Chapter 8:
Teams and Team Players in a
Help Desk Setting
A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the
Help Desk Professional
Second Edition
Objectives
• Describe the characteristics of a successful team
• Describe the stages of growth that teams go
through
• Understand how successful teams manage the
inevitable and normal conflict in a team setting
• Understand your role in the help desk and in your
company’s support organization
• Understand how to contribute to your team’s goals
• Develop the skills needed to have positive working
relationships with your teammates
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Teams and Team Players
in a Help Desk Setting
• In a technical help desk, no single person can
know everything about all the products
supported and provide all the support
customers need
• Team - A group of people organized to work
together toward the achievement of a goal
• Team player - A person who contributes to the
team’s success by cooperating freely and
communicating openly with his or her
teammates
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Working as a Team
• Technical support lends itself to a team setting
for the following reasons:
– The sheer number of available products
– The integration of products and systems
– The constant and pervasive rate of technical
change
– The need for business knowledge
– The increasing complexity of the business world
– The need to use resources efficiently and
effectively
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Characteristics of a Successful Team
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Characteristics of a
Successful Team (continued)
A clear sense of purpose:
• The mission and goals of the team must be clearly
defined and accepted by all of the team members
• Mission - A written statement of the customers the
help desk serves, the types of services it provides,
and how it delivers those services
• Help desk goals - Measurable objectives that support
the help desk’s mission
• Individual performance goals - Measurable objectives
for people who support the help desk’s mission
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Characteristics of a
Successful Team (continued)
Diversity:
• The most successful teams are made up of people
who have unique skills and exhibit varying
approaches to teamwork
• Each player must at times be a leader, and at other
times follow the leader
• Team players must be willing to work together to
achieve the team’s mission and goals
• Companies want to ensure new hires will fit into the
company’s corporate culture and into the culture of
the hiring team
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Characteristics of a
Successful Team (continued)
Openness and trust:
• Communication within a team setting is just as
important as communicating with customers
• Team members must be willing to:
– Share their knowledge
– Give and receive constructive feedback
– Freely express their feelings
– Talk, but also listen
• Team members must be able to:
– Rely on each other to get the job done
– State their weaknesses and look to teammates for strength
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Characteristics of a
Successful Team (continued)
Positive relationships with other support groups:
• Team members are accountable to:
– Other members of the team
– The “greater team” that constitutes the service delivery
chain within their company
• Level two support groups, the training group, the Sales
and Marketing department, external service providers
• The help desk must rely on these groups to provide
knowledge, tools, and credibility
• Without support, the help desk’s potential may not be
realized and its contribution recognized
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Characteristics of a
Successful Team (continued)
• A team leader to whom members are loyal is
another characteristic of a successful team
• A successful team can work around a poor
team leader
• An effective leader enables the team to
achieve its full potential by:
– Removing obstacles
– Sharing leadership responsibilities as needed to
get the job done
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Building a Solid Team
• To perform at maximum efficiency and
effectiveness, each team member,
including the leader, must embrace the
characteristics of a successful team
– A clear sense of purpose
– Diversity
– Openness and trust
– Positive relationships with other support
groups
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Building a Solid Team (continued)
A group of people cannot become a team
overnight. It takes:
• Time
• An open, pleasant working environment
• A willingness to work through the stages
of growth that all groups experience on
their way to becoming a team
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Building a Solid Team (continued)
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Building a Solid Team (continued)
Forming:
• Team members are selected and the process of
becoming a team begins
• The team’s mission and goals are defined along
with team member’s roles and responsibilities
• Team members often experience a range of
emotions
• The team leader is actively involved and provides
the direction and resources the team needs to
progress
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Building a Solid Team (continued)
Storming:
• The team begins to face the reality of turning its
mission and goals into executable action plans
• The polite façade begins to fade and team
members are more willing to disagree
