When Three is a Crowd.

The Help Desk Battle for Leadership

By Lisa Howarth,
Vice President - Membership South Florida Help Desk Institute

    A long time ago, in a town far, far away, IT certifications were born. Back then, we all called the industry MIS and the folks in Provo, Utah had the market cornered with their Certified Novell Administrator (CNA) and Certified Novell Engineer (CNE) tracks. As certifications have become the industry norm, Novell has increased their offerings to include: Master CNE, Novell's Certified Internet Professional (CIP), Certified Novell Instructor (CNI), and Certified Novell Salesperson (CNS).

    Of course, it has been the Microsoft Machine that has driven the demand for obtaining certifications. Microsoft's programs include: Microsoft Office User Specialist, providing the standard user, a way to measure your 'Office expertise' and a credential to prove it! The Microsoft Certified Professional Program, offering the technical certifications that we have all grown to know and love. Additionally, they provide a Sales Specialist Program.

    Within IT, you can be certified on hardware, software, telecom, database, programming and selling. The list truly goes on and on.

    What was blatantly missing was a program for the Ambassadors of our organizations; our Help Desks. Although certifications are now available, their value is undermined by lack of a widely accepted standard. The three players, Help Desk Institute (HDI), Help Desk Professional Association (HDPA) and Help Desk 2000, all have their own vision for certifications, as well as leadership in the industry. At this point, the outcome of an internal power play taking place between the three organizations will greatly effect the certification tract(s) that will be available. All three groups agree that their members have long been searching for standards of quality for providing support. What they don't agree upon is what the standard should be.

    Practitioners seem to want it resolved. Walt Bublitz, Help Desk Supervisor, Alliant-Energy, Madison, Wisconsin said, "I really don't think the industry can handle three groups, and it definitely cannot handle three certifications. They need to pick their specialties and serve their customers (us)."

    Phyllis Drucker, Manager of Retail Help Desk, AutoNation USA, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida summed up the feelings of many of her peers when she said, "Disagree behind closed doors. Solve your differences, and come out with one industry standard. We are not going to pay for three organizations and three certifications. That is just not acceptable. We need one universal solution that focuses not just on technology, but on customer services skills. If we are going to do this, then it really needs to mean something."

    Interestingly, as this unfolds for the Help Desk industry, the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) and Information Technology Training Association (IOTA) have formed a coalition charged with lobbying Congress to pass IT training tax credit legislation. This would be quite an incentive for the Help Desk Industry to rally around as well.

    For all of us involved, let's just hope that "three heads" can come together and single certification is not "far, far away".

This article is the result of interviews and topics most often heard at the recent Support Services Expo, held in Washington, DC. The 3-day event even included an after-hours "Shoot out" between the three help desk organizations. Exit comments were generally positive that the leadership of each listened and understood participant's concerns.