DSD Customer Relations & Support

(MUSIC PLAYS)
No Audio: Teletha Hayden, IS Planning Specialist III, Customer Relations, Data Services Division.
Teletha Hayden: I'm in contact with the customers, just seeing how things are going
for them, if they...any needs that they may have.
There's often say, new projects they may want to get started or they think they want to know about.
I help them identify what those needs are that they want met 
and then take information from them and come back and try to identify
what's available and help direct them which way to go on that.
Also, just answering daily questions - problems that they may have with the technology 
that we have now, just directing them into the right areas, getting them the assistance 
that they need from the other departments here in DSD.
No Audio: Michael Wilson, Help Desk Manager, Data Services Division.
Michael Wilson: One thing my staff is very skilled at is being able to adjust their communication 
with the user to make the whole process easier for the user 
and you're right, sometimes there's that surface level - you haven't really gotten to the core of the issue 
and sometimes you have to ask some follow-up questions to find out what the root cause is.
It's all in how that person is responsive to the technician 
because some people are intimidated by calling in for tech support.
We want to handle those people with, you know, a little bit differently than say, 
someone who has a sense of urgency and it's immediate.
They don't want you to tell them why or how it's broken. They just want it fixed.
So, we would handle that customer probably a little bit different than someone that's, 
"Well, this is really my first laptop and I'm really kind of intimidated."
That would be maybe a more "take your time" slow, methodical, make sure the experience 
is a little bit different than the one than needs an immediacy of, 
"Hey, I just want it - don't tell me why - fix it. I would like to get back to my work."
No Audio: John Trushenski, IS Manager III, Data Servises Division.
John Trushenski: Within DSD, my office is responsible for the money part of IT activity.
We manage the budget. We also coordinate the purchasing. 
And when the product comes in or the renewals are completed, then we also have folks that pay the bills.
So, as a transaction, it starts and finishes for any IT activity that DSD does, 
my staff works on it from beginning to end.
No Audio: Lyn Swihart, Planning Specialist III, Data Services Division
Lyn Swihart: Well, I work closely with our technicians here at Data Services 
and they advise us whether a product is working out and if they want to renew it or not.
Of course, the end users give us feedback. 
If there's something they need that we don't currently have, I work with people here who give us 
the technical standards they want us to follow and then we find a reputable vendor to supply that need.
No Audio: Dennis Taylor, Manager, Customer Relations and Support, Data Services Division
Dennis Taylor: We handle various types of customers.
With the Account Managers they will handle directly to the Area Directors 
and to the Technical Support Staff that is out in the field.
So, it could be you know, a hundred different employees daily or maybe one or two 
depending on what their dealing with - the issues.
Now, the Help Desk - they could deal with every single employee; that's up to 11,000 within OKDHS itself 
and dealing with their various technical issues: desktop, hardware, software, those type of issues.
Once those are resolved, we try and follow-up to assure that they're getting the service that they need.
Teletha Hayden: I always try to put myself in their shoes. 
I listen to what they're truly saying and try to understand what it is they are trying to get done 
and keeping in mind that they're trying to provide a service as well.
So, the bottom line is that the person they are trying to serve - their needs are met.
So, in thinking like that I try to identify ways that I can help them provide that service.
It may not be... I may not be able to get them exactly what they want,
but what can I give them that can still help them provide that service?
Michael Wilson: Ultimately, customer service at its root is ensuring that we're delivering the highest quality, 
i.e. the best or correct technical support in a timely manner and doing so with courtesy 
and being sensitive to the work that the workers are doing out there.
Ultimately, we may not deal directly with the citizens of Oklahoma but really indirectly we do 
in that we're an extension of the worker who is trying to utilize their tools 
and their software to try to provide those services.
Lyn Swihart: We have a heavy workload every day and at the same time we get requests from end users.
We always try to put them at the front of the list because they're working 
and they're doing things that require immediate response many times and so we try to always put them first.
John Trushenski: The most important aspect that you find within DSD about customer service is the idea 
of keeping the lights on, keeping the existing systems running, minimizing the amount of down time 
and making sure that the tools are available whenever they're needed, 
and to make sure that those tools function as they're intended.
Dennis Taylor: Director Hendrick who is the Director of OKDHS, he always makes one statement 
about DSD which I find true - is that, "We have not increased our staff in the agency such as Child Support 
or Family Support, but we have taken on more of a caseload and that is due to the technology 
that has been implemented and designed by DSD."
It has allowed them to be much more efficient, mobile and allowed them to service the customer 
much quicker so they can receive their benefits.
Lyn Swihart: I think technology is really the only way that the workers in DHS
are going to be able to keep up because we're going to have less staff and more work in the future.
If you don't streamline as much as you can through automating every step you can, 
you're not going to be able to keep up.
So, anything that we can do to assist that is going to help everyone at DHS.
Michael Wilson: If you're working in the private sector there's very much a sales component 
or you're driving the bottom line versus we're driving to help people 
and we're just trying to do it the best way we can.
It makes it easier to sleep at night knowing that that's the kind of work that we're doing 
and the kind of work my team's doing versus working in the private sector.
John Trushenski: I think you'll find that most of the people at DSD do their job for two reasons: 
One, they like technology and they like the computer/techie aspect of what they can do with technology.
But, the other aspect, and I think it's equally as important, 
is that people understand that we're in the service business.
That if we do our job well then, there are people that eat better, eat sooner, eat more.
There are kids that get into the right day care. There are child support payments that get delivered.
A lot of lives in this state are benefitted when we do our jobs well and efficiently.
Yeah, there's a couple of degrees of separation there but,
I think that most everybody here, you know, would admit that part of the reason why they do 
what they do for the state and where they work for the state is that aspect 
of actually helping people and improving the lives of other folks.