Helpdesk Chapter 15
What is a helpdesk? • Either physical or virtual place, where people get answers to there computing questions. • Report problems • Request new services • It is the public face of your organization
Physical or Virtual • A helpdesk might be a physical desk where customers can talk face-to-face • Might be a virtual helpdesk that customers can access across electronically • Email • WEB • Voice-Mail • Self-Help • Faq • Knowledge base
Impression • Help desk makes a first impression to your customers and maintain your relationship with them. • A good helpdesk reflects well on your organization. • If Helpdesk does well, business looks good. • If Helpdesk does bad, business looks bad.
Friendly Face – Set The Tone • Physical helpdesk • Interior design should be pleasant and welcoming • Virtual helpdesk • Design so colors are soothing and the fonts are legible.
Friendly Face – Set The Tone • Tone of the staff is set by the supervisor • Supervisor is mean to the staff the staff will be mean to the customer. • Supervisor is good natured, and likable, then staff will be same to the customer • “Do unto others …”
When do you need a helpdesk? • Start looking for warning signs • Notice communication problems are occurring in group because of size • System administrator are not able to get work done because they are overwhelmed by customer request.
Announce formal helpdesk • There is always a help desk • Whether it be one or two people who are the unofficial (adhoc) help desk. • When you create a formal help desk let it be known. Whether it is physical or virtual.
Components of a helpdesk • Help desk should have a friendly face. • Enough staff to support traffic • Defined scope of coverage • Set customer expectations • Defines who, what, where, when, and how long • How are out of scope problems handled • Processes for staff • Scripts • Escalation process (things go wrong) • Tracking software
Staff Size • The staff should be big enough to serve customers in a timely manner. • If they don’t the customer will look elsewhere. • Don’t look at customer-to-attendant ratios instead look at volume ratios and time-to-call completion ratios.
Scope - What • What is going to be supported. • Just the personal computer or just the network, both • Just certain operating systems • Certain applications • How are unsupported platforms handled?
Scope - Who • Who will be supported? • Certain departments • Buildings • Ranking of people • Upper vs. lower management • People that pay vs. not pay • Person moving from building to building.
Scope - Where • Where are the customers? • What division • What building • Working from home • On travel
Scope - When • The hours of the operation must be defined. • When are you open and when are you closed. • How are things handled when you are closed. • What the customer should do in case of emergency • Power goes out, who do they call. • Leave a number or information.
Scope - How long • Average time it take to complete task. • Some should take more time than others • Establish goals for the staff and customers.
Forgiving Scope • Help desk should have a process for dealing with request out side the scope. • Can say don’t do any request outside the scope, unfriendly practice. • Try to help but set a time limit to how long you will be there. • Customer will appreciate the effort
Escalation Process • A layered system • First layer should be able to handle around 80 to 90 percent of request. • Unanswered request move on to second layer where operator will have more experience, training, and other responsibilities. • If a large number of calls are escalated to higher level, warning sign first level needs more training.
Helpdesk Software • Every helpdesk needs some kind of software to help manage it. • Help desk should allow some kind of priority to be assigned to the tickets • Helps organized helpdesk and SA’s manage there time. • Good for documentation • Will most likely need customizing to fit environment.
Using statistics for improvements • Monitor the rate of escalations to determine where you need more training. • If you have statistical data you can make a better case for your budget. • Shows multiyear trends of customer growth • Call volume • Types of calls • Services provided • Customer satisfaction
Using statistics for improvements • Statistics become more important as the co. grow • Management becomes less directly involved • More difficult to statistics for smaller companies • Often less animated • Can’t be instrumented to collect data.
Out of hours / 24x7 Coverage • If you have a big company • Three – shifts will most likely be required. • Medium to smaller company • Ways to provide 24x7 coverage that is less expensive • Set up voice mailbox to access a pager when it receives a new message. • Pass pager to different SA’s to equalize responsibility
Out of hours / 24x7 Coverage • Give the number of the helpdesk supervisor to all managers • He will then contact the correct SA for the job • Give security guards different numbers to call • Keep call until you reach someone. • Give compensation to people working overtime. • Time equivalent to fraction of the employee’s salary • Time and a half compensation • Comp time.
Better Advertising • The web • All policies are accessible to all customers • Pick the right message • Communicate to the customer find out what’s important to them. • Email or send via memo critical messages. • Use repetition • Put posters in appropriate places • Put help desk hours posted at all entrances.
Different Desk For Different Problems • There may be times when it makes sense for having more than one help desk. • One for requesting services • One for reporting and repairing problems after installation was successful. • One for problems the other two can not solve.
Different Desk For Different Problems • Benefits from dividing the helpdesk. • All groups under different supervisors • Supervisors can effectively manage a smaller group of people. • Smaller groups can be trained for the different skills for their tasks. • Can have a narrow focus, and training can be customized. • Less expensive than hiring someone how is able to do all the tasks.
Questions
