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Mark Your Calendar for the following 2008-9 meeting schedule.
(click the dates to quick-link to the agendas below)
  
January 15, 2009
Date:  Thursday, January 15, 2009
 Time: 11:30pm - 1:30pm
Location: Maggiano’s Charlotte |  4400 Sharon Road, Charlotte, NC, 28211 (Click for Directions)
RSVP by January 8, 2009 by emailing meetings@hdicharlotte.org 
 
Topic: HDI Charlotte will conduct its 2008 Analyst of the Year Award presentation over a 3-course family-style sponsored luncheon at Maggiano's. 
 
In addition, we'll be treated to a presentation on current trends in call center technologies and how they relate to, and affect, the help desk professional by Mike Lane.
 
Mike Lane of Consultedge in Charlotte, NC has been in the telephony industry for over ten years and has experienced first hand the changing trends in technology and telephony and how those changes affect call centers and help desk personnel. Mike has experience on a multitude of different technology platforms including both Nortel and Avaya.
   
Consultedge offers full service design, implementation, project management and consulting services for data and voice networks and applications. Consultedge is an Elite Partner with Juniper Networks, an Avaya National Platinum Business Partner a Platinum Extreme Networks Partner and maintains additional partnerships with industry leaders including Aruba Wireless and Polycom Video.
 
ConsultEdge was named one of the nation's fastest growing technology solution providers in 2005, 2006, and 2007 by CRN Magazine and is a recipient of the NJBiz 2005, 2006 and 2007 Fast 50 award as well as being named one of the top technology companies in Charlotte by The Charlotte Business Journal.
____________

Since 2004, Robert Half Technology has been the exclusive sponsor of HDI's "Analyst of the Year" award. With this sponsorship, Robert Half Technology has given 15 first-level support analysts the opportunity to attend the industry’s leading conference, understand more about their industry and given the chance to network with peers from around the globe.
 
 With more than 100 locations in North America and Europe, Robert Half Technology is a leading provider of technology professionals for initiatives ranging from web development and multiplatform systems integration to network security and technical support. Robert Half Technology offers online job search services at www.rht.com
    

    
November 13, 2008
Date:  Thursday, November 13, 2008
 Time: 12:00pm - 1:30pm
Lunch: $3 members, $5 non-members
Location: CNP Technologies, 5600 77 Center Drive Suite# 290 Charlotte, NC 28217
(Note please park in the parking in the front of the building closest to the Tyvola Road)    
Topic:  Fix the Customer
  
Topic: The core concept of this seminar is the theory of "Fix the Customer." This idea, core to the ITIL Service Desk, allows those of us on a Help Desk to have a better perspective of providing our customers with the best possible customer service experiences. The key to this seminar is that we take a lighthearted tour of my own bad customer service experiences. We talk about everything from restaurants to other Help Desks, seeing how a sour experience leaves one questioning if they want to patronize those business again. Each of these “personal life” anecdotes is directly related to common tasks performed by Help Desks and IT Professionals alike. We look at key concepts such as what is the potential cost of bad customer service vs. good customer service. We will talk about about never saying “No” to a customer, and what we can do to give them what they want without breaking the bank. We also look at the formalization of Incident vs. Problem Management. Attendees will leave the session with a new found view of how we can appease our customers in a way that will make them forever remember their experience and wanting to come back for more.
 
About Jeff: Jeffrey Brooks, Sr. Manager of Support Services for Peak 10, has been working in the technology industry for over 15 years. Jeffery’s expertise is in joining developing organizations with diminutive service organizations and developing teams able to handle the customer’s issues in a timely and professional manner. Well versed in a variety of technologies from both traditional training models and job based experience, Jeffrey also has received his Masters Degree in Computer Information Systems and his MBA. Putting the customer’s needs first, Jeffrey maintains close ties with his customer base and his employees by joining in the trenches to understand the problems faced by both the install base and the team trying to assist them. Jeffrey’s speaking engagements include numerous software user groups, HDI Meetings, HDI World Conference, HDI LCO Summit, itSMF Panel Discussions, HDI UK, Spin Webinars and AFSMI’s World Conference and Expo. Jeffrey also serves on the AFSMI Atlanta Board of Director. He has held the position of Membership in the past and currently is acting Treasurer. Jeffrey also currently serves on the Board of Directors for the NC LIG of itSMF as well as on the Board of Directors for the Charlotte chapter of HDI.