• The team leader coaches and counsels the team
and repeatedly reminds the team to stay focused
on its goals
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Building a Solid Team (continued)
Norming:
• Team members begin to take ownership for the
team’s performance and to have confidence in
the team’s abilities
• They feel a sense of camaraderie and begin to
exhibit team spirit
• Team members accept and welcome feedback
rather than view it as criticism
• The team leader steps away from the team and
gets involved only when the team asks for
support
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Building a Solid Team (continued)
Performing:
• The team is achieving its goals and the team’s
members are participating fully in team activities
• A spirit of cooperation and collaboration prevails
• Team members trust each other and their leader
• They feel a sense of pride and satisfaction
• The team has become a close-knit community
• The team leader serves as head cheerleader and
encourages the team to avoid complacency and
continuously improve
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Building a Solid Team (continued)
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Building a Solid Team (continued)
• Some teams never make it to the performing
stage
– For example, they avoid conflict during the storming
stage and never develop the ability to deal with negative
issues or achieve a consensus
• Consensus - An opinion or position reached by
all of a team’s members or by a majority of its
members
• Conflict is inevitable in a team setting
• Successful teams learn to work through it in a fair
and constructive manner
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Managing Conflict in a Team Setting
• Conflict is a normal part of human interaction
• When approached positively, it can actually
produce very creative and innovative results
• In a team setting, conflict usually results from
team member’s varying perceptions and
expectations
• Conflict can also arise simply as a result of the
stress that is inherent in a help desk setting
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Managing Conflict in a
Team Setting (continued)
• An issue is typically at the heart of a conflict
• The best way to handle conflict is for team
members to focus on the issue not the
personalities of teammates
• Team members must also be honest about their
feelings, while striving to understand the feelings
of their teammates
• Engaging in conflict is not a pleasant experience
• It is better to resolve the issue than avoid it and
allow it to turn into something even bigger
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Managing Conflict in a
Team Setting (continued)
When faced with a conflict, remember that:
• The person on the other side has a point of view that
is legitimate and reasonable
– Listen actively and strive to understand
• The other person may be just as uncomfortable
talking about the conflict
– Find an agreeable way to resolve the situation
• Keep to the issues of a discussion
– Avoid making comments that attack your teammate’s
personal character or question his or her motives
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Managing Conflict in a
Team Setting (continued)
• Saying the same thing over and over will not resolve
the conflict
– When necessary, state your point of view in a different
way, or try presenting your point of view from the other
person’s perspective
• Little can be gained by discussing or debating the
past
– Try to determine what can be done now and in the future
to eliminate the source of conflict
• The other person may be willing to accept a solution if
you can make it sufficiently attractive
– Try to identify a middle ground you both find acceptable
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Managing Conflict in a
Team Setting (continued)
• It is okay to change your mind
– Should you discover that you were misinformed or
simply wrong, graciously acknowledge your teammate’s
point of view
– When appropriate, apologize for causing or prolonging
the conflict
• There are times when it is appropriate to delay
discussing a difficult situation
• Choose a time when both you and the person can
calmly discuss the issue and seek a resolution
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Being a Team Player
• Being a team player requires
– Personal commitment
– A willingness to put the needs of the team
ahead of your personal goals
• Team players:
– Contribute by cooperating freely and
communicating openly with teammates
– Do not have to abandon personal goals
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Being a Team Player (continued)
• The most successful team players seek out a
team setting that enables them to work toward
their personal goals while contributing to the
team’s goals
• The greatest job satisfaction comes when:
– Skills are fully utilized
– Your personal working style is acknowledge and
accommodated
• A successful team is made up of a mix of people
who contribute a variety of skills and personal
working styles
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Understanding Your Role
in the Help Desk
• For a team to succeed, all team members must
understand that they have a unique role to play
• The role a person plays is a sum of his or her skills,
knowledge, experience, and personal style
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Understanding Your Role
in the Help Desk (continued)
Team player styles:
• Challenger - Serves as the devil’s advocate.
