The power of users

Raising the technical skills of proficient users extends IT's reach and reduces basic help desk calls.

By Suzanne Gaspar
Network World, 06/10/02

With only 12 IT pros to support 4,000 users, it's no wonder the help desk of Johns Hopkins University's School of Public Health scrambles to field calls. Still, the burden on IT isn't as large as it could be thanks to tech-savvy power users who help their peers.

Support staffers can't spend time showing users how to create Microsoft Word tables or add audio clips to a presentation, but that's where colleagues come in. Such folks can answer questions from users who lack basic knowledge or are afraid of breaking the computer.

Nathan Kale, manager of user services for the school in Baltimore, hasn't tracked the phenomenon, but hears from users who boast that a peer showed them how to do something they had struggled with for weeks. "It reduces the number of help desk calls," Kale says of neighborly assistance. "You know there are always questions out there."

Power users are often the first sources co-workers turn to when a computer crisis occurs, thanks to their proximity, interest and confidence in using technology. These folks' willingness to help their peers reduces the number of help desk calls, speeds response times and lets support professionals concentrate on more complex problems.

Although power users occasionally might offer wrong advice that creates more work for IT, training them properly can help keep the mundane help desk and misguided user calls to a minimum.

Southwest Airlines taps the talents of its workforce by formally training technically proficient workers whose main job isn't IT, but might be a customer service supervisor.

Dane Houliston, director of technical services for the airline in Dallas, says the company's IT department began training power users at remote locations in 1994. IT targeted workers who investigated problems for their peers and made regular calls to the help desk.

What makes a power user? Houliston says the role is voluntary and is filled by those who have an interest in IT and want to help. "People step up to save the day, to get things working, and that's what makes a power user," he says.

With management's blessing, power users are relieved of their duties to fly out to headquarters to meet with the IT staff for orientation, and for future instructions as required. An average of six people per year partake of this kind of day-long training.

Basic training covers the functionality of their location's equipment, a review of terminology used on the calls and even engages them to help with new installations. There's an established rapport with IT through the process, Houliston says. It's comforting to know the person can plug the cables in the right place, pull an IP address up on a screen, check connections if a computer isn't working and even verify settings.

Southwest saves money with this help from power users. Along with reducing help desk calls, such assistance obviates the need for IT to fly to remote sites as often, Houliston says.

Last month at Southwest's Albany, N.Y., location, a power user investigated and fixed a problem with a ticketing terminal that crashed when booting up. After working by phone with the help desk to verify connections and reboot the terminal, the power user installed a replacement terminal that was shipped out.

To fix other problems with ticketing terminals, the power user removed paper-jams and cleaned the sensors on ticket printers to keep the terminals running.

Putting power users to work also makes sense for Hilton Hotels, according to Damien Bean, vice president of corporate systems in North America for the hotel chain. Because Hilton's help desk is located at its headquarters in Beverly Hills, Calif., but the largest group of users handle finance and payroll from the Memphis, Tenn., operations center, building the skills of power users in the field makes sense.

Hilton's help desk teaches managers the basics of the payroll and finance software as part of building an on-site base of power users.

"Power users get talking about the business process and what can be done to improve it," Bean says. Educating power users who are in a position to influence means the more they know of the PeopleSoft and Oracle software limitations and opportunities, the more they can help IT streamline the business process.

Bean says IT transfers knowledge to power users who have the desire, interest and commitment to boost the skills of their colleagues. The simple questions get handled within the organization, and the more complex questions are sent

to IT.

But Bean says there's a downside, too. Power users can become more engaged with IT than their normal business function. "Their skill set is so good, that they want to start rewriting programs. They're enjoying themselves that much," he says.

As for Johns Hopkins' Kale, he's had to clean up after well-intended power users who were in over their heads. At least once a month he hears about a user's problems with an older machine that isn't booting up. It turns out the user followed a neighbor's advice to delete files to free up disk space, but mistakenly dumped the boot.ini file from Windows NT.

"It's like shadow support. If it works it's great, but if it's the wrong advice, it's more work for IT," Kale says. "We reeducate them, instill the fear of God and tell them to call IT the next time they're not entirely sure what to do."