June Luncheon Meeting

Tuesday, June 17^th, 2008

Ramada Hotel and Convention Centre

Canadian Centre Room
2^nd Floor, 1818 Victoria Ave
Regina, SK 

Doors Open: 11:30am
Member Meeting: 12:00pm – 12:10pm
Presentation: 12:10pm – 1:00pm   

The Merits - and Demerits! - of the SLA process

Someone once said:

"frustrations are nothing more than mismanaged expectations".

In other words, if your expectations are clearly communicated, you can lessen or eliminate many frustrations. This is why some organizations have turned to service level agreements, (SLA) as a way to clearly communicate customer expectations and IT deliverables. But, are they created and then forgotten?

This presentation will cover the foundations for creating a “useful” SLA and the ongoing processes that must be in place in order to make it a worthwhile undertaking.  

Questions and comments are welcome throughout as we discuss the

 “merits and demerits” of the SLA in an organization.

About the Speaker: 

Brian Johnson is the founder and Honorary Life Vice President of itSMF, and was part of the British government team that developed the standards for ITIL. Brian led the first successful government implementation of ITIL best practices as well as the first private sector implementation.  

Brian joined CA in 2004 and specializes in ITIL. Previously he was the Director of Product Development at Pink Elephant and Director of Knowledge Management for the UK’s Office of Government Commerce. Brian authored more than 15 titles on ITIL guidelines and related topics and designed both the ITIL business perspective series and version two of ITIL.

Tuesday, May 27th, 2008

May is Election Month! Don't let that one little word scare you away from this meeting!

We will be discussing chapter information, reviewing the roles of each executive position and electing our new executive for the 2008-2009 season over a nice lunch. This is your chance to see what happens behind the scenes. Click Here to see an outline all all of our different positions. All nominees must hold a valid HDI Regina membership for 2008-2009.

We really are a fun group of people! HDI is a great opportunity to network and catch up with old friends. The time commitment is minimal.

** Did you know that each executive member gets a free membership to HDI Global? That means access to their website and reduced fees for conferences and training! **

April Luncheon Meeting

Friday, April 18^th, 2008

Ramada Hotel and Convention Centre

Conference Centre Room
2^nd Floor, 1818 Victoria Ave

Avoiding Support Staff Burnout!

The world of helping people learn and use computer technology can be an incredibly stressful one.  Long hours, frustrating results, lack of appreciation, doing more with less, constant change, always behind, too much to learn, a feeling of losing ground.  No one argues these points, they seem inevitable in today's fast-paced technological environment.  But "stressed out" does not have to mean "burned out"!  Burnout is an intensely personal issue for each one of us, but it's also an important staff management issue.  There are a number of ways that we can successfully manage the inevitable stress that comes with our jobs; but "self-management" is the key!  Both personal stress management for each individual and the ways individuals are managed by their superiors profoundly affect the way they feel about themselves and their jobs.  

This classic, fast-paced, fun presentation quickly defines the causes of stress and burnout and suggests specific strategies for both avoiding and personally managing stress.

Presentation Material:

Avoiding Support Staff Burnout
Help Desk of the Future
ITIL V3 Overview

About the speaker: George Spalding, Vice President, Pink Elephant

For over 25 years George Spalding has been helping individuals on five continents realize their full potential by simplifying complex topics and inspiring people to acquire new skills. He is one of North America's most insightful and engaging IT service management and support experts. In addition to a decade-long commitment to improving the IT Service Management industry, George’s irreverent blend of quick wit and high-tech humor make him a much sought-after presenter. His speaking credentials include keynote presentations at nearly every support-related conference on the continent.