Questions goals, methods, and procedures
• Collaborator - Goal-oriented. Willing to do what is
needed to get the job done
• Communicator - A good listener. Encourages
others to participate in team discussions
• Contributor - Task-oriented. Does everything
possible to provide the team with the skills,
knowledge, and information it needs
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Understanding Your Role
in the Help Desk (continued)
Each shines brightest at different times:
• Forming stage - Challenger pushes team to set
high standards. May question validity of goals
• Storming stage - Communicator facilitates
discussion. Encourages conflict resolution
• Norming stage - Contributor helps team stay
organized. Does the research the team needs
• Performing stage - Collaborator encourages team
to stay focused or revisit goals when needed in
an effort to continuously improve
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Understanding Your Role
in the Help Desk (continued)
• Each style can become ineffective if a team player:
– Overemphasizes his or her contribution
– Fails to acknowledge the contributions of others
• Team players must be sensitive to the needs of the
team and the needs of their teammates
• Most people have one style that predominates
– People are capable of exhibiting all of these styles
– People may exhibit different styles in different situations
• Your challenge as a team player is to determine your
personal style and use the strengths of that style to
contribute to your team
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Understanding Your Role
in the Help Desk (continued)
• Team players who embrace the diversity
that a team setting offers are invariably
happier and more successful
• The most successful team players value
the opportunity to work with others who
are equally unique
• These feelings of mutual appreciation and
respect extend beyond the help desk to
the entire support organization
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Understanding an Analyst’s Role in the
Company’s Support Organization
• The help desk, as a team, has a role to play
• The help desk’s mission and goals define that role
• The role of most help desks is to serve on the front-line
between a company or department and its customers
• Customers form opinions of the entire company or
department based on their interactions with the help desk
• The help desk’s performance also influences how efficiently
and effectively other support resources are used
• Each member of the help desk team must embrace the help
desk’s mission and achieve his or her individual
performance goals for the team to achieve its goals
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Contributing to Team Goals
• Team members unique skills and personal style are only of
value if they enable the team to achieve its goals
• Sample help desk goals include:
– Achieve an average 4 out of 5 rating on the annual overall
satisfaction survey
– Provide each analyst 8 hours of training each month
– Resolve 80% of reported problems at level one
– Reduce contact to the help desk by 5% within 6 months
– Reduce support costs by 5% by year end
– Maintain a cost per contact at or below the industry average
• Team performance is only as good as the performance of
analysts on the team
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Contributing to
Team Goals (continued)
• Analysts must achieve their individual performance
goals for the team to achieve its goals
• Data are needed to measure and manage both team
and individual performance
• Analysts create the needed data by using tools
• Without data, management will measure performance
based on what they perceive an analyst has
accomplished
• By capturing data and learning to use data to create
information, analysts can:
– Maximize their contribution to help desk goals
– Communicate that contribution to management
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Contributing to
Team Goals (continued)
Help desk tools that may be used to create
individual performance metrics include:
• Automatic call distributor (ACD)
• E-mail response management system
• Incident tracking and problem
management system
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Contributing to
Team Goals (continued)
Metrics captured with an ACD include:
• Availability – The length of time signed on to the
ACD compared to the length of time scheduled
• Average call duration – The average length of
time required to handle a call
• Time idle – The average length of time an analyst
was idle during a given period of time
• Wrap-up time – The average length of time an
analyst was in wrap-up mode during a given
period of time
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Contributing to
Team Goals (continued)
Metrics captured with an e-mail response
management system include :
• Average handle time - The average length of time
required to handle an e-mail
• Average number of exchanges - The average
number of e-mail exchanges required to resolve
an incident
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Contributing to
Team Goals (continued)
Metrics captured with an incident tracking and
problem management system include:
• Reopen % - Incidents an analysts opens back up
compared to the number closed
• Resolution % - Incidents an analyst resolves
compared to the total number handled
• Application of training investments - A
comparison of an analyst’s resolution % and
reopen % before and after attending training
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Contributing to
Team Goals (continued)
• Other tools used to capture individual
performance metrics include:
– Customer satisfaction surveys
– Monitoring
• Metrics are an excellent way for management and
staff to know whether they are achieving goals
• You can suggest additional metrics and supply
other information that further demonstrates your
contribution to the team’s goals
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Communicating Effectively
in a Team Setting
• The way people communicate in a team
setting influences their relationships with
their teammates and the effectiveness of the
entire team
• Team players:
– Originate and propose new ideas and actively
encourage others to contribute their ideas
– Articulate the team’s goals and help clarify the
team’s goals as needed
