In a feature in yesterday’s Computerworld (titled “The New Help Desk: Agile, Educational, Efficient”), writer John Brandon highlighted three IT departments and what they are doing to bring the help desk from where it’s stuck – the 1960s – to the present. One of the organizations featured, the University of Georgia, has put an emphasis on using calls to the help desk to educate users. We like that idea.

Click to see a video on creating charts in Excel.

The old way of working is myopic. If you keep fixing an issue that, with a little instruction, can be avoided, where is the long-term value? And, if you cannot – or do not — track where problem spots are, how can you plan for the future?

At PC Helps, we fix stuff too; we’re a help desk, after all. But we also teach customers how to resolve issues on their own, and how to avoid having them crop up again in the future.

In that spirit, today’s post offers tips for creating Excel charts, a topic we receive many calls about. Happy charting.

Creating Charts

By PC Helps Staff

Data (n.) – raw, unorganized facts.
Information (n.) – organized and processed data that can be useful in some way.

When working with a large amount of data, it often can become an overwhelming task to extract information from the data. Excel provides a great tool to facilitate converting data to visual information through the use of charts.

Follow these steps to create a chart:

Excel 2003 and older:

• Select any cell within the data you want to chart.
• Click on the Insert menu, then select Chart to bring up the Chart Wizard.
• Choose the desired chart type, then click Next.
• Excel will show you a preview of the chart using what it has detected as plot data.
• Verify that the data is correctly organized by viewing the Series tab.
• Click Next to further modify your chart options. You can add titles to the chart or axes, move your legend, add data labels, etc.
• Click Next to set the location of your chart.
• Click Finish.

Excel 2007 and 2010:

• Select any cell within the data you want to chart.
• Click on the Insert Tab, then click on the desired chart type in the Charts group. Excel will generate the chart as soon as you click on the desired chart type, using what it has detected as plot data.

NOTE: Different chart types sometimes need different types of data. For instance, a pie chart is best for displaying a single series of data, but a column chart is capable of plotting several series.

Watch a video on this tip for Excel 2003.

Watch a video on this tip for Excel 2007.

Watch a video on this tip for Excel 2010.

Reordering Data Series in a Chart

By PC Helps Staff

You may find at times that you need to rearrange the order of your data series in a chart without changing your source data. This can be accomplished easily using the Format Data Series dialog.

Excel 2003 and older: 
Click on a series in the chart to select it. Right-click the series and choose “Format Data Series.” On the Series Order tab, use the Move Up and Move Down buttons to re-order the selected series.

Excel 2007 and 2010:
 Click on a series in the chart to select it. Right-click the series and choose Select Data. Use the arrow buttons to re-order the selected series.

Watch a video on this tip for Excel 2003.

Watch a video on this tip for Excel 2007.

Watch a video on this tip for Excel 2010.

Creating a Dynamic Chart in Excel

By David McQueary

If you regularly update the data ranges for your charts, a dynamic chart will help you because it automatically shows data added to the end of a column.

First thing we need to do is create a dynamic named range.

Excel 2003 or older:

• Click on the Insert menu, select Name, and choose Define.
• Name the range, we will want two named ranges: one for our labels and one for our data. We will define the names as Label and Data, respectively.
• From here we will enter formulas to create the dynamic named range. The formula to do this, if you are starting in cell A1, is: =OFFSET($A$1,0,0,COUNTA($A:$A),1) 
Adjusting the column letter and number in the first part of the formula will allow us to change where the named range starts. For example =OFFSET($B$2,0,0,COUNTA($B:$B),1) would start the range in cell B2.
• Click OK.
• Repeat steps 2 – 4 to create the second range.
• Click Close.

