topic Provide metrics on member help desk case activity in Member Support

Provide metrics on member help desk case activity

cdc — Wed, 24 Jul 2019 02:45:54 GMT

@david-shearer,

Recommend providing metrics on the help desk to all members:

# of open support cases

# of closed support cases by a time interval (monthly, weekly)

average time to respond the first time to a support case

average time to resolve a support case

Other ideas?

Re: Provide metrics on member help desk case activity

Shannon — Wed, 24 Jul 2019 08:13:50 GMT

@cdc wrote:
@david-shearer,

Recommend providing metrics on the help desk to all members:

I wanted to suggest this in another thread, but felt that (ISC)2 might not be inclined to share the results, since it could stir up discontent if the metrics aren't too good.

Other ideas?

Following a support case customers are usually asked to provide feedback --- but that may not happen if they've not been able to reach support, and the system doesn't record communication attempts.

A member survey could fill that gaps, with questions like: -

How did you attempt to contact member support?
Did you get a response? (If yes, how many times did you have to contact them for this?)
Was support able to resolve your issue? (If yes, then how long did this take?)

This is something else I wanted to suggest, and I almost started preparing a survey from my side --- via Survey Monkey --- but then I began to think I was taking it too far...

Re: Provide metrics on member help desk case activity

dcontesti — Wed, 24 Jul 2019 16:33:10 GMT

@cdc wrote:
@david-shearer,

Recommend providing metrics on the help desk to all members:

# of open support cases
# of closed support cases by a time interval (monthly, weekly)
average time to respond the first time to a support case
average time to resolve a support case

Other ideas?

So while this may be a good idea, I would have thought this would be something more beneficial to the Board as part of their governance of the organization. Yes I know the Board is strategic however, the Board is responsible for it's one employee (David Shearer) and ensuring that he is managing the organization. They are also responsible for reviewing and approving his salary and his bonuses (990s can be found on Guidestar.Org (although 2018 is not posted)).

I am not sure what the membership or the community would do with the metrics even if we got them. First we have no benchmark (unless management has historical data....which they should, to show month over month improvement) to go by. Second, we elect the Board to look after our interests, however until recently I have not seen many of them here to see or hear the complaints or as it were, the frustration with the service. And third, we have no power except to simply drop our certifications or elect a Board that will do something.

We have seen that the board approved $10 Million for the PDI training (while worthwhile), how much have they spent on improving member services?). Member Services have a wonderful bunch of folks working as we see from their maintenance of this community (Beth P, Kaity E., Samantha O., Caridad, Amanda V., etc) and I believe they have the same dedication to the phone lines and emails that come into the organization, however are they staffed correctly? or do they have the tools? or so many questions?

The organization just updated their electronic systems, I think they called it DETE. So the question is will that help the organization with some of the problems we are seeing? Time will tell.

I also think that instead of hitting on @David_shearer, we should be addressing these notes to the Board (@jjx and @gthompson (the current chair and co-chair of the board)).or maybe all three. Letting the board know that the membership is dissatisfied might help....well maybe, rmember the Board are our voice. Also in the next little while, we should be seeing the Bios and platforms for the candidates on the 2020 Board Slate and if they hold true to last year, we may see some of them on the Community. If tso, we could ask them questions on these issues (yup I know this is a tactical issue and the Board is strategic however once again, the Board manages their one employee).

As to the survey, surveys are great for the organization and would help them understand what they are doing well and not doing well. Hopefully they will take that under advisement.

So my nickel Canadian on a Wednesday morning.

Re: Provide metrics on member help desk case activity

cdc — Wed, 24 Jul 2019 18:22:31 GMT

@david-shearer is ultimately responsible for member satisfaction within the ISC2 community. I am frustrated at the level of communication from him and the apparent disregard for member concerns. ISC2 should be setting the example for members for how it is done on all fronts, not just security. Given the issues experienced to date, one can only wonder if the level of information security of our personal data has suffered during this time.

I spoke with the Chair person one the Board of Directors and my understanding of our conversation is that the CEO is not their employee nor do they have influence or power on running the organization day to day. They can share concerns but priorities are his discretion. Her understanding was that the problems experienced by members was greatly reduced.

If concerns are to be shared with the Board, a convenient method communicate with them is needed, one that is not filtered by bureaucratic process. I received pushback from my attempts to learn how to contact them.

In general, more communication with members and visibility into the status of ongoing projects like upgrades to systems is needed. Metrics on support workload and efficiency could alleviate some concerns that requests are being ignored. If average time to respond is a month, then one could check back if no response has been given by that timeframe. At the present time, the status is unknowable and frustration communicated in this forum is rising.

As stated, we can only vote for other candidates or drop the certification.

@gthompson

Re: Provide metrics on member help desk case activity

SamanthaO_isc2 — Wed, 24 Jul 2019 18:28:52 GMT

Hello everyone,

Thank you all for your input and thoughts around this topic. Our CEO just posted a statement that helps to address these concerns. Please take a look here.

Best,

Re: Provide metrics on member help desk case activity

AlecTrevelyan — Wed, 24 Jul 2019 20:33:39 GMT

@dcontesti wrote:
...
...
The organization just updated their electronic systems, I think they called it DETE. So the question is will that help the organization with some of the problems we are seeing? Time will tell.
...
...