He currently serves on the HDI International Individual Standards Committee, the Advisory Board of Comdex and is a member of the International Who’s Who Historical Society. His current Service Management certifications include: ITIL Manager’s Certificate in IT Service Management, Microsoft Certified Enterprise Services Trainer for the Microsoft Operations
Framework, and Pink Elephant’s IT Executive Certification (Level 1). George also spent several years as a consultant to the White House on technical presentations for members of the President's cabinet, the Smithsonian Institute, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
 

The 7 Wonders of Transforming
the Help Desk into a Service Desk

<Link to Presentation>

Join Michael Harrick and Al Workman from CGI on an enlightening and adventurous journey of exploring the 7 Wonders of Transforming a Help Desk into a Service Desk.  A few of the wonders that will be explored include the wonders of people, the wonders of process, and the not-so-extinct

About the speakers,

Michael Harrick has worked in the IT industry for over 12 years on a variety of international engagements focused on IT Service Management. Prior to joining CGI, Michael was the director of MGH Consulting Ltd, which had offices in both Regina, Saskatchewan and London, England. Michael is certified as an ITIL Service Manager and currently leads CGI Regina’s IT Service Management practice.

Al Workman has worked in the IT industry for over 15 years, and has extensive experience in infrastructure and operational best practices.
Al has been a Service Desk Team Lead for over 2 years and in that short period of time has been successfully able to lead and manage transformation within a variety of Service Desk Clients.

How Are We Doing?

This presentation describes a process we call taking your customer's PULSE (Proactive Understanding Leads to Service Excellence) and is for both internal and external customers. The process opens a dialogue so you know exactly what they value and how they want that value delivered. A real eye-opener with responses that are often surprising! 

Presented by: Wendy Ward of Davis-Ward Centre for Employee Excellence

The Davis-Ward Centre for Employee Excellence has been designing, facilitating and perfecting the art of learning since 1993. Their coaching services and learning programs incorporate the latest research and techniques along with proven methods that effectively propel participants toward excellence. The Centre's greatest asset is their outstanding team of consultants who implement programs on the ground with their clients.

W.J. (Wendy) Ward, CSAC

Wendy has extensive communications and management experience in executive government, schools, business, and the media. Her popular newspaper column is nearing its first decade of publication and spawned a book of favorites called Silver Linings.
With extensive experience as a professional Coach and classroom Facilitator, Wendy understands that the “hows” in delivering learning are as vital as the “whats” in program content. She has designed and facilitated numerous learning programs in customer service (front line, management, internal service, dealing with difficult customers, emotional
connections with the customer), personal & professional development, stress management, train the trainer, and more. On a scale of 10, participants consistently rate her programs and facilitation at 9 and above.
 
Wendy serves her community as founder and former chair of The Vital Link (Mayor’s Community Volunteer Awards); presenter for the Regina Women’s Network, Junior Achievement, Training & Development Association, Catholic School Board, Public School Board, Progress Club, Rotary, and several others
 

Can True RCA (Root Cause Analysis) Increase the Bottom line?"

4 Key Learning Objectives:

1. What is ITIL best practices RCA?
2. Who should be involved in full RCA work?
3. Who should see the complete RCA results?  How frequently?
4. How does true RCA affect an organization’s bottom line? 

This presentation will teach and review not only the ITIL best practices of doing true Root Cause Analysis (RCA) but also will look at some of the nuances and finesse tips for doing it as well.   It will examine who, beyond the formal Problem Management team, should have an interest or a role in RCA, as well as who should see the RCA results … how high should these be published in an organization?   And finally this session will look at several dollar equation examples where effective RCA can and has positively affected organizations’ bottom line.  

The Holiday Mixer with:

Presenter Shelby Duckworth, Wizard of ‘AH’s & Chief Inspiration Officer, AHz Learning Technologies

(Topic and location TBA): 

For the past 10 years, AHz Learning Technologies has been designing and delivering learning modules for organizations throughout North America using Participant Centered Accelerated Learning Techniques. AHz will take participants through a learning exercise that demonstrates these techniques and ensures that every participant is able to absorb the information and concepts in the way he or she learns best. 

Also at the December meeting HDI Regina will announce its Analyst of the Year.

ITIL.....
Are your ready for Version 3?

MicroAge is pleased to present an informative session on ‘What’s changing in the ITIL world.’  Learn what the changes are and how they will affect you and your organization.

Presented by: Derek Pollock

Technical Training Consultant:  MicroAge Training

Bring out the best in you so you can bring out the best in others…

Presented by: Jim Roscoe

Tuesday, October 16th, 2007

Location:
Workers Compensation Board
1881 Scarth Street
Regina, Saskatchewan