IT Specialist Responsibilities and Expectations
Job title (for purposes of signature and business cards): IT Specialist
The "IT Specialist" designation differs from the Senior IT Specialist position. While there may be several "Specialists," there is only one Senior Specialist.
Overview
The IT Specialist position has two primary components.
The first component is work that the tech is responsible for getting done without that work explicitly being assigned ("Responsibilities"). The tech is expected to budget his/her time and complete this work on time without being reminded by team members. If the tech cannot complete the work on time, the tech is expected to notify the appropriate team member(s) or manager to resolve the issue.
1. Responsibilities
The IT Specialist is responsible for the following:
1. Complete tickets on time in the following queues:
- Technician's own "todo" queue.
- Technicians' queue (shared responsibility with other non-senior technicians).
- Patch Issues queue (tickets with status of "follow-up needed" - shared responsibility with other Technicians, if any).
- Backup Check tickets on which you are the primary resource. In your Autotask technician tab, you have a widget to see all the current month's backup checks to which you are assigned as a resource. You are responsible for completing these on time.
- Other tickets on which the IT Specialist is the primary resource.
2. The IT Specialist should respond to tickets from help desk customers as promptly as possible. IF urgent, this means calling the help desk customer back right away. If the ticket is not urgent, this may mean sending a scheduling link using TimeZest.
3. Look for work to do when your queues are empty. Pay attention to widgets in the shared Technicians' Ticket and Work Overview tab including New Tickets That Need Attention, High Priority Alerts and Notifications, etc. Schedule appointments with the user as appropriate. (Do not play phone tag with the user. All work should be scheduled, even if it is scheduled for the same day.)
You are responsible for completing all backup tickets on which you are a resource, or notifying a senior team member if you are unable to do so. The AT widget called, "Backup Checks Due this Month (Or Overdue)," is in your technician tab in Autotask. This widget will help you track which backup check tickets you need to complete before the end of the month.
4. Promptly attend to critical alerts such as server outages. Consult with team via Slack and/or check ticket to determine if the issue is already being addressed. Ask for help as needed.
5. Promptly respond to customer notes on tickets on which you are the primary resource. (The only exception to this is for scheduling emails that you are sure the office admin has seen.) These notes come into your mailbox. Check email regularly.
6. Enter your own time entries promptly. Entering ticket time entries should be considered part of the assignment and should always be entered immediately after work is completed. This is part of the assignment.
If you are running late for another appointment, it is acceptable to create a "placeholder" time entry with brief notes. Add instructions in the internal notes to alert Roberta not to approve the time entry yet. In this case, you are required to complete the time entry no later than first thing the next morning.
7. Document changes you have made in customer infrastructure including:
- password changes
- new hardware
- new users and user accounts
- changes in or additions to network
- new software licenses
- new files shares
- new applications and LOB programs
- other changes as needed
8. Monitor incoming managed services customer communication when office admin isn't available. Refer frequently to the shared Widget Tab in Autotask called, "Filling in for Office Admin."
Check for new tickets and check tech's own mailbox and Info mailboxes at least once every three hours when office admin is not working. Answer phones and triage tickets during these times. Issues which should be responded to right away are described here.
9. Notice and take appropriate action if something does not confirm to our policies or normal procedures, even if you are not provided with explicit instructions (e.g., a missing checklist item, a security policy that is not being followed, an end user with admin privileges, a machine you were assigned to set up or troubleshoot for a customer we manage that does not have our RMM software on it, etc.) If such a case arises, notify a senior team member of the discrepancy promptly.
We take cyber security extremely seriously. You are responsible for understanding and following our general security policies and culture, beyond the letter of any checklists or KB articles you are following.
10. Notice and take appropriate action if you notice a technical issue or security concern while working on a different issue (e.g., you’re checking backups on a server and you happen to notice updates have been failing on the server). If such a case arises:
- Resolve it (if it can be fixed quickly) OR
- Create a ticket for it. Always assign Office Admin as secondary resource. If it’s something you can handle, assign yourself as primary resource. If not, add a note to the ticket to ask Office Admin to schedule a more senior tech to handle it while you shadow the tech so you can learn.
11. Stay abreast of documentation and KB articles. Retain what you are taught, take notes and review as necessary. If something in the documentation or checklist is inconsistent with the way you're being shown, you are responsible for pointing that out and asking senior staff about updating the documentation.
12. Ask for help if you have a technical issue or if you are the primary resource on a ticket which you are incapable of resolving in a timely manner. Ask another Technician or the Senior Technician for assistance immediately via Slack. Don't type in a large amount of detail in Slack. Just ask the tech if she is available to help you, provide the ticket # and hold off on too much detail until she responds to your request. If other techs are not immediately available to help you, you are responsible for requesting a scheduled review of the issue and getting a resolution.
13. Provide help, when asked and when feasible, to fellow employees who may be having an issue they cannot resolve on their own in a timely manner.
14. Track your stock of forms and peripherals (such as cables, etc) and notify Office Admin when you are running low and need a refill.
15. Meet virtually once per week with Senior Technician and be prepared with questions regarding specific assignments or, more generally, software that we use, technical best practices, next steps to grow professional knowledge, etc.
16. Follow directives and instructions issued by the Senior Technician.
The second component of the position is work that is assigned to the tech by another team member "(Assignments").
2. Assignments
Other work that the tech will be assigned by another team member:
1. Scheduled remote appointments and on-site appointments. You are responsible for completing tickets promptly on which you are the primary resource. If you get stuck, ask for help in real time whenever possible. Your goal should be to complete the ticket in one session whenever possible.
2. Answer technical questions from administrative personnel, when possible, in a prompt and helpful manner.
3. Configure server and workstations for order quotes in cooperation with office admin.
4. Onsite:
Aim to arrive in the earliest part of the one-hour time window whenever possible.
Assist with physical labor and specific tasks as requested by senior tech.
Fill out OSSR and get it signed by customer contact.
3. Other Expectations
All Technicians should make every effort to respond to ticket escalations from the help desk team, taking on tickets ASAP. The procedure is documented here.
As time allows, the tech, in coordination with the office admin, should assist office admin by responding promptly (within two hours) to support requests from MSA customers as appropriate. Responding does not mean work needs to be scheduled or completed immediately. It means the customer receives a response. Please see Response Times and Services Levels .
As time allows, the Technician may work on other projects of tech's devising after receiving approval from a senior staff member.
The Technician must be able and willing to communicate with the customer via the ticket system notes as well as via phone when necessary. The Technician must also be able and willing to communicate with other team members to provide information or ask questions as necessary via the ticket system, Slack, phone and email.
It is expected that the Technician will utilize work time productively. When ticket work is slow, the Technician is expected to use the available work time to educate himself further on software and services we use and sell via vendor documentation or internal documentation.
It is expected that the Technician will take the initiative to grow and learn.
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