When DNR CIO John Martin realized last fall that end users in his agency were becoming increasingly frustrated, he turned to an approach that had proven successful throughout his more than 20 years in IT.
"Our users in the field were disengaging," Martin said. "They had given up trying to get answers, and they were trying to solve IT problems on their own, which is never a good thing. There was a lack of understanding of processes."
Martin established an IT customer care team for DNR. The team includes representatives of the agency's six divisions throughout the state. Some are super users, while others have a particular skill or interest in IT. Also on board are Mark Lange, the service delivery consultant from GTA, and representatives from IBM and AT&T.
The team conducts an operations call at 8:00 every morning. "For the first month, we spent most of our time managing issues," Martin said. "Then, as we began to see which issues were recurring, we shifted to managing problems and refining processes that didn't work right."
Some issues can be resolved quickly during the call. In other instances, the call alerts the team to something that is "completely off the tracks," Martin said. He added that GTA, IBM and AT&T have been very willing to make changes to processes to decrease the time necessary to meet customer requests.
As issues are discussed on the daily calls, they become action items for the weekly GETS meetings with GTA, the agency and the service providers. Fewer people have to attend the meetings because they know their issues are being addressed.
The daily calls were lengthy at first, sometimes lasting 90 minutes and covering a list of 400 items. Now, with a far more manageable queue of 50-60 items, calls typically take no more than 15 minutes. The calls are open to anyone, and Martin said the DNR commissioner and deputy commissioner even participate occasionally.
A solid success
The customer care team has been a solid success, Martin said.
It gives users a voice. "They know they are being heard, and they know their problems are being solved," he explained.
It also serves as an educational vehicle. "DNR collaborates with GTA, IBM and AT&T to help customers understand what they need to do," he continued. "When they understand the processes related to the GETS Portal, Service Catalog and Maximo, they can more easily make the transition from the old world to the new world."
The DNR customer care team is among several collaborative efforts throughout the state's IT enterprise that are helping IBM and AT&T reduce service request and incident backlogs. The daily calls improve communications with DNR, creating awareness and helping end users understand how their issues are resolved.
