Get Swift Help from Your IT Department

Have you ever been in the midst of something important when your whole computer shuts down for no reason? Of course you have. Most of us have experienced computers freezing or the screen going blank. When these things happen, we need to call in the IT professionals at our job to help and this will often cause stress.

It’s not always easy to communicate with your IT department staff. They are experts in their field and it’s easy to feel uninformed in the face of people with such knowledge. Particularly when the solution to your problem is “Turn it off, wait a short time, and turn it back on again.” It can also seem like they are speaking a different language altogether.

Fortunately, you can take some simple steps to ensure that your IT department clearly understands your issue. Once clear communication is established, your IT pros can quickly and effectively repair your troubled computer.

No Reason to be Intimidated

First, don’t be intimidated. Yes, that IT worker knows more about your computer than you ever will, but bear in mind, you know more about your specialty. Whether it is the law, accounting, sales, or marketing, you have your expertise and they have theirs.

Screenshots

Screenshots are a blessing for IT professionals. Take screenshots of what is happening. This includes any error messages you get, or everything that pops up that is unusual. If you can’t take screenshots, try to replicate the problem for them after they get to your desk. Let them watch the actions you take that cause the problem. The more information you can give them the better.

A Written Report

Your IT department needs complete information to do their job well. Recording your experiences when something breaks, i.e. what your computer did, what error messages you got, what programs you were using when the event occurred, will help your IT department enormously.

Communicating with your IT department doesn’t have to be a daunting or irritating experience. Just follow these simple rules, and you’ll be computing at full strength in no time.