Chapter 7: Business Skills for Technical Professionals

Chapter 7:Business Skills for Technical Professionals A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional Third Edition

Objectives 302 Ch. 7: Business Skills In this chapter students will learn: How to acquire and use business skills in the workplace How to use business skills to identify and justify improvement opportunities How to use presentation skills to communicate Advanced business skills for technical professionals

Business Skills for Technical Professionals 302 Ch. 7: Business Skills • Technical professionals are increasingly being challenged to ensure that a company’s technology enables its employees and customers to achieve their business goals • To do this, technical professionals must acquire business skills • Business skills are the skills people need to work successfully in the business world, such as: • The ability to understand and speak the language of business • The ability to analyze business problems and identify improvement opportunities

302 Topic 1:Acquiring and Using Business Skills in the Workplace

Using Business Skillsin the WorkplacePart 1 of 8 302 Ch. 7: Business Skills Some business skills are useful and increasingly required for a number of reasons: The business world is extremely competitive Trends such as automation and outsourcing mean that companies have fewer job positions People who have a mix of skills—including business, technical, soft, and self-management skills—create the greatest opportunities for themselves

Using Business Skills in the WorkplacePart 2 of 8 302 Ch. 7: Business Skills Some business skills are particularly relevant to technical professionals These skills are useful regardless of the profession you enter You can acquire some business skills by simply observing and inquiring about the activities that occur where you work Your business skills will also grow as you acquire education and experience

Using Business Skills in the WorkplacePart 3 of 8 303 Business Skills Relevant to Technical Professionals Ch. 7: Business Skills

Using Business Skills in the WorkplacePart 4 of 8 303 Ch. 7: Business Skills • Customer service • Skills such as understanding the importance of meeting customers’ needs and knowing how to manage their expectations • Process management • The need for people who have experience developing, documenting, and continuously improving processes is increasing • Listening and communication • Two of the most basic skills needed in today’s fast-paced business world

Using Business Skills in the WorkplacePart 5 of 8 303 Ch. 7: Business Skills Writing Problem solving Financial management Making presentations Project management Conflict management Time management

Using Business Skills in the WorkplacePart 6 of 8 309 Ch. 7: Business Skills Basic business skills can be learned on-the-job, through self-study, or in the classroom Customer service, problem solving, project management, conflict management, time management Skills such as financial management and human resources management important as IT techs advance in their careers

Using Business Skills in the WorkplacePart 7 of 8 310 Ch. 7: Business Skills • The business skills required for a service desk job vary based on: • The industry in which the company is engaged • The job category • The specific skills a company requires are determined by the company’s job description • Some basic knowledge, such as service industry knowledge, and a willingness to learn are viewed as a positive.

Using Business Skills in the WorkplacePart 8 of 8 311 Ch. 7: Business Skills Managers are increasingly requiring technical professionals who want to advance in their careers to hone and use business skills Developing and demonstrating business skills is an effective way to differentiate yourself from the competition and increase your opportunities If you are looking to advance your career, business skills are essential

the Language of Businesspart 1 of 4 311 Ch. 7: Business Skills Business - A commercial enterprise or establishment The term may also be used to describe a person’s occupation, work, or trade Nonprofit – A company established for charitable, educational, or humanitarian purposes rather than for making money; also known as not-for-profit The business skills required to work for nonprofit and for-profit companies are similar

the Language of Businesspart 2 of 2 312 Ch. 7: Business Skills • Learn about your company (or a company where you want to work) • Its mission • The industry that it is in • Its competitors • Study the words that are used to describe your company, its mission, and its goals • A “big picture” perspective will help you understand why certain technologies or data are viewed as highly important (strategic)

the Language of Businesspart 2 of 2 312 Ch. 7: Business Skills • IT and business alignment – A process aimed at ensuring that information technologies support corporate goals and objectives • Technical professionals who understand business can: • Help business people understand available technologies and how best to use them • Ensure that new technologies, when introduced, offer real value to the business

313 Topic 2:Using Business Skills to Identify and Justify Improvement Opportunities

Identify and Justify Improvement Opportunitiespart 1 of 4 313 Ch. 7: Business Skills • People working in a service desk hear day-in and day-out from customers who are having trouble using technology • They have a unique opportunity to support the goals of business by working hard to: • Eliminate or minimize the impact of business problems • Identify improvement opportunities

