Why Do I need a Work Order?
By Maureen Weibel

You may know the scenario. You have some small, annoying thing going on with your computer. Maybe it’s not bad enough to keep you from doing your work, so you don’t bother to call the Helpdesk. But it’s irritating, so when you see a familiar technician, you ask him (or her) to take a look at it. What’s wrong with that? In a word, it doesn’t have a work order and the Helpdesk doesn’t know about it.

When you call the Helpdesk and get a work order for your problem, it actually has a better chance of getting fixed in a timely and efficient manner. Rather than relying on that one technician that you happen to know to have time for you, the work order (or help desk ticket) system allows your job to be looked at by all the technicians and assigned to the one who is most able, in time and skill, to take care of it.

The work order system allows the technicians to see all the jobs that need to be done and their priorities. The technicians can plan their days and organize their time according to what needs to be done first, what can fit nicely into a time slot, and who has the needed skills to do the job efficiently. It also allows the technicians to account for their time.

Calling the Helpdesk with a problem is important because the Helpdesk analyst can ensure that the proper group of OIT personnel gets the assignment. This also makes it possible for Helpdesk personnel to notice any trends or recurring problems. Sometimes the person on the Helpdesk can talk you through fixing the problem for yourself, and any time you can fix your own problem, it frees a technician to work on something else.

So the next time you have trouble with your computer, feel free to mention it to your favorite tech. But please call the Helpdesk and activate a work order as well.

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