Keele’s IT Services reach final three at top national awards
Congratulations to the IT Service Desk team who reached the finals of the IT Service and Support Awards recently.
The team, shortlisted for Best Small Service Desk, attended the Service Desk Institute award ceremony on Wednesday, March 29th, which showcases Britain’s best service and support desks within IT, across all sectors of industry
Keele’s team of professional IT Advisors and Assistants are the first point of contact when staff and students need help with various IT services and facilities.
Sandra Gillham, IT Service Manager, said: “As a team we thought it would be a good idea to enter the awards this year, because we felt it’s the right time to tell our story about the initiatives we’ve taken on the IT Service Desk. We believe they have benefitted our staff and students within the Keele University community who we support.
“We had a fantastic evening at the awards ceremony, it was an excellent opportunity for the team to celebrate our achievement of being finalists.”
As part of the award ceremony the team created and starred in a fun video which highlights a few of the services that they provide.
Sandra added: “Getting a bunch of camera-shy IT professionals to make a film has been quite fun! We don’t often take time out of our busy day jobs to look back on what we’ve achieved and this gave the whole team the chance to do this.”
Speaking about the team’s successful initiatives Sandra said: “There are two aspects that have been key to our success, employing students, and helping other service departments utilise our IT Service Management (ITSM) tool. Employing students to assist with IT queries has certainly enabled us to increase our opening hours and allowed us to provide valuable work experience for our current students – hopefully some becoming IT Service Desk professionals in the future.
“Assisting other service departments to utilise our ITSM tool (Topdesk) to record enquiries has in turn helped the IT Service Desk collaborate with other areas of the University, allowing us to respond to enquiries quickly and efficiently. It has enabled us to pass an enquiry to other service departments without having to pass the person around, making it seamless for the staff and students across the University. This is key to providing excellent service.”
In the finals of the Best Small Service Desk category the Keele team was up against organisations from across different sectors - not just in higher education. These included NBCUniversal, the leading media and entertainment company, and national law firm Browne Jacobson LLP.