Identify and Justify Improvement Opportunitiespart 2 of 4 314 Ch. 7: Business Skills Service desk tools and technologies are useless if they do not provide and produce meaningful information Analysts play an important role by collecting data on a daily basis that becomes information Failing to record events and activities accurately and completely can have very negative results for the company, the service desk, and the service desk employee

Identify and Justify Improvement Opportunitiespart 3 of 4 314 Ch. 7: Business Skills

Identify and Justify Improvement Opportunitiespart 4 of 4 314 Ch. 7: Business Skills Forward-thinking companies use data to spot trends and discover the root cause of incidents People working in a service desk can continuously capture the data and information needed to determine customers’ wants and needs People interested in a support-industry career must learn how to interpret data and share and add value to information

Performing Trend and Root Cause Analysispart 1 of 7 315 Ch. 7: Business Skills Performing Trend Analysis: • Trend analysis - A methodical way of determining and, when possible, forecasting service trends • Trends can be positive or negative • Trend reports provide service desk management and staff the information needed to • Formulate improvement plans • Communicate achievements

Performing Trend and Root Cause Analysispart 2 of 7 315 Ch. 7: Business Skills

Performing Trend and Root Cause Analysispart 3 of 7 316 Ch. 7: Business Skills • Trend analysis involves looking at a set of data and viewing it from different angles in an effort to identify a trend • Trend reports make it possible to: • Determine the most common and frequently occurring incidents • Identify anomalies • Anomaly - A deviation or departure from the average or the norm

Performing Trend and Root Cause Analysispart 6 of 7 318 Ch. 7: Business Skills Performing Root Cause Analysis: Used to determine why incidents are occurring so the company can take steps to prevent incidents in the future Determining the root cause requires analysts to look beyond the obvious and seek an answer to the question, “Why?” Root cause is not always related specifically to hardware products or software systems It is often related to how people are implementing or using technology

Performing Trend and Root Cause Analysispart 7 of 7 319 Ch. 7: Business Skills Trend and root cause analysis work hand-in-hand Root cause analysis is the more difficult of the two disciplines Companies that fail to capture and then eliminate root cause put themselves at risk for incidents to happen again Ultimately, customers would prefer that incidents be prevented

Communicating the Financial Benefits of ImprovementsPart 1 of 9 320 Ch. 7: Business Skills • Service desk managers are under pressure to: • Demonstrate the value of service desk services • Justify the funds and resources the team needs to deliver those services • Members of the service desk team must learn to: • Justify and quantify the benefits of their ideas in financial terms • Budget - The total sum of money allocated for a particular purpose (such as a project) or period of time (such as a year)

Communicating the Financial Benefits of ImprovementsPart 2 of 9 321 Ch. 7: Business Skills • To justify improvement initiatives: • State the expected benefits in the form of goals • Express those goals as metrics • Metrics typically assess characteristics such as: • Cost • Customer satisfaction • Efficiency • Effectiveness • Employee satisfaction • Quality

Communicating the Financial Benefits of ImprovementsPart 3 of 9 321 Ch. 7: Business Skills • Some characteristics are tangible, or capable of being measured precisely • Cost, efficiency • Other characteristics are intangible, or more difficult to measure precisely • Customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, quality • Intangible characteristics reflect perception and are therefore more subjective • Both tangible and intangible goals are important

Communicating the Financial Benefits of ImprovementsPart 4 of 9 322 Quality Cost Effectiveness Customer Satisfaction Employee Satisfaction Efficiency Ch. 7: Business Skills By establishing both tangible and intangible goals with goals such as quality and customer satisfaction as primary objectives, companies can achieve a balanced, customer-oriented result

Communicating the Financial Benefits of ImprovementsPart 5 of 9 323 Ch. 7: Business Skills Calculating a Labor Savings: • “Time is money” - Labor often represents a company’s single greatest expense • Labor and benefits usually represent 60% to 80% of a service desk’s overall costs • Saving time, will in turn, save money • To calculate an hourly rate: • $39,046 / 2,080 = $18.77

Communicating the Financial Benefits of ImprovementsPart 6 of 9 324 Labor Savings by Automating Password Resets Ch. 7: Business Skills

Communicating the Financial Benefits of ImprovementsPart 7 of 9 324 Ch. 7: Business Skills When actual data are not available, industry standard data (such as hourly rate) can be useful Cost per contact is a financial measure frequently used in the support industry Cost per contact - The total cost of operating a service desk for a given time period (including salaries, benefits, facilities, and equipment) divided by the total number of contacts received during that period Contact volume - The total number of contacts received during a given period of time