  Download the PowerPoint Deck
  approx 9MB  
  (please right-click, save-as)
        

ARCHIVED MEETING NOTES:
                      
September 18, 2008
Date: Thursday, September 18, 2008 
Time: 12:00pm - 1:30pm
Lunch: $3 members, $5 non-members
Location: CNP Technologies, 5600 77 Center Drive Suite# 290 Charlotte, NC 28217
(Note please park in the parking in the front of the building closest to the Tyvola Road)    
Topic:  ITIL Service Level Management


Our next HDI Charlotte meeting will be September 18th over lunch from 12:00pm-1:30pm at CNP Technologies featuring Greg Jones, Senior Process Analyst and Process Architect at Compass Group. We encourage all help desk, technical support, vendor and customer service professionals to attend.
 
Greg Jones is a Senior Process Analyst and Process Architect in Compass Group’s Systems and Technology Group. He has over 20 years of experience in IT system development, quality assurance, and process improvement in several different fields, including a large public utility, a financial publication, a large bank, and an HR services company. While at the bank, Mr. Jones achieved certification as a Six Sigma Green Belt, and is also certified by the American Society for Quality as a Software Quality Engineer and Manager of Quality & Organizational Excellence. In addition, he holds Foundation certificates in both ITIL version 2 and ITIL version 3.
 
Mr. Jones earned a Bachelor’s degree in Nuclear Engineering and a Master’s degree in Engineering, and has spoken at numerous conferences and professional society meetings about quality assurance and process improvement.
 
Topic : Service Level Management (SLM) is one of five components in the ITIL v2 Service Delivery area. It is arguably the most important set of processes within the ITIL framework. SLM processes provide a framework by which services are defined, service levels required to support business processes are agreed upon, Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and Operational Level Agreements (OLAs) are developed to satisfy the agreements, and costs of services are developed.
 
The presentation will focus on executing Service Level Management processes and permitting IT staff to more accurately and cost effectively provision identified levels of service to the business. We will see how processes ensure business and IT understand their roles and responsibilities and empower the business units. Anyone interested in attending should send an RSVP to meetings@hdicharlottte.org.
     
(What is ITIL?!)
   
HDI Charlotte thanks this meeting's sponsor:  Trade Street Consulting
 
Trade Street Consulting was established to get back to the true value of a client Partnership. With 18 years of staffing and consulting experience in the Information Technology sector, our management team realized there was a need to provide coveted career opportunities and customized client solutions through key relationships, trust, and reliable Talent. We want to become your partner in success. As a partner, we will take the time to understand your career aspirations or business needs and provide solutions that will allow you to focus on growing your career or your business. Through our three business models; contract/staff augmentation, contract-to-hire, and direct placement, we are sure to have an option that will meet your needs. Our dedicated recruiting teams are specialized in certain skill sets, known as our “Centers of Excellence”. These teams work to become the "best of the best" in the niche which they are assigned. It is our goal to personally invest time and energy into developing a relationship of trust and honesty with the clients/consultants whom we engage.
 
 
August 2, 2008:  Summer Social
Date: Thursday, July 17th 
Time: 6pm - 7:15pm dinner buffet
Location: Knights Stadium (directions)
  
RSVP: To RSVP for this event please complete this 1 minute rsvp form.
   
Charlotte HDI will be having our annual all-inclusive Summer Social at Knights Stadium on August 2nd. The event will include an all-you-can-eat buffet featuring hot dogs, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, BBQ, grilled chicken, sodas and more! There will be reserved Field Box seats for HDI Charlotte members and our guests.

Please use the RSVP link above to reserve your spot. If you would like to bring a coworker or family members, please use the rsvp form noted above.

We're looking forward to getting the group together for some socializing over good food and baseball!

This event is Sponsored by Consonus which will have a will call table out front of Knights Stadium with sign in for tickets beginning at 5:45pm.  
  