Excel 2007 and 2010:

• Click on the Formulas tab, click Name Manager, and select New.
• Name the range, we will want two named ranges: one for our labels and one for our data. We will define the names as Label and Data, respectively.
• From here we will enter formulas to create the dynamic named range. The formula to do this, if you are starting in cell A1, is: =OFFSET($A$1,0,0,COUNTA($A:$A),1)
Adjusting the column letter and number in the first part of the formula will allow us to change where the named range starts. For example =OFFSET($B$2,0,0,COUNTA($B:$B),1) would start the range in cell B2.
• Click OK.
• Repeat steps 2 – 4 to create the second range.
• Click Close.

Now we create our chart.

Excel 2003 or older:

• Highlight our data and go to Insert menu and choose to insert a chart. Make all the settings that you want to the chart, and place it on the worksheet.
• Now we apply the dynamic settings to the chart. Click on one of the series in the chart and look at the formula bar.
• In the formula bar there should be something that looks like =SERIES(Sheet1!$A$1:$A$16,Sheet1!$B$1:$B$16,1). In the spot where it shows Sheet1!$A$1:$A$16 we are going to change that to Sheet1!Label.
• In the spot where it shows Sheet1!$B$1:$B$16 we are going to change that to Sheet1!Data.
• You now have a dynamic chart. If you add more data to the bottom of the column, it will automatically add that data to the chart.

Excel 2007 and 2010:

• Highlight our data and go to Insert tab and choose a chart. Make all the settings that you want to the chart, and place it on the worksheet.
• Now we apply the dynamic settings to the chart. Click on one of the series in the chart and look at the formula bar.
• In the formula bar there should be something that looks like =SERIES(Sheet1!$A$1:$A$16,Sheet1!$B$1:$B$16,1). In the spot where it shows Sheet1!$A$1:$A$16 we are going to change that to Sheet1!Label.
• In the spot where it shows Sheet1!$B$1:$B$16 we are going to change that to Sheet1!Data.
• You now have a dynamic chart. If you add more data to the bottom of the column, it will automatically add that data to the chart.

Watch a video on this tip for Excel 2003.

Watch a video on this tip for Excel 2007.

Watch a video on this tip for Excel 2010.

IT departments are struggling to keep up with the influx of non-corporate-issued gadgets.

There’s no need for struggle. Not if you know what to expect and have a plan in place (or at least a support partner).

Knowing what kind of questions users will ask can be tricky, but finding out the most commonly asked ones can help. Below is a sampling of what we’ve come across recently:

iPad

• Setting up, synchronizing and using email – Microsoft Exchange, corporate and personal email
• Using and navigating with Safari
• Video storage/playback and conferencing
• Creating portable reference libraries
• Connect or turn off wireless functionality
• Running non-native applications
• Synchronizing address book
• Utilizing the iWork suite for productivity (Pages, Keynote, Numbers, etc.)
• Displaying large-screen presentations
• Troubleshooting contact and calendar issues

iPhone

• How to setup Exchange email on an iPhone
• How to zoom in and out on web pages using pinch and double taps
• How to use finger gestures to copy and paste pictures between Safari and Mail
• How to reduce battery consumption by disabling unneeded services
• How to configure the number of days of email synced to iPhone
• How to fix calendar synchronization issues
• How to use iTunes to sync contacts between iPhone and PC over USB cable

Microsoft Office 2008 & Office 2011

• How to import a FileMaker Pro database into Excel
• How to create meeting invitations to colleagues in Entourage
• How to create rules to organize Entourage mail messages automatically
• How to insert movies into PowerPoint presentations that work on both Macintosh and Windows computers
• How to create protected Excel workbooks where formulas are locked from editing
• How to create complex form letters in Word with the Mail Merge Manager

Mac, Mac OS, MacBook, & Various Other Models

• How to troubleshoot applications that won’t launch without reinstalling them
• How to specify that all .doc files should be opened in Pages application
• How to print a file from any application to a PDF without Acrobat
• How to add application shortcuts and folder stacks to the Dock
• How to use integrated Exchange email with built-in applications
• How to use the Automator to create a workflow process that converts files dropped onto an icon

As for being ready, that’s up to you. Consumerization isn’t a fad. Winging it probably will not work.