Communicating the Financial Benefits of ImprovementsPart 8 of 9 325 Ch. 7: Business Skills

Communicating the Financial Benefits of ImprovementsPart 9 of 9 324 Ch. 7: Business Skills • Cost per contact can be used to: • Benchmark a service desk’s services against other service desks or the industry average • Compare the cost of operating a service desk to an external supplier (outsourcer) • Benchmarking - The process of comparing the service desk’s performance metrics and practices to those of another service desk in an effort to identify improvement opportunities

326 Topic 3:Using Presentationsto Communicate

Using Presentationsto CommunicatePart 1 of 8 326 Ch. 7: Business Skills • Presentations are an important form of communication in today’s business world • They are used daily to: • Convey information • Promote the benefits of ideas and opportunities • Win approval for ideas and opportunities • For professionals, presentations are an important way to build credibility • The ability to make presentations can greatly influence a person’s standing in his or her company, community, and industry

Using Presentations to CommunicatePart 2 of 8 326 Ch. 7: Business Skills • Audience members are being brought together for a reason • Their approval is needed to move forward on a project • Their input is needed to formulate an action plan • You need to make them aware of something or teach them something • The main reason you are making the presentation is that You are the expert!

Using Presentations to CommunicatePart 3 of 8 327 Ch. 7: Business Skills Step 1: State your objective Step 2: Know your audience Step 3: Design the presentation Step 4: Rehearse the presentation Step 5: Deliver the presentation Step 6: Learn from the experience

Using Presentations to CommunicatePart 4 of 8 327 Ch. 7: Business Skills Step 1. State Your Objective: A clearly stated objective helps you focus your thoughts and the thoughts of your audience Step 2. Know Your Audience: This step greatly influences all future steps Determine what is important to your audience members Understand the background of your audience When in doubt, ask

Using Presentations to CommunicatePart 5 of 8 329 Ch. 7: Business Skills Step 3. Design the Presentation: Designing a presentation is like writing a story Begin with an outline Research your topic and collect facts that support your objective Develop visual aids that support and communicate your ideas Anticipate the questions your audience may ask and use visual aids to answer those questions

Using Presentations to CommunicatePart 6 of 8 330 Ch. 7: Business Skills Step 4. Rehearse the Presentation: • Make sure that you can cover your material in the time allotted • Make sure that you leave time for questions • Rehearsing is different than memorizing • Memorize your introduction and closing • They are critical to setting audience expectations • Memorize only the key points you want to make during the body of your presentation

Using Presentations to CommunicatePart 7 of 8 331 Ch. 7: Business Skills Step 5. Deliver the Presentation: Be prepared, confident, and enthusiastic When time is a constraint, ask the audience to hold their questions until the end If you run out of time for questions at the end, let the audience know that you will be happy to answer their questions after the meeting When possible, try to handle questions when asked

Using Presentations to CommunicatePart 8 of 8 333 Ch. 7: Business Skills Step 6. Learn from the Experience: Most mistakes made when making presentations are the result of overlooking one of the steps previously discussed Take time after each presentation to evaluate your performance and determine how you can improve If evaluations are provided, view the feedback you receive as constructive and figure out what you can do to improve Presentation skills are essential if you want to educate, inform, obtain information from, build consensus with, and communicate with others

334 Topic 4:Advanced Business Skills for Technical Professionals

Advanced Business Skills 334 Ch. 7: Business Skills • Advanced business skills are critical skills for more senior technical professionals • Managing projects • Conducting a cost benefit analysis • Calculating ROI • An understanding of these concepts will enable you to make the most of learning and growth opportunities • To excel at advanced business skills, technical professionals require a blend of formal training and experience

Managing Projectspart 1 of 10 335 Ch. 7: Business Skills • Project- A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result • Service desk professionals may: • Complete projects • Support the end product of a project • Initiate projects • Technical professionals must understand • Project management concepts and tools • How to work successfully on a project team

Managing Projectspart 2 of 10 336 Ch. 7: Business Skills • Project management - The process of planning and managing a project • All projects, regardless of their size, require some planning and have the following: • A clearly defined scope • Well-defined deliverables • Clearly defined acceptance criteria • An established start date • An established end point

Managing Projectspart 3 of 10 336 Ch. 7: Business Skills Scope An agreement between the customer of the project and the supplier about the project’s end product and includes a description of the acceptance criteria to be used to evaluate the project’s success Acceptance criteria The conditions that must be met before the project deliverables are accepted

Chapter 7: Business Skills for Technical Professionals