 
B Wyze and the HDI have jointly developed the ITIL V3 Foundation course ONLINE and we will have a give-a-way for one license at the summer social. The value of this license is $450. ITIL v3 Foundation eClass is one of the most highly interactive, instructionally sound and cost-effective training solutions in the world today. It is OGC Accredited and crafted by B Wyze an Authorized Training Organization. If you are interested in learning more about online Foundation training, or online ITIL familiarization training, please let me know and I will forward your information along to the B Wyze team. Thanks to the B Wyze team for sponsoring this give-away.***

***To be eligible for the give-a-ways you must be present and have either business cards and or a paper with the following: Company Name, Title, Name, Phone, Email address

HDI Charlotte is a non-profit organization that is made possible by our sponsors and by member dues. We encourage you all to become members. To see the benefits of joining HDI please go to http://www.thinkhdi.com/join and learn about the many benefits of being a member.

We look forward to seeing you all!
 

 
July 17, 2008:
Date: Thursday, July 17th 
Time: 12:00pm - 1:30pm
Lunch: $3 members, $5 non-members
Location: CNP Technologies, 5600 77 Center Drive Suite# 290 Charlotte, NC 28217
(Note please park in the parking in the front of the building closest to the Tyvola Road)
  
Topic: Implementing and Supporting Microsoft Windows Vista
RSVP: To RSVP for this event please email meetings@hdicharlotte.org with your intent to attend.
 
Our next HDI Charlotte meeting will be held on Thursday, July 17th over lunch from 12:00pm-1:30pm at CNP Technologies featuring Chris Bush, Windows Client Technology Solution Professional at Microsoft. We encourage all help desk, technical support, vendor and customer service professionals to attend.

Many of us in the IT industry have plans to implement Microsoft Windows Vista into our environments. There are many questions surrounding these implementations: Where do I begin; What are the Pros and Cons; How can I roll out the new OS; What are the support challenges, etc. Chris will provide answers to these questions and help us prepare for Vista implementations.

The presentation will be a 100-200 foot level presentation that covers the basics of utilizing the latest deployment tools from Microsoft to implement and support Windows Vista. A basic drill down of the new Windows Automated Installation Kit, a high level overview of the new capabilities and tools such as System image manager, the tool used to create and modify the unattend.xml file, Imagex capabilities, and the new Windows PE 2.0.

Additionally, attendees will also have the opportunity to see a brief review of the deployment workbench included with the new Windows Deployment Toolkit (the replacement for the BDD) including the operating systems that it supports, as well as some of the high level capabilities included with the new tool set.

UPDATE:
B Wyze and the HDI have jointly developed the ITIL V3 Foundation course ONLINE and we will have a give-a-way for one license at this meeting. The value of this license is $450. ITIL v3 Foundation eClass is one of the most highly interactive, instructionally sound and cost-effective training solutions in the world today. It is OGC Accredited and crafted by B Wyze an Authorized Training Organization. If you are interested in learning more about online Foundation training, or online ITIL familiarization training, please let me know and I will forward your information along to the B Wyze team. Thanks to the B Wyze team for sponsoring this give-away.***

New Horizon Computer Learning Centers, HDI Charlotte’s training sponsor will have four discrete give-a-way’s of $100 off a New Horizons Charlotte class. . Thanks to the NH team for sponsoring this give-away.***

***To be eligible for the give-a-ways you must be present and have either business cards and or a paper with the following: Company Name, Title, Name, Phone, Email address

HDI Charlotte is a non-profit organization that is made possible by our sponsors and by member dues. We encourage you all to become members. To see the benefits of joining HDI please go to http://www.thinkhdi.com/join and learn about the many benefits of being a member.

We look forward to seeing you all!
 

 
New!  Visit our photo gallery to view pictures from this event!

