[under development]


Business Communications



Memorandum

To: BUS 2200 Colleagues
From: Steven Thorderson
Date: 5/2/2013
Re: Project Proposal

OVERVIEW

At University Hospital, the UIT Hospital Help Desk supports over 450 applications, and logs over 6,000 trouble tickets every month. With so many services to support, there is a lot of knowledge to manage. Help Desk Management is receiving more negative feedback from other IT teams that Agents are mishandling issues they have already been trained to handle.

RESEARCH QUESTION

We need to learn the impact effective business communication has on adult learning. How can Help Desk Leadership better communicate with the Help Desk Agents to ensure that processes are being followed and customers are being taken care of?

RATIONALE

In class, we have learned some keys to effective business communications. By researching which methods most impact adult learning, the class can be better equipped to apply the same methods in the course of their business. Some methods are more effective than others, and by identifying key differences, those involved will know how to make the most effective & impactful changes. Help Desk Leadership will learn to effectively communicate with staff, and University Healthcare will see increased productivity both in IT and in the patient care areas impacted by IT.

FEASIBILITY

As the primary decision-maker at the UIT Hospital Help Desk, I would be the primary contact and source of information for coordinating with University Healthcare. My Junior Team Lead has also expressed his willingness to work on the project with a SLCC research group.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A series of surveys would be very effective to gather data and gauge progress throughout the study. There are 13 Agents on the Help Desk, plus the two Team Leads and the Manager. All would be willing to participate and provide this crucial feedback. Surveys would take a week to receive all possible responses, because of certain staff that works only on the weekend.
Help Desk International is the premier professional organization for IT service and support experts. I personally have access to a wealth of knowledge complied by HDI, comprising of thousands of whitepapers and bulletins, and hundreds of back-issues of their bimonthly publication, SupportWorld. As an IT leader, HDI is my first point of research. Many other professional publications can serve as research resources for those without access to the HDI Library. Many industry professionals are also willing to work with research groups and would be excellent sources of primary research.

PERSONNEL

Because this project requires heavy use of surveys, at least one person with related experience would be crucial to the success of the study. Two team members can work on research by looking for relevant articles and interviewing industry professionals. An additional team member could be useful for being the primary contact for the Help Desk Agents, as they will want to interact with someone other than their direct report.
As mentioned earlier, all of the members of the Help Desk would be willing to participate in this study. By improving communications, their workflow is eased and they are in a better position to take care of their customers. I do not foresee any conflicts with any of the staff.

TIME FRAME

  • Oct 10th: Prepare initial survey to identify points of improvement
    Begin Superficial Research
  • Oct 15th: Conclude initial survey and identify action plan
  • Oct 17th: Begin in-depth research for resolving specific issues
  • Oct 31st: Prepare followup survey to identify possible areas for progress
  • Nov 7th: Conclude surveys and discuss
  • Nov 14th: Prepare Managerial Report
  • Nov 19th: Review Managerial Report
  • Nov 21st: Turn in draft of completed Managerial Report

HURDLES

The major hurdle this project will face is the short amount of time given. With the interaction required with the Help Desk, it is possible that responses will come back with little time to analyze and respond. I also foresee that the project team will have difficulty finding time outside of class to meet, research, and make progress. From an operational standpoint at the Help Desk, I would not anticipate friction getting ideas and identifying strengths and weaknesses.