In follow-up to my last posting, I spoke about the Information Technology (IT) specialist and the deserved or undeserved perception that most of these professionals are poor customer service providers. One IT professional responded with great insight and seemed to take offense to my statements that disparaged her cohort. I hope to hear from others on this subject.
According to Labor Market Information (2003), A Computer Support Specialist provides technical assistance and training to computer system users, investigate and resolve computer software and hardware problems of users, answer clients’ inquiries in person and via telephone concerning the use of computer hardware and software, including printing, word processing, programming languages, electronic mail, and operating systems. No wonder your computer support person always seems overworked - they ARE overworked! I believe, at least in the corporate world, that corporate leaders are to blame for this in many ways.
Today’s corporate leaders may or may not be aware of the patterns of interactions of their IT employees, and more specifically, the how, why, and when of these patterns. Today’s corporate leadership must recognize the importance of these knowledge workers, their perspectives, and how their relationships with customers affect customer satisfaction, which in turn affects the company’s welfare. Peter Drucker wrote, “The most important contribution that management needs to make in the 21st century is to similarly increase the productivity of knowledge work and knowledge workers” (2003). Interestingly, poor customer service can also be driven by new technologies, which is what Ellie alluded to in her comments on the last posting. With the incredibly rapid changes these technologies facilitate, it is difficult for IT professionals, let alone users, to keep up.
Also, an important goal of software and hardware designers and businesspeople should be to keep human purposes in mind as they design and deploy technology for the consumer. For me, authenticity in relationships is a human purpose. Technology sometimes tends to make authenticity a gray area. As previously stated, the value of the computer information technology professional is increasing. Significant research in this area could be critical if improvement in customer satisfaction is to be a feasible goal for corporate leaders. Having an IT staff that understands the business and its customers’ needs is one key to improving customer satisfaction. Improvement of customer service in the corporate computer IT sector may lead to better company cultures, happier customers and even a better financial performance for companies.
I would love to hear from you corporate types.
DJC
Don Converse
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4 comments:
Working with IT professionals on a daily basis, I have a new appreciation for the art (it's not just a science) of IT. These people are over-utilized, under-appreciated miracle workers. Their customers are usually in panic mode. "My PC just fried and my PowerPoint presentation for tomorrow's big meeting is on the hard drive, and it's not backed up!" "I was downloading pirated movies on the internet, and I think I may have unleashed a virus on the network..."
For these unsung heroes, only one deadline exists: NOW!!! It's easy to become overwhelmed. The computer is a tool which creates the illusion of mastery, when in fact, in the wrong hands, opens a Pandora's Box for our poor, poor IT friends. Be kind. Have mercy.
Yes, I have met many IT professionals who have myriad technical certifications, but could definitely stand to use some advanced training in people skills, such as compassion and communication. But there are times when just one more phone call or email will be the last straw... "That's it!! I can't take it anymore!! I just want to go home at 5:00 on a Friday afternoon!!"
Maybe it's time to break out the abacus and return to a simpler, calmer world...
Both Ken and Ellie are on to something. Although, I'm not currently a corporate type but one of your sentences really struck gold for me: "For me, authenticity in relationships is a human purpose." That is the crux of the issue for IT for each of us.
Ken,
I have spoken to many IT pros and corporate executives about the subject of customer service. I have met very few people that did not think there was a problem and the problem was lack of people skills - as you have indicated.
Many of these people decided to get into the computer business to work with COMPUTERS, not people. Once in the business world, some had a rude awakening when they discovered that they were dealing with people (users) as much as the machines.
The IT pros and execs I have spoken with came to similar conclusions as to the cure for poor service among the IT sector; training IT professionals in people skills could help relieve the problem. But, how do you allievate the "overwhelm" being experienced by most of the computer support people in the corporate world?
I place the responsibility wholly on the shoulders of the corporate leaders. Thanks.
DJC
Rev. Duchess,
Spoken like a person with great people skills! Thank you.
DJC
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