Enhanced support and organizational changes at HMS IT 

We're excited to announce significant enhancements in our support structure and organizational changes. These improvements are designed to streamline IT support and align with our commitment to excellence in service delivery. 

Introducing the HMS IT Service Portal

Central to our enhanced support system is the HMS IT Service Portal. This secure, user-friendly platform will play a pivotal role in delivering IT support. Key features include: 

  • Search for services and knowledge articles – Explore IT services and support documentation with the prominent search bar on the front page. 
  • Submit a ticket – After you request IT help online, your issue will be automatically routed to the appropriate team, ensuring a swift and accurate response. Learn how to submit a ticket.
  • Request services – Browse services, submit a request, and monitor the progress of your requests. Learn how to request a service.
  • Browse knowledge – The HMS IT Service Portal contains a comprehensive database of solutions to common IT questions, enabling you to find quick answers. Learn how to find knowledge base articles.
  • My approvals – View and approve tickets requiring your confirmation. Learn how to manage tickets.

These resources are constantly improving, and we plan to add additional content and processes to take advantage of the automated routing and centralized tracking this platform enables. 

We encourage you to visit the site, sign in with your HMS account ID, and familiarize yourself with what is available. 

Organizational changes 

As part of this transformation, we've made several organizational changes. These changes include shifts in some departments' primary, hands-on, deskside support roles. However, we have retained nearly all our support staff, ensuring the preservation of institutional knowledge. 

Key staffing changes include: 

  • Leadership in IT Support – Anne Rookey will lead the newly named IT Support team (formerly Client Services), bringing her extensive experience at HMS IT and from Brandeis University, where she was the head of IT support. She'll be assisted by Lauren Kreisberg and a team of skilled managers. 
  • Transitions – Long-time employees Ricardo Espada and Sophia Scantlebury are transitioning to the remote Accounts Office, bringing their knowledge and skills to a new area. Will Kugler, assisted by Matt Balestrieri, will be directing the new Research Technology Support team. In addition, our AV team is now integrated under the Education Technology arm of IT. 
  • Departures – We thank Keith Smith, Arnold Salvati, and Jason Obedzinski for their combined service of over 50 years. A special note of appreciation to Jason for his pivotal role in guiding HMS IT through these significant changes. Their contributions have been invaluable and will be deeply missed.

For more details on these changes and our new team structure, visit the HMS IT Support team page. 

Your support is our priority

We are committed to providing the highest level of support and service. The introduction of the HMS IT Service Portal and the organizational changes are steps towards enhancing our efficiency and responsiveness. We believe these improvements will significantly benefit our community, making IT support more accessible and practical. 

Thank you for your continued support and cooperation during this transition. We look forward to serving you with our enhanced capabilities and are always here to assist with your IT needs. 

Message from HMS IT

  • Enhanced support and organizational changes at HMS IT

    January 17, 2024

    Greetings HMS Colleagues,

    Like most departments over the last several years, HMS IT has been challenged to fundamentally change the way we work in response to the changing world; remote work, increased needs for security, artificial intelligence, and financial outlook are all shaping IT across the globe.

    One way HMS IT has responded to this challenge is by modernizing how we deliver IT support to our heavily remote and hybrid workspaces. Two years ago, HMS leadership charged IT to analyze our support processes and staffing model that had been in place for over 20 years, to see if we could make changes to scale with HMS’s ever-increasing dependency on technology.

    After analyzing the issues and tickets that the community has submitted, IT chose to adopt an industry-proven support model of smaller, specialized teams that can quickly resolve user issues with more in-depth knowledge and system access, without needing to escalate as many tickets to engineering. This model also creates clear career paths for the dedicated support staff that we so value.

    You can read more about the enhanced support and organizational changes on the HMS IT website. The changes in IT Support staffing are further detailed on the IT Support page on the HMS IT website.

    Most of these reporting changes are now in place and meetings are being set up with departments across the Quad to inform of specific impacts, introduce new faces, review questions, and address concerns. If, after reading about these changes, you would like to meet with a member of IT leadership or have IT staff come to one of your pre-scheduled team meetings, please reach out.

    HMS IT thanks each of you for your patience as we worked to design an IT support team that is purpose-built to be more responsive to your needs. Now that the staffing changes are in place, additional rigor and improvements to key processes such as ticket and request follow-up, identity onboarding of new staff, and computer replacement, can be focused on with renewed earnestness.

    I want to end with much gratitude to our partners in Human Resources for the analysis and processing of dozens of simultaneous job changes for this effort. I am humbled daily by the graciousness of my HMS colleagues, both in and outside of IT.

    Sincerely,
    -Cristol-
     

    CRISTOL GREY | Associate Chief Information Officer
    for Strategic Service Design and Delivery

    Harvard Medical School | Information Technology

    https://it.hms.harvard.edu/get-help