May 15, 2008:
Date: Thursday, May 15th
Time: 3:00 - 6:00pm
RSVP: To RSVP please respond to Jeff.Brooks@peak10.com by 5/1/2008 5PM with your intent
Location: Ayrsley Grand Cinemas 14, 9110 Kings Parade Boulevard, Charlotte, NC   28273  -- (THEATER 1)
                   Directions:  http://www.ayrsleycinemas.com/location.htm
  
Our next HDI Charlotte meeting will be May 15th from 3:00pm-6:00pm at Ayrsley Grand Cinemas 14 featuring Kirk Weisler, Chief Morale Officer. This meeting is being presented by Charlotte HDI, South Carolina (Columbia) HDI and Upstate (Greenville) HDI. We encourage all help desk, technical support, vendor and customer service professionals to attend.
  
Topic: It's All About the Love: US workforce Engagement is at an all time low! More people are feeling more dispassionate, more discouraged and more disconnected than ever before. And what is the solution? An Insightful Presentation on Inspirational Leadership, and Creating an Outrageously Cool Workplace Culture! This Pin Dropping, Shoe Shopping, Poop Scooping session will fill your bucket, fuel your fire, and help you to "Feel the Love."  Love for what you do, who you do it with, and who you do it for. You’ll leave with insights to help you keep your own fire burning hot as well as inspire your co-workers to get ENGAGED and find their own "Inner Moo."  The result -- A remarkable office culture where clients feel WOW'ed and leave telling the world about your BIG Moo!
 
About Kirk: Have you ever seen a flying cow? Have you ever moved a mountain?  Have you ever been searched not once but twice by airport security because you were “too happy”? Have you ever used “Breakfast Cereal”, Poop, Corks, Cookies or Bananas to build teams, inspire results and create outrageously cool culture?
 
Well Chief Morale Officer (Kirk Weisler) has done all of this and more. He is the author of the best smelling book the Dog Poop Initiative.  And the sweeter smelling book The Cookie Thief - His background as US ARMY Ranger, Master Team Builder and Professional Storyteller make him a uniquely effective and sought-after presenter. He’s been a featured speaker, presenter and personality at the last 7 HDI National conferences and makes his living creatively presenting cultural best practices to IT professionals around the world.

Update!  We have an iPod Nano (courtesy of Bomgar) and an assortment of gift cards (courtesy of Consultedge) to give away as door prizes.  Bring business cards to be eligible for the drawings!
  
This HDI Charlotte event is proudly sponsored by:   (visit our Sponsors page for more details)
  

  
       
March 20, 2008:
Date: Thursday, March 20th
Time: 12:00 - 1:30 (Lunch $3 members, $5 non-members)
Location: CNP Technologies, 5600 77 Center Drive Suite# 290 Charlotte, NC 28217
(Note please park in the parking in the front of the building closest to the Tyvola Road)
     
Our next HDI Charlotte meeting will be March 20th over lunch from 12:00pm-1:30pm at CNP Technologies featuring Brenda Iniguez, Americas ITSM Consulting Director at FrontRange Solutions. We encourage all help desk, technical support, vendor and customer service professionals to attend.

Brenda Iniguez is a seasoned IT Support Professional, with over 25 years proven experience in Fortune 100 companies, designing, building, consolidating, and managing their Enterprise Support Centers. In addition, she is ITIL Service Manager certified, ITIL V3 certified, and is well versed in the Service Management disciplines of Incident, Problem, Change, Availability, Service Catalog/Service Level Management, and all aspects of Service Desk Management. Brenda, having spent major parts of her career managing and being an Executive Consultant with Pink Elephant, Bank of America, and Providian Financial – now WAMU, is now Americas ITSM Consulting Director for FrontRange Solutions. She is based in the SF Bay Area, and continues to encourage and strengthen Service Management & Support and all Service Management industry association groups.
 
Topic: With all the big initiatives at play in IT today: ITIL Implementations, Operational Excellence Programs, etc, how do you as a Support Center Manager, build serious clout to be invited to the big Players Table? How do you get a seat and a vote on the tough decisions? How do you become a “Player”? and be recognized by your peers, colleagues and senior management as a “Player”?
 
This session will teach managers how to build an effective support team to call the big Support Decision shots. It will explore the power of branding and marketing, and how to market your Support Center as a vital component for your IT organization and your business clients. It will also discuss the discipline of Change Management and Change Integration, and how not to let your Support Center be a victim; how to “get” and read the big IT picture and the strategic business picture proactively, and also about which new metrics to use with the senior execs and what to keep internal.
 
