Saydur Rahman, Service Desk Analyst at Barnardo’s answers some questions about making it as a finalist for Service Desk Analyst of the Year at the IT Service and Support Awards 2018…
What made you decide to enter the awards?
I wanted to enter the awards as I want to see where I benchmark against the industry, and there is no better place than the Service Desk Institute as these awards are recognised globally. I am very passionate about my work and over the last year went above the norm as a Service Desk Analyst and I thought this would be a great chance for my dedication and devotion to be recognised by a leading industry standard. I am always willing to learn and try to improve the service we provide and believe SDI are the ones that can shape the future.
What part of the awards process did you enjoy the most?
When I was told that I had been shortlisted as Service Desk Analyst of the year and to give a presentation on my achievements as part of the submission that I had sent for that category. I had great enjoyment in producing the presentation which also gave me time to reflect the passion and dedication that I had put in over the course of the year. In addition, I had great fun in doing trial runs of the presentation with my wife and kids and thinking if I would get to the finalist stage or even winning the award. When I reached the day of the presentation I really enjoyed every minute that I was there presenting to the judges and answering the question and answer session.
Why did you choose IT Support as a career?
I really enjoyed my degree in Computer Science at university and during my studies I had a part time job in retail to which I enjoyed the customer experience side of the business. I wanted to combine my skills together and a career in IT Support was one of the best decisions I’ve made; I get to incorporate the two aspects of what I enjoy. I get to use my customer service skills when talking to customers via phone, email or chat and having the technical knowledge of computer science helps me with the methodical approach to resolving issues.
In the last 18 months, what has been the most successful initiative you have implemented to help your business improve its performance?
Barnardo’s is a learning organisation and to create an interactive 360 virtual reality video to inspire students in colleges to get involved in a career in IT support is something that I wanted to implement. I came up with the idea to create a virtual reality 360 video as I believed it will be something that the students could engage in when talking to their career advisor at school and something I think will promote the technology we have to offer. This initiative has really worked well within the Education Board and I have implemented the virtual reality video at certain places as a trial period. I will be hoping to take this forward in creating more virtual reality videos after their trail period and take it to the next level; Barnardo’s has taken this approve from what I had developed and now have two college students who are now doing their apprenticeship course in our Service Desk, both who I mentor.
What are your top 3 tips to make a service desk successful?
I believe communication is key to make a service desk successful, as primarily we are engaging with customers and the ability to be able listen and communicate helps the service desk to understand the current issue. In addition, this will help the team provide feedback to the customer in order reassure them at every stage, thus in turn creating good customer service and keeping the customer up to date at every stage.
Also I believe team work within the service desk is very important to make the team successful as we are only as strong as the weakest link, by having a fun and engaging team we are able to express and share our knowledge and experience and this brings the best out of us and in turn we can provide excellent customer service.
Finally, belief in yourself is key to make the service desk successful as I believe each one of us are key player to be innovative and bring in new ideas to the team.
What one thing do you think really makes you stand out as a support professional?
I am so passionate about my work and how I deliver to our customers, I always go over and beyond the expected role as a service desk analyst. I believe my personality and attributes really makes me stand out and the willingness to always take things to the next level. This has been recognised by Barnardo’s as I was awarded the ‘President Certificate of Achievement’ that was signed by HRH Duchess of Cornwall.
How are you preparing to evolve your service desk over the next few years? Please share your most exciting plan with us!
I will use my current experience and innovation to make Barnardo’s into a learning organisation for new colleagues who wants to learn from the get go to what Service Desks do and how they can shape their future over the years. Being involved in the virtual reality video has brought new ideas to develop the team in new ways to interact with customers- we plan to open a genius bar setup where customers can have a drop in service.
What does it mean to you to be a finalist in the ‘Service Desk Analyst of the Year’ category?
To be in this position really means a lot and it shows that hard work and dedication can get you recognised by industry leaders. I love my work and everything I do is bfor Barnardo’s- being in the finals is a really unexpected bonus.
What advice would you give to anyone entering the awards next year?
I would say everyone should put their names forward and show what hard work and passion we bring to people’s lives from the service that we offer, as we make a big impact to the day to day business.
The 2019 IT Service & Support Awards will take place on Tuesday 26 March at the Birmingham Hilton Metropole. Entries are now open – start working on your submission today for your chance to be recognised as one of the shining stars of the IT support industry.
