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End user empowerment and data collection

I was having dinner with friends the other day and yet again it raised one of my constant campaigns and delights.  The following was a transcript from my head of our conversation and as ever has been crafted so we don’t name names.

Mike started at the company on Monday, with the following:

  • A desk
  • A badge and door pass
  • A company email account
  • A laptop
  • A login

Now before I continue, in 2014 even today that for a large enterprise is a significant achievement, there have been so many companies whether it’s myself or colleagues where the need for a desk, a login or a computer hadn’t quite been anticipated as a deliverable and therefore the first week wasn’t quite as productive for all as expected.

Mike arrived at his desk and noticed there were three pcs and a screen sat there powered off.  Those needed? He asked his manager. No, but we haven’t got around to recycling them, call help desk.

Hi this is Jane from help desk, how can I help you today?

I need to recycle three pcs

Ok that’s fine, can I have your name, location and other stuff… that’s supplied.

Right via selfservice you need to log a call. Then that will get done and the conversation politely ends.

So Mike goes to selfservice, for each device he is asked to provide:

Serial number, hostname, model number and if he wants it recycled

Mike gathers all this information and presses submit.

A few days later Dan from desktop turns up, “Hi I’m here to collext your pcs”,

“Cool do you need know which one is which?”

Dan looks confused, “no mate I just collect them take them back to spares work out what we’re going to do with them, they’ll either be rebuilt as spares or put in the bin. Either way we don’t need all that stuff.”

This started a discussion on processes and procedures, data analytics and collection:

  • What were we collecting the information for
  • Why was the user asked to supply it – should they not be doing their job/adding value
  • Is the data valid if desktop don’t use it or do something else anyway?

We need a process which serves the user, delivers the outcome and uses the teams involved experience end to end.  The data gather for this example should be at Dan’s end, once he’s collated what he’s got, what can be re-deployed or not, he can then log the relevant calls/send the relevant emails to get them recycled and removed from active directory or the software distribution and inventory systems.

We need a user defined process which is based on customer delight and crucially based on effortless experience to encourage user behaviour in line with company strategy:

User logs a call I want a device, a blackberry, pc or whatever recycled under my desk. Fine, let IT handle it, it’s what they do.  Let us not mistake end user empowerment with unproductive behaviour and translating business processes which someone doesn’t want to do and hand them over to someone else.  There is no reason in this day and age that processes cannot be adapted to accommodate to everyone, but the same statement goes, whether it’s Gerald a sales guy in a branch in Inverness or Mike in Global Banking on the second floor, I don’t want them sitting there worrying about asset issues when it’s not their job or core skill.

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