Faster help through the use of helpdesk functionality and no downtime during vacation or illness
Polk County Public Schools is the 7th largest school district in Florida, delivering high-quality education and services to approximately 110,000 students in more than 150 schools. Managing the technology needs for such a diverse and accomplished district requires speed and good information flow between departments.
Polk County Public Schools
100+
Varies
Email to tickets
- Out of office management
- Owner and responsible assignments
- Multiple queues
- Access control
Easier prioritization based on pending dates
- Clearer visibility into who is working on which task
- Simplifies research into past requests
Customer user information
- Email communication channel
- Personal organizer
- Business object lists
- Business object detail view
- Owner and responsible assignment
The Challenge
Increased volume of requests via a shared email inbox led to overload
It was easy to become overwhelmed: Who was working on which request? What was the status of each request? What would happen if someone left for vacation? What if all these tasks couldn’t be completed today?
The Solution
By using the helpdesk software OTRS, requests could be assigned directly, processed faster and the entire process could be tracked in an uncomplicated manner.
From the perspective of the agencies, schools and other organizations who were requesting support, they were able to get help quicker and more easily. They could still simply request service by email. Once received, however, the email instantly got to the person who could fulfill the request. Plus, when someone was on vacation or out sick, work on the requests could continue as all prior actions and conversations had been documented directly in the ticket.
"There's so many possibility within OTRS, but even simply using the help desk functionality has made such a difference in terms of how quickly and thoroughly we're able to help people,” said Karla Brown, Information Technology Computer Operations Supervisor with PCPS.
OTRS also solved the challenge of reviewing what had been done previously on requests for help. By using the help desk software, it was much simpler to understand the history of any situation or to find related requests that had been made by the same person.
Why OTRS?
Every ticket ends up in the right place, customers can contact us more easily
By using automatic routing, tickets could be generated and sent to the people who were responsible for handling the request without extra intervention and administrative effort. For instance, if someone needed student information, a request would be automatically triggered in the student information queue; whereas, if someone had a question about the website, the website team would receive the request.
Supporting the education of tomorrow's leaders is a tough job, filled with complex coordination and a practically immediate need for information to be provided. Fortunately, at Polk County Public Schools, it's a job that's been made easier by OTRS.
There are many possibilities within OTRS, but even simply using the help desk functionality has made such a difference in terms of how quickly and thoroughly we're able to help peopleKarla Brown, Information Technology Computer Operations Supervisor with PCPS
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