HDI Support Center

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HDI Support Center and Individual Certification
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HDI History

• Founded 1989, by Ron Muns
• Mission
• To lead the customer support profession worldwide
  by setting the standards, establishing
  certification and training programs, and
  providing access to industry resources. HDI
  provides targeted information about the
  technologies, tools, and trends of the help desk
  and customer support industry.

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What are HDI Certifications?
HDIs certification programs are based on
internationally recognized standards developed by
committees of worldwide industry leaders, help
desk and support center experts, consultants and
practitioners. HDIs programs are designed to
teach the learning objectives developed for each
standard and to help advance support
organizations to these standards.
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Types of HDI Certifications
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Individual CertificationHDI Certification
Standards
Developed by a variety of industry leaders Bill
Auvil Front Range Judy Benda PCHowTo,
Inc. John Custy JPC Group Keith Gibson
PCHowTo, Inc. Amie King BrainBox, Inc. Ron Muns
HDI Greg Oxton The Consortium for Service
Innovation Andrew Plunkett Brainbox, Inc. Eric
Rabinowitz Dema Education Eric Svendsen SCInc.
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Individual CertificationTop Ten Analyst
Attributes
6. Ability to think logically 7. Ability to work
under pressure 8. Team Player 9. Temperament 10.
Ability to learn quickly
1. Listening Skills
2. Verbal Skills 3. Telephone Customer Service 4.
Questioning Skills 5. Problem-solving skills
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Individual CertificationTraining and
Certification Trends

• Professional Training provided to staff
• Technical Systems used by Customer 71.4
• Technical Systems used by Support Center 68.8
• Customer Service 65.5
• Troubleshooting 43.3
• Personal Management 41.1

• Certifications held by staff
• Microsoft 66.7
• HDI 49.4
• ITIL 27.4
• Cisco 26.5

Source HDI 2004 Practices Survey
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Individual CertificationCurriculum and Standards
HDI Training Materials
HDI Standards Updated Annually
HDI Certification Test
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Individual CertificationHDI Model
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Individual CertificationCustomer Support
Specialist

• Target
• Individuals who would like to work in an
  entry-level customer support center/help desk
  environment.
• Objectives
• How to create win/win interactions with
  customers
• How to identify underlying customer needs
• How to meet and exceed customer expectations
• How to deal with a variety of customer situations
• How to actively listen
• Guidelines for problem escalation
• Anatomy of computers
• Basic tools and technologies used in the Support
  Industry

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Individual CertificationHelp Desk Analyst

• Target
• Front-line analysts who want to develop a
  foundational knowledge of help desk and
  support center operations.
• Objectives
• The help desk infrastructure and the support
  environment
• Commonly used support methods - pros and cons
• Common processes in managing help desk resources
• The basic anatomy of computers, networks, and
  system administration
• The role of the support center in asset
  management
• The importance of a business contingency plan
• The best method to solve problems more quickly,
  with less stress
• How to become more creative in problem solving

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Individual CertificationHelp Desk Manager

• Target
• This course is recommended for experienced help
  desk and support center supervisors, managers,
  and project managers who are responsible for
  day-to-day operations and have three to five
  years of experience.
• Objectives
• How to plan and manage enhancements to the help
  desk organization
• Key processes for ensuring successful support
  center performance
• How to market your services internally/externally
  
• The latest technologies utilized in a service
  center
• How to build effective service level agreements
• Tips and techniques to assist you in hiring,
  training, motivating, and retaining top-notch
  employees

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Individual CertificationSupport Center
Leadership Program

• Target
• SCLP is designed for experienced support center
  managers, directors and other management
  positions directly responsible for providing
  strategic leadership to the support organization.
• Objectives
• How to develop tools for evaluating and reporting
  
• Implement a support center maturity model
• How to create strategic vision
• Strategies for delivering quality service and
  support
• Finance 101 cash flow, PLs, budget, and
  revenue building strategies
• Negotiating skills for the Service Level
  Agreements (SLA)
• Information Technology Infrastructure Library
  (ITIL) alignment strategies
• Leadership management development policy,
  process, and people

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Individual CertificationOther Certifications

• Knowledge Centered Support Foundations

• Certified Instructor Program

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Individual CertificationHow To Prepare for
Certification

