IT Staff Convention 2007:Difficult Conversations with End Users

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Having Difficult Conversations with End Users

IT Staff Convention: April 27, 2007

Bodek Lounge, 100 Houston Hall

Moderator: Anita Gelburd, ISC

Notes: Amy Miller, ISC

Bridging sensitive topics with users, such as suspected copyright infringement, improper use of Penn’s resources, unsupported hardware/software and home support can be tricky conversations to have. This session will allow participants to talk about their experiences and to share opinions about the best way to handle these sensitive situations.

General thoughts:

• Consider different kinds of interactions – 1) long term projects; 2) day-to-day service
• Interactions seem to have a couple key (potentially) contentious issues: money & time

Projects

• Challenge in dealing with customers who are both long and ongoing customers: asking them to pay for additional deliverables when they think they’re already paying
• When dealing with researchers who have restrictions on grant spending try to be consultative, try to find more cost-effective ways to address the need, work with BAs and grant administrators
• Help customers to make the pitch to get the funding they need; justify the cost
• Keep communications open – check in through regular meetings/milestones; this may help prevent difficult conversations in the future

Day-to-day service

• When dealing with impositions on work time (e.g., fixing a laptop due to problems that occurred from personal use) need to gauge time available to expend, ethics of whether should even be done. Alternatives – point them to a more appropriate service avenue, what relevant policies are, explain to them what other priorities are, etc.
• Set clear guidelines on cost, expectations, boundaries, etc.
• Escalate up the management chain for priorities
• When possible, be proactive to avoid difficult situations – train users on solution avenues, prevention procedures; reporting problems
• When users are more dependent on support provider than they should be, or are bypassing proper support chains: facilitate interaction with proper support flow; use formal intake mechanisms
• Dealing with faculty – how’s it different? They may make unreasonable demands that we still have to meet.
  • Try to prioritize by issue rather than person – gives users confidence that critical problems will be addressed quickly.
  • Be proactive – try to anticipate concerns they may have
  • Set expectations
  • Dedicate resources to work with faculty

When users are frustrated:

• Know that people get frustrated and may not react well, and it’s not personal – sometimes that’s part of a support role
• Tell user you’re going to consult with someone else – makes some people feel better

When ethics are involved:

• Understand that there are legalities/policies involved, and there’s no grey area. Offer other options if possible (e.g., get another computer temporarily if one is compromised)
• Be consistent in handling ethical issues – no loopholes, no special favors
• Make clear that users are responsible for whatever they install, not the university – teach them how to back up their personal data
• Escalate the issue; make sure it’s documented
• If your boss is asking you to do something unethical, have them put it in writing

When should we go to management for help?

• When it becomes too political – beyond your area of influence
• When they won’t respond to a “no”
• When safety is at stake
• When management support/involvement will be needed later – customer may escalate

How to coach people to handle difficult situations?

• Let your staff/coworkers know you’re behind them
• Make sure they know to keep you informed – there shouldn’t be any surprises
• Make sure situations are documented
• Make sure there’s follow-up to see that situations are resolved, or what next steps are
• Consider conflict management training

How handle situations in which you (or your organization) are at fault?

• Accept responsibility, apologize
• Provide options to fix/address problem
• Be clear with facts
• Offer them the option to have someone else help fix (if confidence is lost)
• Perhaps compensate in some way (e.g., credit for service)

When the user is at fault:

• Be patient, go step by step
• Don’t be accusatory, don’t say “I told you so”
• Be on their side, if you can.
• For some people – boost their ego if you can without lying; even better – educate them (maybe after the inflammatory moment has passed)

Managing demands on time:

• Manage expectations; plan around known deadlines (e.g., semester boundaries, etc)
• Schedule in advance as much as possible
• When the same customer has requested many projects – ask them to prioritize

What do we mean by politics?

• Interests that aren’t readily apparent
• Dishonest
• Conflict/clashing interests; varying levels of power
• Varying levels of interaction at play: interpersonal, departmental, institutional
• The needs to satisfy multiple interests