🚀 go-pugleaf

----------------------------Original message----------------------------
Hi! I didn't respond to your original message as we too are in the throes of
reorganizing our MIS Department (to the point of re-naming it IS) so I don't
have LOTS of info for you. But, here's what I DO have. Hope it helps! You
 might want to check out thte Help Desk Institute on the internet; they have
some good info.

How many people staff your MIS department as a whole? 15
How is it structured? 1 Director, 2 Managers
What types of roles are there? Director, Applications Dev Mgr, Training &
Support Mgr
Do you have a help desk? Yes, but we call it a support line

How many computers do you support? about 700
How many are PCs? about 650
Macs? 15
File servers? 5 or 6
 Other systems: IBM AS/400
 Do you include A/V equipment? no
 telephones? no
 fax? no

How is the help desk staffed? By all members of the Training & Support Group
Do you have shifts? We have assigned schedules
What hours are covered? 7:30AM-8:00PM ET
How do you assign priorities? We use a number of criteria; basically, how
long can they function without assistance? How "dead in the water" are they?
And of course, who is screaming the loudest!
How do you communicate your expectations? Via newsletters
Does the help desk use software to record/assign calls (and if so, what?)
we're testing one right now that I really like.  It's called "Quality at
Work" Service.  It runs on a file server in Lotus Notes.  Expensive, but
worth a look.
Do you publish to the rest of your company the number of calls/assists/etc.?
not yet, but we will.
What are most calls regarding? (software/hardware/etc.) Almost evenly divided
between AS/400 software and PC hardware
Are any of the calls outsourced?  and if so, for what and what has the
service been like? Hardware under warranty is referred to the manufacturer.
We also have a national service contract with a hardware service company for
stuff out of warranty
How many calls do you receive per day?  per month?
Do you receive email requests? not yet; we will
Are those requests included in the calls per day/month numbers? They will be.
We also include as calls those who "drop by" the support desk

Do you develop network systems? Develop? No

Training:
 Do you have technical trainers in your company (individuals who specifically
assist employees with software problems or  training)? yes
How do you determine what will be trained? we train, to one degree or
another, on everything that is defined as a company standard
Do you use information from the helpdesk? the same people do the training &
help desk work
Does the trainer answer helpdesk calls? see above