– Regard conflict as a normal part of team growth
and strive to resolve it in a positive way
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Communicating Effectively
in a Team Setting (continued)
• Team players:
– Actively encourage teammates to participate in
team activities and assert the right of each and
every teammate to be heard
– Express their feelings about issues in a positive
way and seek to understand how teammates feel
– Assume responsibility for guiding the team when
their expertise or team player style is needed
– Encourage team growth by describing the benefits
to be gained by making a change
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Communicating Effectively
in a Team Setting (continued)
• Feedback - Communication from one team
member to another about how the
member’s behavior is meeting the
expectations of the team
• Feedback is appropriate when:
– A person does something well
– A person’s behavior does not appear to be
aligned with the team’s mission or goals
– A conflict needs to be resolved
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Communicating Effectively
in a Team Setting (continued)
• To be effective, feedback must be:
– Delivered in a considerate, humane, and helping fashion
– Specific and and provide the recipient with a clear
understanding of how his or her behavior affects the
team
• It is the responsibility of the person providing
feedback to ensure the recipient received the
correct message
• It is the recipient’s responsibility to receive the
feedback in the spirit with which it was delivered
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Communicating Effectively
in a Team Setting (continued)
• Even positive feedback can be received negatively
• By listening actively to your coworkers you can get a
feel for their feedback preference
• Everyone must participate in the feedback process:
– Employees must provide feedback to other
employees
– Employees must provide feedback to supervisors
and team leaders
– Supervisors and team leaders must provide
feedback to employees
– Supervisors and team leaders must provide
feedback to other supervisors and team leaders
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Communicating Effectively
in a Team Setting (continued)
• Communication in a team setting can occur formally
or informally
• Teams that communicate effectively strive to use the
most appropriate method of communication for each
situation
• Effective communication enables teamwork
• Ineffective communication can cripple a team and
damage the relationships that exist between team
members beyond repair
• It is the responsibility of each and every member of
the help desk team to do all he or she can to enhance
communication
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What to Do When You
Are New to a Team
• You have to earn your place in a new team
– Working hard
– Show a willingness to work with others
• To get settled into a new team:
–
–
–
–
–
Meet and get to know your teammates
Try to gain an understanding of the “big picture”
Learn the lingo
Determine exactly what is expected of you
Volunteer
• Know not only what you are supposed to do, but what your
teammates’ roles and responsibilities are as well
– Ask questions
– Learn how your contribution fits into the bigger picture
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Developing Positive Working
Relationships With Teammates
• To build the respect and trust that is
needed in a team setting:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Get to know your teammates
Extend common courtesies to your coworkers
Listen with interest to your teammates
Inquire about and acknowledge their feelings
Share your feelings openly and honestly
Be willing to learn and teach
Recognize your teammates’ achievements
Ask for help when you really need it
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Developing Positive Working Relationships
With Teammates (continued)
•
If you want to work on a successful team:
–
–
•
•
•
You cannot be an inactive or ordinary team player
You cannot leave it up to the team leader or to the
other members of the team
Each and every member of a team has to
contribute
Know your role and know your strengths
Get clear on what is expected of you and do
your best to give the team what it needs
There is no “I” in team!
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Chapter Summary
• Technical support lends itself to a team setting because no
one person can know everything or provide all of the
support customers need
• Successful teams share:
– A clear sense of purpose
– Diversity
– Openness and trust
– Positive relationships with other support groups
• Being a team player requires personal commitment and a
willingness to put the team’s needs ahead of your own
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Chapter Summary (continued)
• The help desk’s mission and goals determine the role the
help desk plays within the support organization
– Each member of the help desk team must embrace its mission
and achieve his or her individual performance goals for the
team to achieve its goals
• The ways people communicate in a team setting influence
their relationships with their teammates and the
effectiveness of the entire team
– Team members must freely share information, thoughts, and
opinions and encourage their coworkers to share as well
• To you want to work on a successful team you have to
contribute
There is no “I” in team!
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Challenge #1
Determine what each of the three items listed
below have in common.
• Customers
• Working out
• Your boss
Common denominator:
Check your answer with the instructor to receive
Challenge # 2.
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Challenge #2
Solve each of the following brain teasers by determining the
phrase depicted, then see the instructor for Challenge #3.
1.
PICTURE
5.
account
drawn
2.
PEAK PEAK
6.
3.
2 cents
3 cents
4 cents
5 cents
lorn
lorn
lorn
lorn
7.
ban ana
KOOL
8.
aghiddenenda
4.
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Challenge #3
Unscramble the four words listed below. Determine the
word that does NOT belong.
•
•
•
•
SIMSON
ALASBBEL
LIFCNOCT
RDYTVIEIS
Answer:
Be the first team to provide the correct answers to the
instructor and receive the bonus points.
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