Brenda’s expertise in the IT industry will allow her to deliver results on the following goals and objectives:
• The power of branding and marketing your support organization and how to do it effectively.
• How to be a leader in your ITIL initiative or other Service Improvement Program.
• How not to be ‘out of sight / out of mind’ to your senior executives.
• How not to ‘miss it’ with the tactical execution.
   
  
January 17, 2008:
Date: Thursday, January 17th
Time: 12:00 - 1:30 (Lunch $3 members, $5 non-members)
Location: PAETEC building 6801 Morrison Blvd Charlotte, NC 28211 (Click for Directions)
     
Our next HDI Charlotte meeting will be January 17th over lunch from 12:00pm-1:30pm at PAETEC featuring Jeffrey Brooks, Senior Manager of Support Services at Peak 10. We encourage all help desk, technical support, vendor and customer service professionals to attend. Prior to the presentation we will announce HDI Charlotte’s analyst of the year, have a brief discussion on HDI training and the 2008 Annual Conference in Dallas Texas, and discuss HDI Charlotte’s new sponsorship arrangement with New Horizons and what that means to you.
 
Jeffrey Brooks has been working in the technology industry for more than 12 years. He is a veteran of both small and large enterprise Help Desks. Over the years he has developed expertise in joining small software companies with diminutive Help Desks and developing substantial departments able to handle the customer’s issues in a timely and professional manner. Well versed in a variety of technologies from both traditional training models and job based experience, Jeffrey also has received his Masters Degree in Computer Information Systems and his MBA. A student of the customer service excellence model, Jeffrey maintains close ties with his customer base and his employees by joining in the trenches to understand the problems faced by both the install base and the team trying to assist them. Currently, Jeffrey serves as Director of Support Services for Peak 10. Jeffrey’s speaking engagements include numerous software user groups, HDI Meetings, HDI World Conference, HDI LCO Summit, itSMF Panel Discussions, HDI UK, Spin Webinars and AFSMI’s World Conference and Expo. Jeffrey also serves on the AFSMI Atlanta Board of Director, as well as on the Board of Directors of Charlotte HDI.
 
Topic: One problem for many managers, supervisors, and leads is that they want to be “Mr. Fix It!” Even with support staff around, many of today’s leader still choose to do the work themselves. Perhaps you are guilty of saying, “If I want it done right, I’ll do it myself.” Rather than delegate, perhaps you’ve thought, “I can’t trust anyone else.” The end result of not delegating is will create one or more of the following personal challenges:
 
• Very stressed
• Working too much
• Complaining about “not enough time in the day”
• Always late with assignments or to meeting
• Always in meetings
 
This session will take you though a proven method for getting yourself out of the “Mr. Fix It” slump and start utilizing all the resources available at your disposal. Attendees should leave with a list of items they should begin delegating and a plan for how to get on the road to better workload management. We will cover the different personality types you may encounter and delegation techniques for those people, as well as a review of the major pitfalls one can encounter while trying to delegate successfully. Finally we will discuss the benefits that can be realized through effective delegation.
 
You will learn:
• Competency ratings
• Risks of not delegating
• Rewards for delegating
• Types of tasks to delegate
• How to delegate effectively
 
We look forward to seeing you there.
 

 
September 20, 2007:
Date: Thursday, September 20th
Time: 12:00 - 1:30 (Lunch $3 members, $5 non-members)
Location: CNP Technologies, 5600 77 Center Drive Suite# 290 Charlotte, NC 28217
(Note please park in the parking in the front of the building closest to the Tyvola Road)
 
Our next HDI Charlotte meeting will be September 20th over lunch from 12:00pm-1:30pm at CNP Technologies featuring Dan Wixon, Vice President, Service Delivery at Peak 10. We encourage all help desk, technical support, vendor and customer service professionals to attend.
 
Dan Wixon serves as Vice President, Service Delivery for datacenter operator and managed services provider, Peak 10. Over the past 13 years, Dan’s career has involved roles of both an outsource provider and a contractor of outsource services. His experience in putting together call centers has brought him from Minot, North Dakota to New Delhi, India to Manila, Philippines. As a Customer Support professional, Dan has held numerous management level positions with companies in the technology field including Vice President, Service Delivery for Web.com, Senior Manager, Dell International Services, World Wide Strategic Planning Manager for Dell Inc., Director, for Inacom Corporation and Partner Relations Manager for Gateway Companies Inc.
 
