Help Desk

Assistant
Manual

June 2007
Rev. May 2008
 HelpDesk Assistant Manual
(rev. May 2008)

Contents

Help Desk Assistant Guidelines & Expectations………………...

What ITS Can and Cannot Do……………………………………….

Overview of SRS (Service Request System)……………………..

• Using the Service Request System

• How to submit a service request (aka “ticket”)
• Updating/making changes to an existing ticket
• Searching for a particular ticket

Utilizing the SRS Knowledgebase…………………………………

Other How-to’s

How-to: Answer the phone…………………………………………..

How-to: Transfer a call……………………………………………….

How-to: Greet walk-ins……………………………………………….

How-to: Deal with a frustrated user………………………………...

 HelpDesk Assistant Guidelines & Expectations
The HelpDesk is a crucial part of the Information Technology Services support system. It serves as the First
Contact for our faculty, staff and students seeking technical assistance. Therefore, it is important that the
HelpDesk be staffed at all times during its operating hours and that those staffing it represent ITS – and UNCA
-- in a professional, courteous, helpful manner.

As an ITS User Services HelpDesk Assistant, you will be expected to:

• Arrive on time to cover your shift.

• Plan to stay until your shift is up [If you need to leave early due to a sudden situation beyond your control,
contact your Supervisor immediately to let her know].

• Make arrangements with another Assistant to cover you/your shift if you can’t cover it, if you’ll be late, or if you
need to leave early.

• Let your Supervisor know asap of any times you won’t be able to cover your shift, and who will be covering it for
you. Numerous absences or tardiness could eventually (& regrettably) result in your dismissal.

• Remember to “chat in” (via Google Chat) as soon as you start your shift and “chat out” when you leave your shift.
This is very important, as it is these records to which your supervisor will refer to confirm your hours worked.

• Keep track of your timesheet, complete it accurately, and turn it in to your Supervisor on a timely basis each
month.

• Information passing across the HelpDesk can be confidential. Under no circumstances are you to retain or share
any of this information outside of your position as a HelpDesk Assistant and the confines of your work as such.
[See What ITS Can and Cannot Do for more details].

• Notes you’ve made which contain personal information must be shredded/destroyed when you’re through with
them. There is a shredder in the LH117 ITS office.

• Dress can be casual, but should be tasteful.

• Working on homework, reading, checking your email is acceptable during lulls in HelpDesk activity. However, the
User comes first, so set the personal work aside immediately when your services are again requested.

• Downloading games, etc. onto the HelpDesk computer is not permitted.

• Surfing the net is not allowed unless school-related, and such work is to be set aside immediately when your
services are again requested.

• You should not have visitors when working your shift, and friends should refrain from calling you during that time.

• Personal calls should be made only when absolutely necessary, should be short, and should not be made on the
main phone line.

• Bottled water (with cap on when not drinking) is acceptable to have with you at the desk. Food and other drinks
are allowed, but must be kept in the break room behind the desk or, if just simple snacks, must be kept from plain
view & eaten/drunk subtly. A refrigerator, as well as a table and chairs, will be provided in the break room for your
convenience.

• You can store your belongings in the cabinet to the left of the HelpDesk computer while you cover your shift.

• Remember to log out of any personal accounts you may have open on the computer before you leave.

• Please don’t hesitate to discuss any questions or concerns with your Supervisor.
 What ITS Can and Cannot Do
There are certain situations which may occasionally arise in which we need to be very careful to
follow security guidelines which protect a User’s personal information and right to confidentiality. The
following lists better clarify what ITS can and cannot do in these situations.

ITS (including HelpDesk Assistants) CANNOT:

• Share any personal or confidential information or knowledge of any user with others – except
other ITS staff with whom you are conferring in an attempt to assist the user

• Provide any personal or confidential information to a user, relative of a user, or other contact
person. This includes, but isn’t limited to, Banner IDs, SSNs, birthdates, passwords, etc.

• Leave personal or confidential information or knowledge of any user lying around in written
form. Such items should be locked up, shredded or otherwise destroyed as soon as the
information is no longer needed

• Log into a user’s account without the expressed consent or request from the user. On the rare
occasion in which this may be done, it must only be for the purpose of troubleshooting a
specific problem. Better to let an ITS staff take on the responsibility of doing so.

