This was an interview I wrote for Coast Capital's monthly "Life at Coast" employee newsletter. Photos & real names have been removed for employee privacy.
"My personal nickname is Sherlock Holmes, because I'm like a detective solving a mystery. The solution is almost never what it appears to be and even the tiniest details are important. That seemingly unimportant email or error message is most certainly the key to solving the case."
I started at Coast Capital over 12 years ago as an MSR on the Coast Support Team. At that time, I was focused on raising my young family and appreciated the flexibility that my part-time position offered. Then, after nine years of branch experience, I decided it was time to take the next step in my career.
I requested a job shadow at Helpdesk and got my first glimpse into what the role would look like. Even though I had no formal IT background at the time, I quickly realized how my experience working in branch with our internal systems would be a valuable asset to this role.
I was so excited to help my Coast co-workers with the systems I had used in-branch on a daily basis. The team assured me "as long as you can learn, we can teach you." I appreciated the faith my new team had in me and quickly became a sponge – absorbing and learning as quickly as I could.
My first few weeks at Helpdesk were nerve-wracking to say the least. With no IT background, I was nervous every time the phone rang. As the days passed, my confidence increased through reading countless knowledge articles and by asking many questions. I was so grateful to be supported by an incredible team who were willing to teach and help me along the way.
Helpdesk Heroes – to the rescue!
"Each day at Helpdesk, we're faced with new challenges and we work together to solve them. We're like the Avengers, each with our own unique superpower. We recognize each other's strengths and celebrate them daily."
On the Helpdesk team, there's a familiar feeling we can all relate to. It's that sweaty-palm, heart-racing feeling right before answering a call. When the phone is ringing, you never know what's waiting for you on the other end. It might be something simple, like unlocking someone's account. Or it could be a more complex issue, like a system outage. What awaits is an exciting puzzle wanting to be solved.
My team is always up for the challenge. The Helpdesk team truly lives The Coast Way behaviour of taking it on and making it happen. Each day, we're faced with new obstacles and we work together to solve them.
We're like the Avengers, each with our own unique superpower. If one of us learns something new, we collaborate, share it with our teammates and create new knowledge articles to better support the organization. We recognize each other's strengths and celebrate them daily.
A day in the life of a Helpdesk Hero
"It's a capital mistake to theorize before you have all the evidence." - Sherlock Holmes
Our goal at Helpdesk is to support the One Coast team with their IT needs. This means I'm building connection with hundreds of my favourite colleagues every week! Everyone from Vancouver Island to Toronto. The best part of my day is learning about my work family, helping them, and just having a simple chat. These little moments where we connect and I have a chance to help you solve your mystery is the best part of my day.
The other thing I love about working at Helpdesk is the opportunity to put the pieces of a puzzle together. The solution is almost never what it appears to be and even the tiniest details are important. That seemingly unimportant email or error message is most certainly the key to solving the case. After all, Sherlock always says "It's a capital mistake to theorize before you have all the evidence."
From building connections and getting to know people, to taking it on and making it happen. If you have something you need help with – I want to solve it for you. I want to make your life easier and will do everything in my power to make it happen. Sometimes it's not always resolvable in a short-timeframe, but with my detective hat on – together we can crack the case!
Sam's helpful tip
The most common call we receive is when someone's password has expired and they can no longer log into Global Protect. Make sure you update your password as soon as you see the countdown pop up, to avoid being locked out!
If you're working from a laptop or from home – on the main log in page, you will see the Global Protect Status (below your password field). Please wait for this to show as "Connected" before attempting to log in. This will ensure the system will prompt a password change upon log in if required.
