpdesk person. However, I will use my experience as a Tech Support as well as my Quality Assurance skills to help me level-up in this field. 

I checked both websites (Grow and Greif) and they are promising to me when I was looking for work (or should I say a channel to put my energy to use).  Even if its a 6-month contract, I still took it since I need the experience on how to work not just as a Helpdesk person, but in the field of IT as well. I have almost all the pre-employment requirements with me and by Monday at 8:30am, I should be at the office. ^_^

Now so much for bumming around I guess. XD