Digital End To End (DETE) Transformation

The poor implementation of this programme was the cause of the problems!

Re: Provide metrics on member help desk case activity

SamanthaO_isc2 — Wed, 24 Jul 2019 20:53:29 GMT

Hello @cdc,

Thank you for sharing your concerns with us. I want to look further into the issues that you are facing. Can you please message me with your concerns and I will look into these for you. You can reach me via Private message here in the Community or at community@isc2.org.

Thanks,

Re: Provide metrics on member help desk case activity

dcontesti — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 15:54:21 GMT

@cdc wrote:

I spoke with the Chair person one the Board of Directors and my understanding of our conversation is that the CEO is not their employee nor do they have influence or power on running the organization day to day. They can share concerns but priorities are his discretion. Her understanding was that the problems experienced by members was greatly reduced.

So this statement confuses me. If the CEO does not or is not the board's only employee who does he report to? and who influences his pay increases/decreases?

Re: Provide metrics on member help desk case activity

cdc — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 17:01:02 GMT

I’m confused by the configuration as well. There was mention of verifying compliance with the nonprofit requirements but not oversight of day to day operations. When it comes to member support, she said they face the same issues that we have. The board receives minimal compensation for their time.

Re: Provide metrics on member help desk case activity

GJackson — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 18:13:16 GMT

Hello. I can help clarify. The CEO does report to the Board.

Our bylaws describe the organizational structure and the Board’s oversight of the organization. Within the bylaws you can find the following sections:

II Organizational Structure :

Executive Director: The Executive Director is the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation. The Executive Director shall report to and serve at the pleasure of the Board.

Also under section 5

The Executive
Executive Director

The Executive Director or Chief Executive Officer shall run the day-to-day affairs of the Corporation in accordance with policies established by the Board, and report to and be accountable to the Board of Directors.

Both of those reinforce that the board has an oversight and governance function of the organization, including having the CEO report to them.

Please feel free to let me know if you have any additional questions.

Regards,

Graham Jackson

(ISC)² General Counsel

Re: Provide metrics on member help desk case activity

dcontesti — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 18:25:16 GMT

Thank you for clarifying this Graham

Sent from my iPhone

Re: Provide metrics on member help desk case activity

Shannon — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 20:11:46 GMT

I was initially confused, and then concerned, but now there's some clarity. Thanks @GJackson

Re: Provide metrics on member help desk case activity

gthompson — Tue, 13 Aug 2019 12:08:21 GMT

To be clear - and I think Graham already covered this - The CEO is the Board's employee. I think you mis-understood what the chair said. The board is his boss. Regarding board compensation - there is no compensation. Board members are unpaid volunteers who serve the organization and its members. We do this on our own time. Board work is often done after hours an on weekends and we take time away from our families, often using vacation time to attend board meetings.

People are tagging me in their comments, but I'm unclear exactly what it is you want. I'm happy to do what I can to elevate focus on member concerns, but I can assure you that management is keenly aware of the issues and are working diligently to resolve them.

Re: Provide metrics on member help desk case activity

cdc — Tue, 13 Aug 2019 13:03:04 GMT

Since passing the CISSP test back in 2005, every interaction with member support has been a nightmare. When I endorsed another CISSP's form, I had to apologize in advance and lower his expectations about how fast it would be processed and what sort of communication would occur with ISC2.

It's nice that "management" is aware. Tell everyone what is going on. What happened? Why we have had so many problems, and explain the long term fixes. We receive many emails during the week about upcoming security congress events but never any the matters that impact everyone daily.

Provide metrics to members: average time to receive a response, average time until a ticket is closed, or whatever is deemed by "management" to reduce member anxiety and frustration.

Yes, there was an upgrade of old systems. We have all had to plan for, implement, and take care of unexpected problems. I have seen people fired for having made less mistakes in implementation than this debacle.

If you don't want to be tagged, then remove yourself from the forum and the board. We don't have any other means to communicate with the powers that be so put yourself in our position and ask yourself, what can I do to make the members interaction with ISC2 better..

Re: Provide metrics on member help desk case activity

gthompson — Tue, 13 Aug 2019 16:24:34 GMT

It's not that I don't want to be tagged, I just wanted to know what the ask is!

I take my board role seriously and want to ensure management hears from members (like me). This is happening!! This community portal is working! We have had direct conversations about member issues (based on feedback received here) with management and we have commitments regarding their plan to address.

I'm not sure what benefit there would be with having some public debate over performance metrics - bottom line is that members are unhappy with the service - then we need to ensure it gets addressed.

I don't have to put myself in members' shoes - I have been in a member's shoes since 2001 - I also have to interact as a member with (ISC)2.

BTW, It's not fun for board members to reach out here to try to help only to be told to remove ourself from the community and the board. This kind of discourse is disappointing and I hope we can collectively focus on constructive communication so that we can actually improve things for our global membership.

