Supporting IT Users Effectively (Helpdesk)

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Course Overview

This course will develop skills which will enable the delegates to communicate more effectively with IT users and deal with enquiries confidently and effectively. It will enable them to understand the needs of users, to develop a positive rapport, to handle difficult situations, to make appropriate judgements on next steps and to complete tasks in a friendly way. The style of the course is both participative and practical. Delegates learn in an active way through exercises which simulate user enquiries. They also draw on examples from their own experiences and by sharing and discussing these they can relate the lessons learnt to themselves and their own situations. This learning-by-doing approach is supported and complimented with concepts and guidance from the tutor, feedback from observers, and reviews of performance and results. Delegates are also given individual attention by the tutor to help them diagnose and learn about those aspects which are of particular personal significance to themselves.

Audience

This is a communications and customer services course specifically designed for people engaged in customer support within the computer industry. It is for people who handle both internal and external user enquiries and problems, in face-to face situations, at the customer's site, and/or via the telephone.

Prerequisites

An open mind and the motivation to learn.

Course Outline

INTRODUCTIONS

• The Need for Introductions

SUPPORTING EFFECTIVELY

• Some Definitions
• Efficiency and Effectiveness
• The Task/Process Balance
• What it Means to Support Users Effectively

A USER-SATISFACTION SURVEY

• What did They Say?
• Why Organisations Lose their Customers
• What is the Problem?
• Where can we Improve?

UNDERSTANDING SELF

• Self-Analysis
• Understanding Self-Disclosure and the Blind Spot
• Personality Profile
• The Implications of the Personality Model
• Communication Style Profile
• Understanding Dominant Communication Styles
• The Verbosity and Social Dimensions in Communication Style
• Cultivating the Right Habits

DEVELOPING RAPPORT

• Social Protocol
• Importance of Small-Talk
• Open and Closed Questioning
• Reflective Questioning
• Using the Mirroring Technique

ASSUMPTIONS

• The Problem-Solving Model
• Understanding the Support Role in the Context of Problem Definition and Analysis
• Why we Make Assumptions
• Questioning Assumptions

SPEAKING

• How good a Speaker are You?
• Speaking Profile
• Use of Paraphrasing
• Making the Correct Choice of Language
• Importance of Tone in Face-to-Face Situations and over the Telephone

LISTENING

• How Good a Listener are You?
• Listening Profile
• The Importance of Feedback
• Dealing with Difficult Customers and Difficult Situations
• When to Apologise
• Understanding the Meaning Behind the Words
• Use of Empathy

PERSONAL MANAGEMENT

• The Importance of Personal Image and Vocabulary
• Reading, Understanding and Making use of Body Language

STRESS MANAGEMENT

• What is Stress?
• The Fight or Flight Response
• Recognising when Pressure becomes Stress
• Managing Stress
• Some Coping Strategies

Supporting IT Users Effectively (Helpdesk) / S-ITU