Read more about PC Helps’ mobile device support and other services.

This is part of the Post-PC experience we’d all like to block out: Setting up new devices or troubleshooting misbehaving ones.

This edition of What We’re Reading focuses on just that: The experience. Read on…

“It’s Apple’s ‘Post-PC’ World — We’re All Just Living In It” (Engadget, 3/3/2011)

As mentioned in the intro, Jobs introduced us to this Post-PC world at the iPad 2 event. Here is what it means, according to Engadget:

“In a post-PC world, the experience of the product is central and significant above all else. It’s not the RAM or CPU speed, screen resolution or number of ports which dictate whether a product is valuable; it becomes purely about the experience of using the device.”

Agree? Disagree? Check out the comments section at the end of the piece. You’re not alone.

“Companies Ask Workers to ‘BYOT’” (Wall Street Journal, 3/9/2011)

Speaking of the Post-PC world, according to the Wall Street Journal, more and more companies are asking employees to bring their own smartphones to work. This is a departure from the once-standard practice of employers providing workers with company-owned devices. Read reporter Michael Hickins’ story here.

“Setup, Repair of Smartphones, Tablets Still Frustrate Many” (Computerworld, 3/9/2011)

This is part of the Post-PC experience we’d all like to block out: Setting up new devices or troubleshooting misbehaving ones. This Computerworld article reports on the findings of a recent survey by Harris Interactive, which found that 27 percent of digital device owners said it was difficult for them to set up the devices, and 25 percent said they usually give up trying to finish the setup or call tech support for help.

When it comes to fixing a problem on a device, according to the same poll, 41 percent said they find it difficult, and 31 percent they felt that their attempts made things worse, prompting them to give up or call for tech support. About 34 percent said fixing devices and computers is getting harder than it was in the past.

Read reporter Matt Hamblen’s full article here.

For further reading about the Post-PC world:

Apple’s IPad 2 Reignites Post-PC Discussion, from PC World

Tablet sales slowing PC growth, from Wall Street Journal

Three-plus years later, why is the ribbon still an issue?

“[One] way we use the data is by looking for frequently used features that are hard to get to today. Any time we see this, it represents people overcoming the user interface to use a buried feature because it’s so important.

“A great example of this is ‘superscript’ in Word. In Word 2003, it must be added to the toolbar manually through customization. Yet, even as a non-default toolbar button, it gets more clicks than 30% of the buttons on the Formatting toolbar. The opportunity here is to discover the things that people love and that even more people would use if they knew they could.”

Harris makes oodles of sense. (So much so, it makes me want to uninstall my copy of OpenOffice.) Still, almost four years after it was unveiled, Microsoft’s ribbon continues to confound end users and IT departments.

And “confound” is not an exaggeration: According to a recent report sponsored by Dell KACE and conducted by Dimensional Research, of those IT leaders surveyed, 45 percent said their greatest concern in upgrading to 2010 is the ribbon.

So, three-plus years later, why is the ribbon still an issue?

It could be that, despite the fact that it has been around since 2007, the ribbon is relatively new to the majority of end-users. After hearing horror stories, many companies chose to skip the Office 2007/Vista upgrade and wait for the next version.

That version is here: Office 2010, complete with ribbon, and Windows 7.

So the old concerns are new again. Features workers have used for years are suddenly somewhere else. The interface changes in Office 2007 and 2010 are substantial enough that without training and support before and throughout a migration, even the most experienced users will be lost.

Here’s an interesting metaphor from one of our readers: It’s as if Office was an automobile, and the manufacturer put the steering wheel in the trunk and the gas and brake pedals on the ceiling.

In the Dell KACE study, participants were asked if migrating to Windows 7 and Office 2010 would be combined in a single effort. Thirty-eight percent reported that they were combining an upgrade to the productivity suite and operating system either to reduce training costs, reduce deployment costs or both.

An operating system upgrade is onerous enough. Throw in a new Office interface, and you have a recipe for productivity meltdown.