Here to help:

Greg Thompson

Re: Provide metrics on member help desk case activity

dcontesti — Tue, 13 Aug 2019 17:36:24 GMT

@gthompson wrote:
To be clear - and I think Graham already covered this - The CEO is the Board's employee. I think you mis-understood what the chair said. The board is his boss. Regarding board compensation - there is no compensation. Board members are unpaid volunteers who serve the organization and its members. We do this on our own time. Board work is often done after hours an on weekends and we take time away from our families, often using vacation time to attend board meetings.

People are tagging me in their comments, but I'm unclear exactly what it is you want. I'm happy to do what I can to elevate focus on member concerns, but I can assure you that management is keenly aware of the issues and are working diligently to resolve them.

Thanks for you note Greg, it is appreciated. Graham did clear the confusion around the Board's only employee. Again thank you Graham..

I tagged yourself and Ms. Minella as you are typically not active on this forum or like me (on the CISSPForum), you may be a lurker.

You were initially tagged as there was a call for the membership to receive Metrics which I did not think would benefit anyone, it could provide additional work for management and could be counter-productive. As yourself and Ms. Minella are the co-chair and Chair of the board (respectively), we wanted to highlight an ongoing issue that the membership is feeling and is annoying to say the least.

This community is riddled with comments about the lack of support, the unanswered calls, the sitting on the phone for hours, the long turn around times on endorsement waits, etc.

The board who control the organization's only employee needs to hear the level of frustration there is in the membership and before I get jumped on by others, yes I know the board is Strategic, but how can the board continue to manage that one employee adequately if he/she is not managing his staff in an appropriate fashion.

Regards

Diana

PS: I agree that being on the board is a thankless job as board members do give up a lot of personal time working weekends and holidays. and for that, I thank them.

Re: Provide metrics on member help desk case activity

cdc — Tue, 13 Aug 2019 18:20:30 GMT

Greg,

I noticed as I logged in that someone else has posted having problems with the portal, so there is still work to be done.

I don’t want to hear whining from the people who are entrusted with representing our issues with ISC2. The reason that you and others have been tagged is because of your position and the communication has not been sufficient to alleviate the issues. In fact, your response convinced me even more that the problems will continue for a while.

Bad news doesn’t become good with age and shooting the messenger leads to problems being ignored ever more.

Calculating the average response time could be done with a SQL query so don’t exaggerate the burden that coming up with the numbers would be. What is a constructive alternative?

Our rural emergency room has a sign on the Interstate that provides the current wait time for patients. I want to know how burdened the staff is and how many are working to fix the situation. I want know the wait times so I can plan my schedule accordingly. If it is week, then I’ll know to follow up in a week and not be concerned.

I hope that others air their frustrations because they need to be heard.

Re: Provide metrics on member help desk case activity

Shannon — Tue, 13 Aug 2019 19:52:43 GMT

@gthompson wrote:

We have had direct conversations about member issues (based on feedback received here) with management and we have commitments regarding their plan to address.

I'm not sure what benefit there would be with having some public debate over performance metrics - bottom line is that members are unhappy with the service - then we need to ensure it gets addressed.

@gthompson, we're all aware of the fact that the (ISC)2 is striving to improve support --- or at least get it close to what it should be --- but the inadequacy is directly / indirectly impacting all members, hence the frustration...

Metrics provided here won't serve to improve support, but help members see improvements; for now all we can go by is our own experiences and the posts of others here. (The latter may not be accurate, given that members are more likely to ask for support & complain about it, than provide good reviews.)

Looking at others swaying and stumbling due to the lack of support, it's NOT easy to take a leap of faith.

(BTW, I'm not pointing fingers; you would have been tagged to ensure that we're being heard)

Re: Provide metrics on member help desk case activity

rslade — Tue, 13 Aug 2019 22:14:02 GMT

> Shannon (Community Champion) posted a new reply in Member Support on 08-13-2019

> Metrics provided here won't serve to improve support, but help members see
> improvements; for now all we can go by is our own experiences and the posts of
> others here.

Metrics would also allow people to see the scope of problems, which can have an
impact on what to do in the meantime. For example, the one metric
inadvertantly released by our CEO demonstrates that the support problem is far
larger than could be expressed by mere anecdotal reports, and that those who, for
example, require proof of their certified status (say, for employment) need to take
extraordinary efforts to get that proof.

====================== (quote inserted randomly by Pegasus Mailer)
rslade@vcn.bc.ca slade@victoria.tc.ca rslade@computercrime.org
We are people of peace. Of respect and tolerance, kindness and
honour. These qualities are alive in our national conscience
precisely because we hold them as precious. We have the luxury
to do so because those we remember today believed those qualities
to be precious enough to die for.
- Governor-General David Johnston, Remembrance Day, 2014
victoria.tc.ca/techrev/rms.htm http://twitter.com/rslade
http://blogs.securiteam.com/index.php/archives/author/p1/
https://is.gd/RotlWB

Re: Provide metrics on member help desk case activity

gthompson — Wed, 14 Aug 2019 23:34:36 GMT

Diana, not a “lurker”. I just have a demanding day job and family life that makes it hard to stay on top of community posts. I want to focus on constructive feedback, and things we can actually achieve. I’m a member who is actively trying to help.