Campuses: 9
Employees: ~450
Weekly attendance: ~6800
Other users (students, volunteers, etc.): unknown, but numerous- K12, Seminary, and more
IT staff: 1 IT Manager, 1 Systems Administrator, 1 Network Administrator, 1 part-time support tech, occasional volunteer part-time interns.
You might ask, “where are the Help Desk employees in your IT staff?” The answer is, all of them are Help Desk. The SysAdmin is very limited in this role, but every other member of the team assists with Help Desk duties. I’m the manager now, but I’ve been the principal Help Desk technician for over 8 years. Our Network Administrator was hired as 1/2 Help Desk 1/2 Network. Our part time support tech focuses on website/ChMS support, social media, etc., but she also answers phones when needed. In our environment (and, I suspect, most IT shops) the network does not require full-time attention. Such is the case with many roles in IT. Our SysAdmin works full time +, but his work allows us to run a large operation with a small crew. IT is constantly asked to do more, with fewer resources. That’s life in IT. But the Lord has allowed us to maintain a high level of support with a very small crew, and at a fraction of the cost compared to where we were just a few years ago.
So before you hire another Help Desk technician, you might consider having the Help Desk phone ring to a couple other desks. I’m guessing your Systems/Network Administrator is pretty busy, but could probably help with the phones during break times.Perhaps the director could pitch in with desktop support, Help Desk email and calls, etc.
You might also be able to utilize volunteers or interns who are looking for real-world IT experience as they attend school. Volunteer interns require time and training, and it should be more about their edification and learning than about your monkey-work getting done, but the relationships you build are great.
Just some thoughts to consider!