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INDUSTRY NEWS


21 May 2008

Service Desk 'Beginning of IT Career Path'


Enterprises have been urged to take great care of their IT service desk employees, after new research revealed that the help desk provides staff with skills that will be valuable at every stage throughout their IT careers.

A joint-research report from service management software provider Hornbill Systems and the Service Desk Institute, an association representing the IT support services industry, revealed that many companies are starting promising IT employees out in support roles, in order to develop their social skills.

The study also indicated that organisations are increasingly operating reward and recognition schemes in order to motivate and maintain staff, with 57 per cent of firms integrating such initiatives into their recruitment packages.

"The last five years have seen a shift in the role of the service desk," said Patrick Bolger, of Hornbill Systems. "The delivery of business goals is often underpinned by the success of the IT infrastructure, which has elevated the importance of IT and the service desk to be central to an organisation’s success.

Meanwhile, a recent report from analyst Touchpaper indicated that many IT departments are still seen as simple support services, rather than strategic innovators. A survey of 226 end users revealed that 85 per cent believe the department's main function is to fix systems when something breaks.<br/>

© 2006 Adfero Ltd.

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