The Service Desk is the main way business stakeholders interact with the IT organization. Given the high-profile nature of the Service Desk and the processes that underpin it, the Service Desk needs to be a strong asset for the IT organization. Every Service Desk has room for improvement, whether it is becoming the “single-point-of-contact” and the single entry-point to getting support and resolution for incidents and requests fulfilled.
Whether it is for a Service Desk transformation or just an evaluation of your process, metrics, or performance, Service Management Leadership has decades of experience leading large and small Service Desk projects and programs. Small improvements to a Service Desk can create large rewards given every Service Desk has hundreds or thousands of customer interactions every day.
How well do you measure customer satisfaction (CSAT) and user experience (UX) of your Service Desk interactions? Just recording the calls is not enough. The customers need to know that IT cares about the support it offers. Service Management Leadership can help. The installation or improvement of metrics is a large step in the right direction. Does your organization have strong measurements for health and maturity? Metrics and measures are the first step in understanding how well your Service Desk is meeting the needs of its stakeholders. Most organizations use volume metrics but those are just bland and yield little decision-making data. The ability to insert real metrics that measure the areas of improvement will reap immediate and significant dividends.
How about concierge service for certain executive leaders? This is a great mechanism for your business stakeholders to feel like their time is appreciated. This is a simple and easy-to-implement way to improve CSAT and UX.
One of the biggest areas for improvement is the training of Level-One and Two support to take on more Level-Three incident calls, increasing first-call resolution for the customer and saving the IT organization money. The Level-Three support personnel are more expensive than the lower levels so freeing up their time is a huge boost for most organizations. With most IT organizations seeking new ways to save money, this one change can save a large sum every month.
Another area of labor-saving activities of the Service Desk is Request Fulfillment. The Service Desk should be the since entry-point to change passwords, order services or technology (if there is no self-service), and give users access to systems and applications, among others. On the topic of self-service, the Service Desk should enable most of its customers to order as much as possible.
Every Service Desk should have an established training mechanism given the higher turnover of Service Desk roles compared to the rest of IT. This training needs to be established, consistently updated, and regularly given to keep agents and technicians at the top of their skills. The training may be delivered via a Learning Management System or a simple voice-over of a slide presentation.
Another area of potential improvement is Knowledge Management. The Knowledge Management inside and outside of your ITSM tool that allows the user to find the solution or get their questions answered without calling into the Service Desk, thus saving the IT organization time and money. But the knowledge base must be high-quality, reliable, and broad.
Are your business customers happy with your Service Desk offering? The Service Desk is the front door to the IT organization and is the only part of IT most business customers ever see. Your Service Desk needs the right metrics and measures, training, and oversight. We are here to help. If not, contact us today for an initial conversation.