In reality, business cannot be put on hold while users adjust to a new software version.

At PC Helps, the Office 2010 calls have quickly increased from a trickle to a stream. Most are coming from customers whose IT departments skipped an Office 2007 migration and were holding out for 2010. As with 2003-to-2007 migrations, 2003-to-2010 promises to throw a few challenges the way of end users and IT departments. Adjusting to the new ribbon interface is often the first obstacle. Once users adjust, plenty more follow.

Below we present the top five end user challenges so your IT department knows what to expect during the migration crunch.

1. Adjusting to a materially different interface

The “ribbon” and other new aspects of the Office 2007 interface reflect major changes in the look and feel of the core Office applications. In Office 2010, these differences carry forward and are coupled with the incorporation of the ribbon into Outlook, impacting usability of this critical communications application.

User confusion and frustration is almost guaranteed when attempting to learn and work with the ribbon for the first time. Basic functions that were performed without effort in the past, such as opening and closing files, managing day-to-day calendar and meeting entries, and applying formats, require a relearning process with the new application versions. For some users, relearning these basic functions is fairly straightforward, and for others it takes a more effort and help. More complex tasks in PowerPoint, Excel, Word or Access often require a combination of training and support in the migration process.

2. Recreating and reformatting important documents

As with any new or changed software, incompatibility with prior versions may require users to manually rework documents. Compatibility of versions has been a focus for Microsoft over the years, and improves with every new release. But users don’t always follow the best practices when creating documents, and end up with versions which are not automatically converted with an upgrade.

Files received from outside the organization in older formats may not open properly and need some rework or, sometimes, may need to be resent. Files with links, Access databases (especially if they integrate with other systems or use extensive code), and custom animations in older PowerPoint versions may be corrupted or impacted by compatibility issues. In cases where users have documents they regularly use, often containing complex formulas or formatting, and which need to be updated to the new versions, there can be a significant amount of time spent on reformatting and recreating documents.

3. Dealing with deadlines and urgency

In reality, business cannot be put on hold while users adjust to a new software version. Critical deadlines loom, and day-to-day urgent matters still need to be handled. During a migration, end users may find themselves stymied by lack of familiarity with a new Office application just at a time when they are facing these deadlines.

Of particular note among these end users are administrative support staff, who are often managing calendars and communications for managers and executives. Downtime is not an option for them either. In these circumstances, self-help, training and tutorials often compound frustration.

4. Using Office across a range of mobile devices and computers

The proliferation of new and different mobile and computing devices is changing the corporate computing landscape. (See Oct. 8’s blog post for recent stats about the iPhone and Android in the enterprise.) Employees now access standard Office applications across a range of devices and often from remote locations. Adapting to and syncing upgraded software and OS versions impacts end users in these mixed environments.

For example, to edit documents in the new Office 2007 file formats on a Windows Mobile device, an Office Mobile upgrade is required. Many users are not aware of this and don’t understand why they cannot successfully use the application. Another example, this one from the Apple side: The settings to sync an Entourage calendar to an iPad are not entirely obvious, and end users must also make sure they have the latest updates from Microsoft.

Many help desks have altered their policies to allow outside devices but are not able to offer support for these non-company issued devices. End users often search on their own for “how-to” support in online help communities and in-product menus. Even worse, they attempt workarounds that bypass updates and patches altogether, forgoing improved functionalities or simply not making full use of the devices or applications.

5. Finding help when it’s needed

According to a May 2010 Gartner report, one of the Windows 7/Office 2010 migration pitfalls to avoid is not seeking professional help early enough.

“Don’t underestimate the requirements for skills and services. It is often common to enlist an external service provider, especially for help with design and planning features,” writes Gartner researcher Michael Silver in Computerworld article about the report. “In addition to proper training for technical staff, make sure the service provider is contracted to transfer sufficient skills so staff can manage the new environment after the cutover.”