Topic: Much has been made about outsourcing call center services. Many companies have incorporated outsourcing their support oversees as a part of their overall customer support strategy. Some which have seen positive results and some that have had situations that have proven detrimental to their reputation. Dan will share his outsourcing experiences ranging from large scale operations to small scale, more specialized services. His perspective will include objectives that need to be established and processes that need to be employed to ensure a successful support strategy. Bring your questions and be ready for a very real presentation from a manager who has been in the world of outsourcing.
We look forward to seeing you all!
   

   
August 11, 2007:
Knights Baseball Picnic Outing
   Click here for the discussion thread and PHOTOS!
 
Date: Saturday, August 11, 2007
Time: Game starts at 7:15pm, Food served from 7:15pm - 8:30pm
Location: Knights Stadium (directions)

Charlotte HDI will be sponsoring an all-inclusive Picnic at Knights Stadium on August 11th. The event will include an all-you-can-eat buffet featuring hot dogs, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, BBQ, grilled chicken, sodas and more! There will be reserved lower-level seats for our group as well as a fireworks show after the game.

Please use the RSVP link above to reserve your spot. If you would like to bring a coworker or family member, please let us know on the form.

We're looking forward to getting the group together for some socializing over good food and baseball!

Sponsored by Apex Systems, Inc.

 

  
May 2007
Date: Thursday, May 24th
Time: 12:00 - 1:30 (Lunch $3 members, $5 non-members)
Location: 6000 Fairview Rd (Same building as Ruth Chris) 2nd Floor Conference Room Charlotte, North Carolina 28210
Topic: The Human Side of Help Desk: A Forum Discussion
 click here for the discussion thread

Our next HDI Charlotte meeting will be May 24th over lunch where we have a roundtable forum to discuss the human side of the help desk. We encourage all help desk, technical support and customer service professionals to attend. Areas that will be discussed as part of this forum include performance appraisals, feedback and monitoring, employee retention, training, rewards and recognition, hiring practices, and other trends. It is essential that we see not only managers for this meeting but a diverse set of people to make this forum effective and informative for all.

Forum Discussion Questions
 1. How often do you perform appraisals. Describe your appraisal
process. What do you do for follow up?
2. Do you have career development/planning for your employees? What
do you do to assist in employee progression?
3. How do you Monitor and Provide Feedback for Q/A. Do you have
other Quality Program you follow with your team members?
4. What is your employee retention rate? Why is it low/high? What
programs do you do? Do you report on it regularly?
5. Discuss your training program. Do you have a small or large
budget? How do you get your team to attend training?
6. Describe your Rewards and Recognition Program.
7. What are your recruiting practices? Where is the industry going, contractors or permanent employees? Are you finding candidates easily? What are the trends you are seeing in the marketplace?
8. How do you handle staffing? Do you use a model? Are you 24x7? Do
you have issues with punctuality? Are you overstaffed or understaffed? How do you get more when you need it?
 

March 2007
 Date: Thursday, March 15th
Time: 12:00 - 1:30 (Lunch $3 members, $5 non-members)
Location: Compass Group, 2300 Yorkmount Road, Charlotte, 28217 -- 4th Floor meeting room
Topic: Metrics

Join HDI Charlotte on March 15th for a lunch and learn session looking at the wonderful world of Metrics. In Support, whether you are a manager or analyst, we constantly hear about how important metrics are to the business. But often we simply report on metrics for the sake of reporting, without regard to the value that specific metrics provide to management. We hear about how important First Call Resolution is, and that it should be high because the CEO read that in some magazine. But we must consider what happens when we focus too much on a single metric. Applying and reporting on the proper metrics to your business is truly a balancing act. But with the application of the Metrics Triangle, Efficiency, Effectiveness & Customer Satisfaction, we see how three specific areas of metrics can work together to create a stronger more efficient service organization. In the case of the speaker’s organization, the application of the Metrics Triangle was able to yield a 95% reduction in MTTR (Mean Time to Resolve) along with impressive Customer Satisfaction scores and improved overall efficiency even though ticket volumes and customer growth continually climb. Even more important is that the application of the Metrics Triangle yielded these results in just 1 quarter. Come learn how establishing and understanding the right metrics can help you to improve your organization, where you are the VP of Customer Service or a first time Help Desk Analyst.

