Two IT Leaders got their ITSM Digital Workforce up and running.
As Shelter In Place became the norm, Organizations and campuses across the country have had to adapt to ITSM Digital Workforces.
Manhattan College (NY) found itself in the epicenter of the pandemic but worked quickly to expand its virtual capabilities across campus to continue to support students and staff. Bucknell University previously had ZERO capacity for virtual learning available. In less than a week, they were able to transition their whole faculty, staff, and student body to an online learning community.
IT Leaders from both institutions shared some of the critical details of their efforts in moving their whole student body, faculty, and staff to a Learn/Work from home environment.
Preparing for an ITSM Digital Workforce
Richard Musal is the Director of Client Services & Operations for ITS at Manhattan College. He emphasized the importance of a remote dry run or a digital fire drill before working remotely becomes a necessity for them and their ITSM digital workforce.
“We wish we did it sooner,” said Musal, “we found lots of areas where people needed assistance.”
The most significant items his organization needed was
- VPN remote desktop
- LMS or Moodle Request
- Online learning software
- Loaner laptops for administrative offices or students
- Specific software programs that are only available on devices on campus (lab-based, scientific, engineering or design software)
Manhattan College created communications in a variety of mediums on how to create tickets “the right way.” Clear communication was critical, as onsite support is not an option. Meeting people on their level and getting them the resources they need through constant connections has been key to their success.
Bucknell took their ITSM Digital Workforce from 0-60
Bucknell University had zero remote or virtual learning available before this crisis. Their help desk was 100% call-in/walk up or email. Taking the whole system virtual meant significant changes needed to happen quickly.
This forced adoption was a bit of a blessing in disguise. Faculty and staff were now using systems more now that they had no other option. Some were completely unaware of the resources the university had at their disposal; So many faculty and staff had been doing it a certain way for so long.
The flood of self-submitted tickets by new users through their client portal, and their ability to update and withdraw them on their own, has been a massive help as hundreds of first-time users needed resources.
With new users and first-time adopters needing more support, having a knowledge base that can adapt quickly is critical. Manhattan College and Bucknell University reorganized their knowledge bases to highlight the most relevant articles, getting users to the information that is most important to support quick fixes.
Topics included
- Free software that’s available on the hub subscriptions or other programs
- Mapping network drives.
- Best practices for submitting a ticket
- Best practices for a moderator in a virtual setting
- Monitoring ticketing and meeting regularly to discuss campus needs.
How to drive adoption
Getting people to change how they have always done something is hard. But by giving core users access to the new system and presenting at a staff forum, IT leaders were able to get strong community buy-in from staff and faculty.
Most notable was the buy-in from the university leadership. The Provost, President, Athletic Director included links to the self-service portal in all their communication efforts to students and staff. Their offices were always sharing details on the quick ticketing form and stressed that “THIS IS WHERE YOU FIND THE ANSWERS.” All away messages or out of office messages also had links to the client portal. Consistent messaging from every level of the university was the key to successful widespread adoption.
IT leaders share the things they wish they knew before they took their campuses virtual with an ITSM digital workforce.
Listen to the full conversation on how they did it.
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