In addition to help with migration design and planning, help is needed on the end user side as well. As the migration process unfolds and users begin incorporating new or upgraded software into their everyday routines, it is essential that they quickly master tasks and processes relevant to their specific jobs in the new software environment. It is also important that they have access to additional help if they need it – which may be at points before, during or beyond the migration dates. Issues and causes users experience related to finding help include:

• Training was taken at the time of the upgrade, but a particular application or function has not been used since, and the user has forgotten how to use it. (Classic “use it or lose it” scenario.)

• Training and tutorials were planned by the user, but not completed due to limited time availability, and user now has an urgent need. Executives and higher level staff, or personnel who spend most of their time on the road, frequently experience this situation.

• General training and help tools may not be specific enough to the users’ particular needs.

• For a variety of reasons, in-product help and search tools do not provide the help needed, or are considered inadequate by certain user groups.

• Some personnel may rely on an assistant for support, and with that person unavailable, may not know how to access certain critical documents or handle certain tasks.

When employees find themselves in these situations, they often need help right away. They can’t afford the downtime associated with submitting a help desk ticket or waiting for next-day follow up. If they can’t get the application expertise needed from the help desk, they will seek out help from their co-workers, struggle with generic help menus, look to hand off the work to a delegate if they have one, or just not complete the task.

Can your company afford that?

(Jen Sweeney)

For further reading:

From NetworkWorld: 5 tips for a smooth Windows 7 migration

From Computerworld/Gartner: Pitfalls to Avoid on the Road to Windows 7 and Office 2010 Migration

A supply closet as an office? For employees who are responsible for the computing capabilities of an entire company? Shame on them.

Alas, the piece wasn’t about corporate coups d’etat (it’s a little far-fetched, I concede), but it did highlight the pressing issues help desks are facing today, in this sorta-kinda-post-recession era. Namely…

1. Efficiency

The piece’s author, Cara Garretson, mentions improvements that would make help desks more efficient, such as a central knowledgebase, remote control capabilities, and a database of standard responses to common problems. The problem, says Garretson, is that those improvements cost employee hours.

They don’t have to.

There are companies out there, outsourcers or “best-of-breed” service providers like us, who specialize in efficiency. They are experienced with providing remote desktop support, and maintain extensive knowledgebases that  include ample information about common software problems. Best of all, when you hire them, you don’t pay all the ancillary costs of having a hulking, certified IT department – you pay only for what you need.

2. Appreciation, Understanding, Alignment

Garretson also mentions the disconnect between IT and the rest of the business and its effect on how well the help desk can operate. One of her sources laments that his department is not fully appreciated by the rest of the company, and that his previous office was actually a supply closet.

A supply closet as an office? For employees who are responsible for the computing capabilities of an entire company? Shame on them.

This misalignment is a holdover from a different era, when IT’s job was to fix things that broke or caught fire. Plus, IT historically hasn’t been seen as a proactive bunch, at least not by the corporate population in general.

When the help desk gains the budget funds, loses the attitude, and actually begins to help people get their jobs done — that’s when its reputation will undergo a renaissance.

3. Full-Timers, Temps, Outsourcers – Oh My!

I agree with the writer’s assertion that piecing together a department with a mix of full-timers and temps isn’t a long-term strategy. But I also believe that it’s impossible to staff a department with techs who are expert in every application a company uses.

I’ve written a few posts on this issue and have included a breakdown of just how much money a company “saves” using each. (Click here to read the full posts.) Here’s a sampling:

Most temps are generalists who cannot support advanced issues like macros and application development. They can support only 18 applications on average. And while they may seem cheaper than full-timers, you’re still paying them a fixed rate plus overhead. That amounts to an average of $43,000 annually.

Factor in the temp response time (6 minutes), the whopping abandonment rate (10 percent), eternal peak hold time (15 minutes), and the troubling amount of time it takes to resolve an issue (45 minutes on average) and the savings disappear.

With full-time employees, the numbers are not much better.