We will also have a very special guest to come speak about the HDI Annual Conference to be held at the beautiful Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas, April 29 – May 3. Cinda Daly has been putting HDI’s conference together for many years and is also a featured writer in Support World Magazine.

Speaker Bio:
Jeffrey Brooks has been working in the technology industry for over 10 years. He is a veteran of both small and large enterprise Help Desks. Over the years he has developed expertise in joining small software companies with diminutive Help Desks and developing substantial departments able to handle the customer’s issues in a timely and professional manner. Well versed in a variety of technologies from both traditional training models and job based experience, Jeffrey also has received his Masters Degree in Computer Information Systems as well as his MBA. A student of the customer service excellence model, Jeffrey maintains close ties with his customer base and his employees by joining in the trenches to understand the problems faced by both the install base and the team trying to assist them. Jeffrey’s speaking engagements include numerous software user groups, HDI Regional Conferences, FormScapes International Partner Conference, HDIs International Conference & HDI UK Focus Meetings.

January 2007
 Date: Thursday, January 25th
Time: 12:00 - 1:30 (Lunch $3 members, $5 non-members)
Location: The Employers Association
Topic: Officer Election?s / HDI Charlotte Social

Happy New Year to all.

We will be kicking off 2007 and our 3rd consecutive year as a chapter on Thursday, January 25th. We will be holding Officer Elections at this meeting, as well as discussing our First Annual HDI Charlotte Social.


October 2006
Date: Thursday, October 26th
Time: 12:00 - 1:30 (Lunch $3 members, $5 non-members)
Location: Compass Group - 2300 Yorkmont Road
Topic: Knowledge Management Adoption for Call Center Operations
We are very excited to have Peter Dorfman of IHS Support Solutions delivering a presentation on Knowledge Management Adoption for Call Center Operations. This meeting will intro managers to a foundation than can transform mere information into knowledge, action and excellence! Find out how to adopt knowledge management tools and strategies that will allow you to shift your support center from a call-centric model to a knowledge-oriented model, thus providing the highest level of service and support to your customers. The presentation will cover people, process, content and technology issues, and describe a step-by-step strategy for KM adoption.
  

June 2006

When: Wednesday, June 21st, 2006 11:00 - 1:00

Where: Hilton Garden Inn (Uptown) 508 East 2nd St.
Who: EVERYONE in your support organization

We are EXTREMELY excited to announce that Kirk Weisler, Chief Morale Officer, is coming to our Chapter on June 21st.? Block out this time on your calendars!!!

Whether he is delivering "Motivational Keynotes" on "Creating Corporate Culture" to executive leadership teams, doing inspirational sessions for IT geeks, inspiring front line customer service reps to take themselves to the next level, or doing onsite "Culture Coaching Sessions" Kirk is the undisputed King of Culture!

You will want to bring your entire teams to this event.

There will be limited seating at this event. Register now to ensure a seat for you and your team.

  
 

March 2006
 Date: Thursday, March 16th
Time: 12:00-1:30 (Lunch provided)
Location: Cisco Systems - 1900 South Blvd (Directions attached)

Topic: Business Impact of IP Telephony
Presentation by Rick Hill of Cisco Systems


This year, Cisco Systems became the leader in telephone handsets shipped. Please join Cisco, in conjunction with HDI and AT-net in the Charlotte Cisco office for a demonstration and educational briefing on the power of IP Telephony and how it is positively impacting the management, support, and productivity of companies across the world.

Please feel free to invite your peers.
  

 
 January 2006
 Date: January 19, 2006
Time: 12:00-1:30 (Lunch provided)
Topic:  BMC Remedy on Ticketing Systems and ITIL
  ©2007-8 HDI Charlotte, where applicable