The 12 Soft Skills Needed to Provide Great Computer Support
- Communication Skills are critical and deserve their own article. IT Support needs to communicate clearly in layman’s terms what the issue is and how to fix it. We need to communicate verbally, in person and by phone to relay our findings and to convey instructions. We need to be able to write, texts, emails and log notes that are clear and quickly understood.
Our communications must be respectful and encouraging. Our feedback and questions must be to the point.
- Creativity. Solving the problem sometimes requires out of the box thinking. Just understanding what the problem is can require creativity. What does the client want to accomplish? Is there another way to accomplish the same task?
- Following a Routine. Sometimes the opposite of creativity is needed. If there are certain procedures that have been put into place, if the organization has a rigid methodology for support issues than the support person must follow those steps even if they seem onerous or time consuming.
And sometimes the work can be very repetitive; doing the same procedure on many devices.
- Focus and Concentration – There are times Desktop support must be done on location. There could be loud music, raucous laughter or even a party going on. All that must be ignored and being hyper-focused is required to get the job done quickly and accurately.
- Multitasking and Flexibility – Other times, even while working on one issue, the boss could interrupt and insist that something else has greater urgency must and be dealt with. This requires flexibility and the ability to flit from one thing to the next. Perhaps even multitasking.
- Being Sensitive – Providing end-user support must also include emotional support. Encouraging the end-user that this is a problem that many people struggle with and agreeing that, yes computers (or the system) should work differently but it is what it is. People need empathy, encouragement and to be reassured that the problem will be solved and the vanished data will reappear (in time).
- But too much sensitivity can also be a problem. Users can get tense and make unreasonable demands. This requires having a thick skin and the ability to not take complaints personally.
- Setting Priorities – Often we will be told one thing by our immediate supervisor and another by a C-Level staff member and both must be done immediately. Sometimes we will be given a list of tasks and we have to choose what will be done today and what will be put off.
- Working Quickly – Everyone feels their problem must be solved immediately and the problem should not have happened in the first place. Sometimes, our work causes the Internet or a server to go down which affects the work of dozens of people. People in IT who can work quickly are appreciated.
- Detail Oriented – Troubleshooting is a rigorous step by step process. What changed? What exactly is the issue? What did you do to fix the problem? Did you document your work? Did you log you time? Did you put back every single screw where it belongs? Did you put your tools back in their place? Cross every T, dot every I, and check off every box. And test the solution before you leave.
- A professional must have fundamental knowledge of all operating systems, networks, servers, and software. We need to be constantly learning ways of accomplishing tasks and best practices. We will be asked how to use many types of software and hardware and we will be expected to be the experts.
- Yet, we need to remain humble. Be willing to ask and not to jump to conclusions. We also have to be willing to admit when we have made a mistake. And correct that mistake if possible.