How Helpful Is Your Helpdesk?

The help desk process encompasses a set of stages, each of which facilitates the timely resolution of a filed issue or complaint.

• New request. The client or consumer submits a new request through the helpdesk management software.
• In dispatch. The filed or submitted request is assigned to a queue where it awaits resolution.
• In queue. During this stage, the submitted request is accepted into a queue by a representative. The representative examines the issue and passes it directly for a resolution.
• In service. The submitted request is resolved by the dispatcher.
• Closed. The request is resolved and closed and information about its closure is sent to the dispatcher.

There are notable differences between a helpdesk and a service desk. The help desk was derived from IT-centricity or simply the mainframe computing, whereas a service desk was born from IT service-centricity. While the main focus of a helpdesk is fixing technical issues, a service desk’s main focus is delivering services to customers or users. In addition, there’s a certain focus on customer-centricity and service delivery that’s missing in helpdesks.

A helpdesk software performs several functions that makes it a suitable addition to any office or workplace set-up.

• A single point of contact. A help desk provides internal and external customers with a single contact point in case of problems or issues.
• Answer questions. The customers should be able to use the self-service or contact a desk agent when they need help with step-by-step instructions.
• Free up time. A well-run helpdesk plays a central role in collecting information and centralizing knowledge and provides workflow guidance that makes solving issues faster and easier.
• Measure customer satisfaction. A help desk software provides customers with a way to rate the help desk and offer feedback to improve workflow processes, knowledge base, and more solutions.

When businesses start up, they often rely on email for support. But as these enterprises grow, moving from email-based customer support to remote helpdesk becomes critical. Customer support needs to scale with a business. This implies that as the business grows, it should have a corresponding remote helpdesk capacity to address emerging customer issues. There are common reasons your business needs helpdesk software:

• Your email is a lousy tracking tool. If every help request becomes a string of emails, agents may struggle to prioritize and respond to requests. It implies it’s time to move your conversations from your inboxes to organize and manage your help desk queues.
• Customers want to help themselves. For most companies, helpdesk software offers a simple way to organize a knowledge base and help customers self-serve common questions.
• Monitor the health of support. Helpdesk software can track several metrics like resolution time, customer satisfaction, ticket volume, and even individual performance and work output.

There are many improvements to achieve an excellent help desk customer support:

Use data and analytics to prevent incidents from recurring rather than just solving problems. By implementing analytics tools to your help desk software, you get to assess customer satisfaction levels and access end-to-end customer support metrics.

Not only can you support and empower your employees by using help desk software, but also by creating a knowledge base – a repository where users can access how-tos, find articles, and other helpful content structured to help them solve issues independently.

In addition to tracking your business metrics and analytics, consider gathering feedback from your workers or employees who represent your internal customers. The information gathered from your internal customers (or employees) can be used to address specific customer service issues like bad attitudes and poor communication. This feedback can also be used to build morale.

Employee issues reduce and satisfaction levels increase when the services you render are clear, and employees can get help whenever and wherever they need it. A user-friendly service portal is an ideal place for your customers to order software and hardware services they need without taking valuable time contacting the helpdesk.

Well-trained IT technicians can solve issues successfully without having to escalate them frequently. This can help improve the internal customer service levels because employees don’t have to wait for a callback from a higher-level service provider. Another improvement strategy is to provide your customer service employees with ITIL certification training. The ITIL training framework ensures that businesses and companies provide predictable and consistent service levels based on the industry’s best practices.

Contact Bastionpoint to know exactly how to streamline your help desk support processes.