4. Quality of Service

If a CIO expects quality from a deep-discounted, all-in-one outsourcer whose techs’ main goal is to get the person OFF the phone, then that’s just bad business. Likewise, overloading existing IT staff with too much work will only decrease quality.

Although much can be said about each of the points individually, they do not operate independently. The help desk’s quality of service is directly tied to its perception by the rest of the company, and its perception and efficiency affect how big a budget it receives. Everything is related.

Maybe a coup is needed after all.

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The Good: Forrester says the Tech Spending Downturn is Over — Huzzah!

Support requests can be sent only through e-mail, to which Google can take up to 48 hours to respond. Yes, two days.

Computerworld magazine reports that the tech spending downturn is over, according to a report released by Forrester. The research firm predicts that IT spending in the United States will increase by 6.6 percent in 2010, after falling 8.2 percent last year.

Even if Forrester’s predictions are correct, it will not necessarily mean a full recovery, according to Computerworld. Spending for 2010 will still be less than in 2007 and 2008. What’s more, the mag warns of the possibility of a double-dip recession – that is, a growth spurt, followed by another decrease of 3 percent to 4 percent. Cross your fingers.

The Bad and the Ugly: Lessons in Customer Service from Google

The tech media has begun rivaling the tabloids in its ruthlessness. Witness the current crop of articles about Google, whose almost-flawless reputation has taken a beating lately because of its customer service missteps regarding the Nexus One phone.

In an article in Wednesday’s New York Times, writers Jenna Wortham and Miguel Helft report that the people who purchased the new device have no phone number to call for customer support; requests can be sent only through e-mail, to which Google can take up to 48 hours to respond. Yes, two days.

In a piece published by CNN, the roster of customer complaints included “spotty 3G connectivity, a high early termination fee, poor customer support from Google and problems with the touch screen.”

Over at InformationWeek, writer Antone Gonsalves notes that complaints of so-so coverage are usual with any carrier, but “getting the runaround is not.” Nexus One users call T-Mobile, are then told to call the device manufacturer HTC, which then tells them it’s T-Mobile’s issue.

Google has responded with a statement saying it promises to resolve the issues. We hope so, for its customers’ sake.

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Coming up with a plan to manage the resulting IT hodgepodge will prove maddening for any CIO.

According to a recent article by Ina Fried in CNetnews.com, Microsoft is experiencing fewer support calls since it launched Windows 7 – about half of what it expected. It’s attributable in part to the new version’s higher quality, but also, writes Fried, to Microsoft’s efforts to increase the effectiveness of self-service with an experts’ forum called Microsoft Answers and its @MicrosoftHelps Twitter feed.

As if that wasn’t good enough news for Microsoft, here’s another report to add to the Windows 7 love fest: According to market research firm ChangeWave, Windows 7 satisfaction has stimulated corporate IT spending.

In an article in Computerworld magazine, writer Gregg Keizer reports the findings and notes that the percent of IT buyers who said their company plans to increase its spending during the first quarter of 2010 jumped up four percentage points since August 2009. What’s more, 26 percent of respondents said their company plans to increase Microsoft product spending in particular.

In all, 93 percent of respondents said they are satisfied with Windows 7.

That’s enough Microsoft froth for one post. On to 2010’s challenges…

The greatest challenge for CIOs, at least according to TechRepublic, is BYOT, or “bring your own technology.”

In an article published January 4, writer Patrick Gray warns CIOs of the growing demand among workers to use their own devices. Coming up with a plan to manage the resulting hodgepodge of operating systems, platforms, antivirus programs and service packs will prove maddening for any CIO.

Here’s a graf from Gray that cuts to the core:

“… [A]n environment that’s locked down and ruthlessly controlled by IT simply will not cut it anymore. As computers and phones have gone from exclusively business tools to a means of personal expression, IT dictating make, model and application selection will be just as anathema as the CEO dictating what color shirt, shoes and pants to wear. Users are going to demand an ability to use devices of their choosing to interact with corporate infrastructure, and I believe this trend is irreversible. IT organizations can choose to fight a losing battle and maintain their walled kingdom, or adopt a BYOT approach.”

