job description

[alan_j at supvax.sls.co.uk]

<<We do have concerns though about how quickly questions will be
answered.  Obviously subject specialists aren't checking their mail
box every other minute, and they can be in meetings for hours,  And
what if they're sick or on vacation?  The system could maybe copy
all e-mail to an administrator who will 'know' when an expert isn't
around and be able to re-direct it - but then the administrator will
go off sick too......
 
I would agree with Thom that 24 hour turn-around is too long,
although I fear it's the best we can guarantee.  With electronic
methods, users tend to expect instant response.  The level of use of
the system will probably affect how we resolve this - though the last
thing we want is for people to not use the system because response
time is too slow!>>

With help desk facilities you've got to do it right - or save your energies for
something you can do right. When experts are limited and can't man a telephone
permanently the 'interrupt solution' is a recipe for disaster - for both 
clients and those on the receiving end of the interrupts. Putting in an e-mail
facility which does not have acceptable response times will work as expected 
for a short time, but only until the users realise that they can get a better 
service by telephoning.

The solution is to *invest* in a proper problem tracking system, such as
Persuit from Marval Software in Northampton or Target Hotline. Messages may be 
routed to the mailbox of the best expert for the job. If the job is not 
accepted within a set time it is re-routed to someone else, a process known as 
escalation. Eventually, a job bubbling to the top of the heap due to lack of 
attention can trigger a pager to try to force a response. Naturally, such 
systems have full monitoring and reporting subsystems so that performance can 
be properly monitored and managed. 

Alan Jackson

Tailored Information - http://www.datatext.co.uk/ti/