Jen Darr's discussions

Wasting money is bad for the bottom line

Started Mar. 27, 2009

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Jen Darr added the blog post 'Help Desk Resolutions'Dec. 30, 2009

Jen Darr added the blog post 'What We’re Reading: The French Can Teach Us a Thing or Deux Edition'Dec. 28, 2009

Jen Darr added the blog post 'Eating Down the Enterprise'Dec. 23, 2009

Jen Darr added the blog post 'Data Begets Productivity, If You Let It'Dec. 22, 2009

Jen Darr added 15 new blog posts. View Jen Darr's blog postsDec. 14, 2009

Profile Information

Title: Senior Productivity Analyst

Organization Name: PC Helps LLC

Jen Darr's Blog

Help Desk Resolutions

Experts have weighed in with predictions for what will matter in IT in the coming year, and chief among them are customer service, IT/business alignment and collaboration. The challenge, however, is teaching staff the soft skills needed to turn the predictions into reality. We’ve assembled a few tips to give your help desk an edge over its competitors in the IT of the Future. Remember, these are only to be used as a guideline. Progress, not perfection. 1. Put yourself in the customer’s… Continue

Posted on December 30th, 2009 at 1:31pm —

What We’re Reading: The French Can Teach Us a Thing or Deux Edition

Although the French don’t have a particularly stellar reputation for being nice — especially not to American tourists – blogger Terry Starbucker had such a memorable customer service experience while on vacation in Paris, he was compelled to blog about it. In a post titled “15 Basic Steps to Mind-Blowing Customer Service,” Starbucker recounts… Continue

Posted on December 28th, 2009 at 1:48pm —

Eating Down the Enterprise

If there’s one idea that characterized 2009, it is “doing more with less.” If I had access to LexisNexis, I’d tell you just how many times it’s been used in print, but, alas, I don’t. Let’s go with it anyway. The recession has forced managers and the C-suite to scrutinize budgets, choose which projects to embrace and which to scrap, and decide how many employees to sack. It has left a bad taste in many mouths. Here are some variations of “doing more with less”: trimming the fat; getting back t… Continue

Posted on December 23rd, 2009 at 3:02pm —

Data Begets Productivity, If You Let It

I read a post recently on how new technology can generate valuable data -- data that can enable us to assess our productivity, and ultimately improve it. The blog post, written by CareGroup CIO and Harvard Med School Dean John D. Halamka, was thought-provoking, especially in this current "do more with less" business climate. It brought to mind a personal example, and one relating to business: First, the person… Continue

Posted on December 22nd, 2009 at 11:14am —

Life is Better in Layman’s Terms

Life is better when it’s in layman’s terms. I learned that in college, in a macroeconomics class. My professor (who probably never wanted to be a teacher anyway) would lecture straight from the textbook, and, in between bites of soft pretzel and nips of Diet Coke, prattle on about the conceptual and empirical linkages between mass-market foodstuffs and taxable intoxicants. I was in danger of failing the class. Plus, he made me feel stupid. It’s only when he began to teach theory using everyday… Continue