Whoa.

Does your IT department have a plan in place? Tell us about it in comments.

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One reader asked Baker if she was “jealous much?” Another comment accused her organization of hypocrisy.

Ribbonize: (verb, derogatory) To remove universally familiar software menus and put in newfangled, Microsofty ribbons.

On Sept. 22, Computerworld magazine ran a piece titled “Mozilla plans to ‘ribbonize’ Firefox.” A week later, the magazine ran another piece, this one with the headline “Mozilla denies it will ‘ribbonize’ Firefox.”

What gives?

It seems the original Mozilla documents on which Computerworld writer Gregg Keizer based his story were “worded kind of poorly” (that came from Mozilla’s mouth, and was reported by Computerworld).

Keizer simply reported what he read, which is what reporters do. Mozilla, however, was unprepared for the backlash.

According to Keizer’s second piece, Firefox users voiced their opposition with Mozilla, and on the Computerworld comment boards. (A sampling: “Has Microsoft sent Jim Jones type enforcers around squirting Microsoft Kool-Aid down the throats of the Mozilla folk?”)

Mozilla is standing behind its promise not to ribbonize. It will, however, “streamline” the popular browser. Expect a minor upgrade in the March 2010 release.

Browser Soup: (noun, derogatory): A stew of browsers in one “frame,” where each browser has its own set of features, etc., that behave differently.

On Sept. 28, former Mozilla CEO and current Mozilla Foundation chair Mitchell Baker panned Google’s new Chrome Frame plug-in as “browser soup.”

“For many people,” Baker wrote in her blog, “Chrome Frame will make the web even more unknowable and confusing.”

Comments in response to her post were abundant. One reader asked Baker if she was “jealous much?” Another comment accused her organization of hypocrisy: “You’re doing exactly the same thing (possibly even more so). Google just beat you to the punch, and Google has a lot of really popular websites that will help the widespread acceptance of this plug-in.”

I will keep checking back. Soup is always better a few days later. (Jen Darr)

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The Computerworld piece that raised her hackles included these suggestions for building employee morale: reward workers and show appreciation by saying “thank you,” and talk about higher purpose by pointing out the company’s philanthropic endeavors and the role employees play in making the world a better place. Those suggestions are meant to take the place of monetary rewards — you know, because we’re in a recession.

Employees will be more productive and hopefully less bitter, and the internal help desk will be free to do its job.

That’s unrealistic and out-of-touch, Levinson wrote. And I wholeheartedly agree.

Levinson finishes her post by asking for morale-building suggestions. Here are my ideas:

1. Give them something they can use: Training, training, training, plus variety, variety, variety. Most organizations dedicate money to training (some more than others), but because people pick up and retain information differently, only a small percentage of employees benefit. Why not offer a range of learning options? It’s good for both you and the worker: You get a more productive employee; and the employee gets a confidence boost, plus a new or enhanced skill to take with him.
2. Lend a helping hand: Outsourcing doesn’t have to quash morale. If you choose the right partner, one that evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of your current IT infrastructure, your employees will get expert support when they need it. They might even be grateful. You’re not eliminating jobs; rather, you’re giving workers the tech support they have needed all along. Employees will be more productive and hopefully less bitter, and the internal help desk will be free to do the job it was meant to do.
3. Communicate and inform: Have you ever booted up your computer to find that IT had installed new software without informing you? I have, and it’s a real resentment-builder. With a coordinated communication plan, you can keep your employees in the loop about IT and help desk changes, and provide them with support outlets for when they are stuck before, during and after the changes take place. It will enable them to feel more confident with the tools they rely on every day. It shows respect, much more than an empty “thank you.”

Of course, more money would help too, but you already knew that.

*The sentences in her rant that won me over? “Gag me with a spoon” and “This is the biggest crock.” Perhaps it’s the Gen-X in me, or maybe I just like when someone tells it like it is, in a language we can all understand.

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