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Service Desk Skills Competency Software

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8 replies

by jdroba

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I am looking for some sort of software that I can use to test the skills and competancy of indivudauls I hire to be on my Service Desk. Is anyone either using somthing like this or familar with a tool that can do this?

8 replies

by older mycroft

You want SOFTWARE to check out the competency of Service Desk HUMAN applicants, so as another HUMAN can hire them?

I suppose when they don't shape-up you can always just blame the SOFTWARE.

Do YOU actually know anything about the requirements for these posts?

If you don't - I suggest someone that DOES, should carry out the interviews.

On the other hand, why not just employ the use of the same tool that hired you ??

Merry Christmas :D

by jdroba

NVA from your comments (No Value Added) I want software to help CONFIRM the technical skills of indiviudals I want to hire. I know a GREAT deal about the requrirements for these posts since I helped write them!! All of our 911 Dispatchers are hired using the same process (as are almost ALL 911 dispatchers in the USA). No tool was used to hire me. If there had been don't you think I would have been using it? DUH!! BTW, the software has nothing to do with blaming them when they don't shape up. That, my friend, is known as SOFT skills - the ability to define expectations, enforce standards, mentor and counsel when they are NOT meeting expectations and provide training to help them shape up. then when they don't, you have documentation to show that you provided them every opportunity to meet the established expectations but they still were unable to.

by tig2

Are you hiring for 911 or for an IT Help Desk? That would make a difference in what I would suggest.

I know how great the 911 group in Minneapolis is, I used to work for the City. Finding the skill set that will blend well in that environment is a toughy- what I recall is that the culture of that group is very strong so you are hiring more than skills, you are hiring a mindset in combination with skills.

Validating the technical skills of a person is difficult at best. I hold an A+ cert, for instance, so know the information. That said, it is because of my personal intellectual curiosity that I have attained additional skills. It also doesn't hurt that I have been around since keypunch! Regardless of my abilities, if I don't also have an ability to mesh well with my customers, I'm not going to be a great performer.

We've had numerous discussions here on TR about what you really WANT in a potential employee and how to find those qualities. I don't know that anyone has had the magic answer for that.

What kinds of technical skills would you want to test for? Perhaps understanding that requirement would lead to a better answer.

by older mycroft

YOU rather missed the point of my diatribe.

My reference to the 'tool' that hired you, was meant to imply [u]a human being[/u]!

In as much as, whoever employed you didn't foresee that you would require Software to help you perform adequately, when they themselves has assumed you were 'fit for purpose'.

This is reflected in your sudden change of recruitment requirements: What WAS 'IT Help-Desk' now seems to be '911 Dispatch'.

With that in mind, should you find suitable software (which I seriously doubt), be very reminiscent of G.I.G.O. - Garbage In Garbage Out.

Best of luck in your travails though, maybe someday you'll manage to circumvent the interview procedure completely! :D

by thumbsup2

Since Service Desks are specialized for their clients and no two companies are identical, no software would be able to cover it all. If there was, the software would be so generalized that any 5th grader could probably pass the test.

Do you have staff that could write a program specific to your industry?

by ashishs

Since you are looking to test the skills and competancy of potential hires, if you are looking for IT Service Desk, then why not download few sample questions from the internet focusing on A+, Network+ etc. The questions are free and you'll get to see their skill level. Include your existing staff in developing questions related to your day in day out duties that your team is responsible for.
My 2 cents.

by older mycroft

Maybe he could employ Stephen Hawking to ask the questions, from behind a blanking panel.

That way he could kid on it was software-driven! :D

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