• Log into a user’s account and make an online tuition payment for them

• Log into a user’s account and make class changes for them

ITS (including HelpDesk Assistants) CAN:

• CONFIRM personal or confidential information of a user (for example, you might need to ask
them to confirm their birthdate or Banner ID# in order to make sure it matches what we have in
the Banner system for them, or in order to confirm that we are speaking to the correct person if
there’s a question). However, you must do so by asking them what it is, then comparing it to
what you show, rather than telling them what you show, then asking them if it’s correct.

• Log into a user’s account with the expressed consent or request from the user. On the rare
occasion in which this may be done, it must only be for the purpose of troubleshooting a
specific problem.
 Overview of SRS (Service Request System)
SRS (Service Request System) is the online application we use to post and track requests for
service or assistance. All ITS support-related calls should be posted in SRS. Such information will
be used to build on the knowledgebase -- providing self-help or ITS help instructions for
resolutions, as well as looking for patterns of problems which may be resolved on a larger-scale
basis.

Instructions for using SRS as a HelpDesk Assistant are as follows:

Using the Service Request System

Go to the login screen (https://helpdesk.unca.edu/glpi). Type in your username and password ←.

You will be taken to the central console. If you have any open tickets which are assigned to you
for resolution, this is where they’ll appear (Personal View).
Clicking on Global View will allow you an overview of all open Service Requests, as seen on the
following page.
Click on New to display all new, currently unassigned tickets;
Click on Processing (assigned) to display all currently assigned, open tickets, etc.
 How to submit a service request (aka ticket):

Go to the Assistance icon at the top of the screen and click on Helpdesk in the drop-down menu….
This is the screen on which you will be posting all pertinent information and then submitting the
request. Below is a brief explanation of each box you will complete, with instructions.

Author: Select the caller’s name/username from the drop-down box. If it isn’t there, try
adding it (instructions later). Last option: select your own name/username.

Request source: Select the type of contact

• Helpdesk --Selected only when the user him/herself submits a service request
• Email --User emailed request to helpdesk@unca.edu
• Phone --User calls HelpDesk with request
• Direct --User comes to HelpDesk counter with request
• Written --[Very infrequent] User sends actual letter to HelpDesk with request
• Other --Would include communication such as online chat, fax, etc.

Priority: Select a level of priority appropriate to the situation

• Very High --Needs immediate help….holding up class, advising session, deadline, etc.
• High --Not an immediate urgency, but unable to do work & needs help within hours
• Medium --Okay for now, but will need resolution within a day or so
• Low --Isn’t really affecting work, but is a nuisance; no big rush indicated by user
• Very Low --Doesn’t affect work; indicated as no rush at all
Category:

As indicated in the screen shot below, there are many selections to choose from in selecting the
correct Category. You will need to scroll through the options and select the one you feel best fits the
problem for which you’re posting the service request. If you would feel better having your supervisor
check your selection, email or call her/him, providing the Ticket number of the request.
Now you’re ready to move on to the first description box, “Describe the Problem/Action”. Use this
box to display a very brief, to the point, one or two-line description of the problem being reported,
such as the following example:
Next, add a more thorough description in the “Add a Follow-up” box. Create a first line which
includes the name of the user needing assistance, their location, and their phone extension.

On a second (double spaced) line, include any other pertinent identifying information such as,
especially in the case of a Repair ticket, type of computer (ie, Dell OptiPlex GX270) or printer (ie,
HPLJ4350), Service Tag number (Service Tags are typically white, include the user’s name and a 7-
character “number”-- which is actually made up of both letters and numbers -- & are located on the
top of the cpu). Providing this “number” in the ticket assists our Repair tech in determining ahead of
time if the item is still under warranty. It also helps provide more details about the item, which can
help determine what parts to take with him when he goes to check on the problem.

Beginning on a third (double-spaced) line, type a description of the problem and any steps which
have already been taken in an attempt to resolve it.

