Blogging SIGUCCS: Picking my sessions
- Taming the Help Desk, Monday 10:30 AM
- Creating Synergy to Make I.T. Happen, Monday 1:30 PM
- Moving IT beyond IT, Monday 3:30 PM
- Architecting Change from the Inside Out, Tuesday 8:30 AM
- Leveraging Campus I.T. in the Wake of the Storm, Tuesday 10:30 AM
- Dressing Up, Dressing Down: Where is Your Career Headed?, Tuesday 3:30 PM
Abstracts below the jump.
1. Taming the Help Desk
So you were a computer geek: supporting desktops and servers, maybe some web design… and suddenly a staff is dropped in your lap. Maybe they’re a bunch of inexperienced students and now you have to deal with their academic responsibilities and needs, then add in support for thousands of customers, and you (the geek turned manager) need your own development. Who in their right minds would want that job?
I took the job and chose to run with what I had — and it worked. For this session, I will present the secrets of our (and my) success at the Computing & Information Technology Help Desk at Wayne State University. Then, we will discuss how our methods can be applied to you and your institution’s support center.
By establishing training and mentoring for new employees and learning how to manage a staff correctly, I helped create a dynamic team and a fun workplace. Ensuring that management is an active, visible presence has established positive employee performance. Encouraging the student staff to participate in problem solving and change management reinforces the fact that we are a team. Finally, everyone is allowed to evaluate the team’s performance, which then helps the team to improve their technical abilities and responses to our customers. This has helped us move from an underappreciated resource four years ago to a respected authority now. You can do it, too!
2. Creating Synergy to Make I.T. Happen
Synergy – The working together of two or more things, people, or organizations, especially when the result is greater than the sum of their individual effects or capabilities. At LSU we are making I.T. happen by working together with other organizations on campus to create rich technology spaces where students have access to not only traditional computer labs, but added functions such as social spaces, mobile device circulation, high end media development and output, vending services, digital art gallery, technical support, and library reference.
This year LSU will create an Information Commons in our main campus library. The success of this project is the result of a long dialog and working relationship with various organizations that include the LSU Library administration, Contracted Auxiliary Services, Copier management, Graphic Services, College of Art and Design, Information Technology Services, and the Student Technology Fee Oversight Committee.
3. Moving IT beyond IT
“Excellent problem solving skills, critical thinker, comfortable with modern operating systems and applications, a strong understanding of the campus’ technical infrastructure, knowledge of the campus business models, excellent customer service skills…” Does this sound like a job description for a help desk employee? An IT project manager? How about a Campus Life administrator or a manager of Customer Service in the Facilities department?
The job skills developed in the central IT organization are quickly becoming the cornerstone of every job description on campus. Can you imagine if your Campus Life administrator had the same understanding of the technology tools available as your best help desk employee? Would processes and organizational challenges be handled differently if technology were a tool and not an impediment? As you look to advance your career, consider the skill set you have developed in the central IT organization. Do you think it would benefit the university if you took that knowledge to another department? You bet! Information technology is the foundation on which our universities and colleges are building. Your IT knowledge, plus the problem solving skills that are inherent in any help desk environment, positions you to add immediate and critical value to many other areas on campus. This paper addresses the benefits of transitioning IT beyond the central IT organization – and how your career can continue to grow – as IT moves into every facet of our institutions.
4. Architecting Change from the Inside Out
In the world of higher education technology services, we find ourselves entwined with change. Our role is usually imparting change on other members of the campus community. New systems, new software, and new instructional tools abound. We hand out change to others, however do we embrace it ourselves? How often do we internally review ourselves? Is our IT department or unit functioning cohesively? Are our employees empowered adequately to expand the boundaries and achieve results? Is management sharing the power? Do we celebrate successes? Do we really understand employee morale? Do contented cows truly give better milk?
This paper focuses on the fundamental strategies that University departments should employ year round for continuous improvement. Some of these elements are 1) creating a better work place; 2) hiring to fit; 3) facilitating good employee morale; 4) equipping employees for customer service; 5) communicating priorities; and 6) leading for loyalty. The IT department that architects change from the inside out will realize many benefits.
5. Leveraging Our Campus I.T. in the Wake of the Storm
In the hours after Hurricane Katrina demolished the Louisiana Coast, Louisiana State University soon became the center of recovery and relief efforts for the state. This was obviously an effort that spanned all parts of the institution, but as one would expect, information and communication were key to the success of all the parties involved.
In our discussion we would like to tell the story of how Louisiana State University’s IT resources were key to the recovery efforts in our state.
Our organization was equipped to put phones, computers, telephone and networking services in the hands of the volunteers who were administering the triage hospital and acute care facilities on our campus. A hotline was established and staffed 24 hours in the weeks after the storm where citizens could get information. Our network operations center opened their doors to fellow universities in the state to recover their systems and redirect their web pages and communications. Computer labs were dismantled and the systems used in all aspects of the recovery where PCs were needed. We leveraged our partnerships with vendors such as Microsoft, IBM and Cisco to get equipment and supplies where they were needed.
We would like to share our story with others so that they will hear firsthand what Louisiana State University’s IT department did in the wake of the storm. We hope this will open discussion and dialog that will help other universities understand the power of their resources should they be faced with a disaster of this magnitude.
6. Dressing Up, Dressing Down: Where is Your Career Headed?
Your professional abilities are advertised in the first two seconds of every interaction. That’s right, you have two seconds to make yourself viewed as capable, professional and ready for the next step in your career. It isn’t your experience, your education or your accomplishments that people are assessing in those first two seconds — it’s your image.
If you are interested in moving your career forward, in advancing your professional opportunities and in simply being more respected, look in your closet. Is your wardrobe setting you up for success? Do you look as confident as you feel? If you want to move up in management, you need to stop dressing like a sysadmin.
Join us as we look at one of the simplest and most straight-forward ways to advance your career: how to dress for success.