Back in the ‘90s when I was an undergrad at a University, I wasn’t able to drop in on my professor’s office any time I had a question about my course. They had a printed sheet of paper taped to their (mostly-closed) office door that said “Office Hours” with two or three hours during the week when they would be in their office available for questions from students. I had to show up during one of these posted hours if I was going to get help, even if it meant adjusting my schedule and my commitments to get my questions answered.
When my back and shoulders hurt from lifting weights in the gym, I can’t just drop in to my massage therapist’s office when I feel like it. I have to go to their online scheduling page and reserve a time slot on their schedule. In some cases, I have to adjust my schedule to theirs because I want them to fix my aches and pains.
I believe that Technology Support Professionals (TSPs) provide better customer service when given the authority to choose the hours of their workday for drop-ins or scheduled client consults, and which hours are spent plowing through the never-ending task list of work tickets and emailed requests for help from clients. By choosing “interruption hours" and “focus hours” in their work schedule, a TSP can bring their best self to the work demands, and decrease the likeliness of stress, anxiety, and burnout from unexpected interruptions and distractions during the day.
One way I have reclaimed control of my work calendar is to share my own version of office hours with my clients. In my work email signature, I have a link to a ubiquitous online scheduler that I’ve used for over five years to help clients reserve a time for consulting with me. First come, first served. It’s synchronized with my work calendar, so no double-booking occurs. When my clients confirm the date and time slot for our consult, not only does it give them a clickable link to import into their calendar, it also auto-creates a Zoom meeting link for us, a big time saver.
When I receive a request for help from a client and it looks like it’s not a simple fix, or they want to meet with me to discuss the issue or watch me fix it live-time, I respond with this:
I’d be more than happy to meet with you when our schedules permit. Feel free to click on the Schedule a Zoom appointment link below in my signature to reserve a time that fits with your calendar.
When our schedules permit. It’s been a game-changer for my calling as a Relational Technologist. It implies collaboration, partnership, and doing the work together. It acknowledges their busy workday…and mine. It gives me dedicated time to focus on the client’s needs without distraction. And my clients receive the gift of full attention from their TSP to get their issue resolved.