See the example below:

If a user has provided a screenshot or some other document pertinent to the issue at hand, you can
attach a copy of it to the service request by clicking on the “Browse” link located just below the
“Describe the Problem/Action” box, navigating to the file you’d like to attach, then clicking “Open” in
order to attach it:
Under the dropdown menu provided, select the approximate number of minutes you spent working on
the issue and submitting the ticket.
Once you’re through adding the follow-up and selecting your minutes used, click on Post to post the
ticket for someone to pick up & resolve, or click on Add and Close if you were able to resolve the
issue.
 Updating / making changes to an existing ticket

Under “Assistance”, click on “Tracking”. This should bring up the list of currently open tickets. Find
the ticket you wish to update and click on “Information” (located to the far right) to open it:
To post updated information, click on “Add a New Followup”:
Type the updated information in the Description box provided. From the Minutes dropdown menu,
select the approximate number of minutes you spent on the update. When finished, if the ticket is to
stay open, click on Post. If the matter has been resolved and you are ready to close the ticket, click
on Add and Close.
If the changes you need to make involve anything in the upper box (Status, Author, Priority, Category,
Request Source, Assigned to, or you wish to add an attachment), make the necessary changes and
then click on Update.
 Searching for a Particular Ticket

If you have the ticket number for the ticket you need to access, simply go to the Tracking screen, in
the dropdown window which displays “Descriptions/Follow-ups” select ID, type the ticket number
(digits only) into the box to the right, then click Search.
You can also narrow down searches for which you don’t have a ticket number by changing various
selections, including Status, Author, Assigned to, Category, etc. For instance, to search for a ticket
which you believe is already closed, was submitted for Cathy Joyner, and was a OnePort problem,
you might make any or all of the following selections in order to narrow your search:
Click on Search to get the results:

Only those tickets which match the criteria you selected will be displayed.
 Utilizing the SRS Knowledgebase

The SRS Knowledgebase is an excellent resource for solutions to many of the issues about which the
HelpDesk gets contacted. A link to it is conveniently located under Tools, as indicated below:
You will find several different topics and subtopics listed in the Knowledgebase:
Find the topic which most closely fits the issue which you are trying to resolve, then click to open it:
You will then be directed to information/instructions regarding the topic:
If you aren’t sure where to look for a particular topic, don’t see it listed where you thought it might be,
or want to look for related topics, you can try doing a search by typing keywords in the Search box
provided, then clicking on Search:
The Knowledgebase topics list will close all topics/subtopics except for those which contain the
keyword you provided, therefore narrowing your search:
How-to: Answer the Phone

As the main first point of contact for users requesting assistance from ITS, the
HelpDesk plays an important role in representing the department. A cheerful
manner and pleasant voice go a long way in promoting the HelpDesk and all of ITS
as a department that cares about the problems a user has & getting those problems
resolved.

A good start? Æ “ITS HelpDesk. This is <your first name>. How may I help you?”

At this point, you’ve made many callers feel better already!

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How-to: Greet Walk-ins

Combine a smile with that cheerful manner and pleasant voice and you’re
already helping the users before they even speak a word.

A simple Æ “Hi. May I help you?” -- with a smile attached -- should do the trick.

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How-to: Deal with a Frustrated User

Occasionally, you will be contacted by a frustrated user. Fortunately, it’s usually

more of a mild franticness rather than an angry frustration. Either way, there are a
few important things you need to keep in mind when you find yourself dealing with
such users:

• Remind yourself that it isn’t personal. It may seem as though the user is
frustrated with you, but they aren’t. They’re just frustrated in general (with a
computer, a printer, software, etc. – not you) & in need of assistance.

• Stay patient – Let the user unload the details of the problem while you take
notes & ask questions during pauses. Show understanding….empathy.

• Listen to the users. Let them know you hear them & that we’re here to help
them. Assure them that we’ll help them get the matter resolved.

• Kindness, patience, understanding, empathy, reassurance all go a long way

in calming frustrated users and getting them to a point where they can help you help
them.

• In the event that you are unable to work with a frustrated user, a user is irate, or
insists on speaking to someone higher-up, don’t hesitate to direct them to your
supervisor or other appropriate higher-up ITS staff. You are not expected to have to
deal with such users.
Using the HelpDesk Phone

How-to: Transfer a call

While you have the caller on the line:

• Press TRANSFER
• Enter the 4-digit number you wish to transfer the call to
• Press TRANSFER again (you should hear the phone ringing)
• Press RLS
• Hang up

To check voicemail messages:

• From the phone in question, dial 6797

• Type in password
• Refer to the following list, press the numerical command which correlates with
what you want to do:
o 1 Æ listen to messages
o 3,3 Æ skip to end of message
o 4 Æ replay message
o 5 Æ find out who left message, when, & their phone #
o 6 Æ forward message to someone else
o 7 Æ delete message
o 8 Æ leave a voicemail reply to a message
o 9 Æ save message in archive for 15 days
o # Æ skip message