• Review Standards
• Available publicly
• Online Training
• Internet
• Extranet
• http//www.thinkhdi.com/certification/alternativeT
  rainingMethods/
• Classroom and On-site Training
• HDI
• Authorized Training Partners

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Individual CertificationHow to Take
Certification Test
Certification Tests are proctored exams taken at
any Prometric location. www.prometric.com
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Support Center CertificationWhat is SCC?
The first and only open, standards-based,
internationally recognized certification program
created specifically for support centers.
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Support Center CertificationHistory

• In 2000, HDI sponsored an initiative to develop
  open certification standards for individuals and
  support centers
• Current SCC Standards Committee includes
  professionals from
• CompuCom
• Kronos
• Spherion
• Highmark
• British Telecom
• Volkswagen
• JPC Group
• Remedy
• Yoh IT Support
• HDI Global Entities

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Support Center CertificationDesign
Eight core areas are represented by 66 individual
standards statements
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Support Center CertificationSample Standard
4.070 Incident Management System
1 An automated incident management system is
implemented in the support center.
2 All primary support groups utilize the same
incident management system as their primary tool
for tracking incidents.
3 The incident management system provides
customers with access to log their own incidents
and to check status and other information. The
system also provides alternate means of access to
the customers.
4 The incident management system proactively
notifies customers of changes in incident status
and escalates incidents if service level
commitments are missed or are approaching breach.
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Support Center CertificationAudit and
Certification Benefits

• Demonstrated service excellence
• Continuous improvement
• Confirmation of/dedication to industry best
  practices
• Recognition and reward
• Competitive advantage, new opportunities
• Ultimate teambuilding
• Cohesive support organizations
• Use of the HDI Support Center Certification logo

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Support Center CertificationAudit and
Certification ROI

• 100 of Certified Support Centers report
• Increased employee satisfaction and/or reduced
  turnover
• Increased customer satisfaction
• Improved quality awareness by employees
• The audit was a catalyst for innovation
• Implemented and/or improved processes, tools, or
  systems to handle customer requests more
  efficiently
• Implemented and/or improved monitoring and
  reporting capabilities to increase operational
  efficiency
• Intention to renew their certification

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Support Center CertificationCertified Support
Centers

HDI anticipates another 40 centers to be
certified in by year-end 2005.
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Support Center CertificationCertification
Process

• Acceptance form signature to begin
  audit/certification process
• Audit preparation
• The on-site audit
• Application for certification
• HDI review of scores and audit materials
• SCC award and fulfillment
• Promotion and publicity
• Re-certification

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Support Center CertificationPreparation for
Audit

• Preparation options available
• Internal review of standards and improvement work
  to areas covered within standards statements
• HDIs online SCC Self-Evaluation
• Free to HDI Platinum-level members
• One year subscription with unlimited usage
  395/295 HDI members
• 30-day free trial available
• Send team member/project manager to the HDI SCC
  Audit Preparation Training Class
• If preparation assistance is needed, SCC auditors
  and other consultants can assist

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Support Center CertificationHDI SCC Audit Review
HDI carefully reviews all audit documents and
materials for completeness and compliance to the
HDI SCC Standards. With the assistance of the
audit report, supporting materials and the
Auditors recommendation, HDI makes the final
decision regarding award of Certified Support
Center status.

• HDI review
• 5-day turnaround
• Phone verification with auditors and clients as
  needed

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Support Center CertificationRe-certification

• Initial certification valid for two years
• Renewal yearly following initial certification
• Renewal audits include a one-to two-day on-site
  mini audit and 25 review of standards

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Support Center CertificationRecent Developments

• Updated standards including ITIL improved
  compliance
• Certified Support Center meeting at the annual
  conference
• Facilitated benchmarking with other Certified
  Support Centers
• Premier Certified Support Center status

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Support Center CertificationFor More Information

• The most recent standards can be downloaded at
• http//www.thinkhdi.com/files/pdfs/SupportCenterCe
  rt.pdf
• More information and the self-test can be
  accessed at
• www.thinkhdi.com/certification/sitecertification

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Questions?
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Chris Hediger Service Delivery Manager Yoh IT
Support 610.650.6246 Chris.hediger_at_yoh.com