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Managers need to get an impression of candidates' people skills by the way they speak and carry themselves in an interview -- which isn't always indicative of a candidate's true personality since most people put on their "game face" during interviews.

Here are a few things managers can do to protect the integrity of their help desk when hiring, and working with, new HDAs:

Give the initial interview over the phone. This will give managers a good sense of the candidates' phone mannerisms and etiquette. Phone skills are crucial since dealing with users over the phone is often more difficult than dealing with them in person. When an HDA is in the field, he or she can simple do what they need to do at the user's computer. When HDAs try to solve problems over the phone with users, they usually have to walk the user through the troubleshooting procedures -- something that requires a great deal of patience if users aren't tech-savvy.

Whenever possible, give precedence to tech-savvy people people who may need some additional technical training, rather than tech experts who require a lot of "re-socializing." Tech experts who are accustomed to working alone will do well in a behind-the-scenes role but aren't always suited for a front line service department.

Train, train, train. This is especially true for help desk candidates who have never worked in a front line customer service department before. Computer science graduates, for example, are used to hammering away at technical problems in darkened computer labs from morning to night, but how many of these students were ever taught to interact with users? Graduates should be given the opportunity to augment the technical skills they learned at school with real-life user interaction skills.

Become a "secret shopper." In the same manner that secret shoppers are used to test the quality and service of retailers, help desk managers should occasionally use "secret users" to test the performance and effectiveness of HDAs in a real world environment.

Managers should hire HDAs on a probationary basis (usually 1-3 months) before hiring them full-time.

Provide plenty of feedback and advice so HDAs can have an opportunity to improve.

Technical skills can be bought; the ability to interact with users in a human way can't. Hire the people with the right temperament for the job, and train for the rest. Help desk training must include both technical skills and customer service skills. It's vital that we shift the focus from technical support to user support. After all it's not technology we're supporting, it's the people using the technology.

Paul Chin (www.paulchinonline.com) is an IT consultant and a freelance writer. Previously, Paul worked as an intranet and content management specialist in the aerospace and competitive intelligence industries.

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